kawasaki ER5 A1 model

[mintex]

Ive had bikes for many years, had allsorts 2 and 4 strokes.

I was given an er5 for free from a friend or a friend as it was in a very sorry state, looked like it had been stored in salt water.

My plan was to get it running and sell it on and replace it with something else only once i did i enjoyed the bike and still have it now, that was 3 years ago.

A very useable bike, pulls from low revs, handles quite well but likes good known tyres, avoid budget ones.

Its not a rocket ship bike (50bhp) but it was never sold as one, but in saying that if you're new to bikes, don't regularly go over 100mph or just want a bike to travel to work on then the er ticks the boxes.

Its very easy to ride, i can see why riding schools used them now, i have done things on this i would never try on my other current bike (honda cbr). I even drove this bike through a local ford , it was very slippery and i fell off nearing the end, i picked the bike up and only damage was the ball of the clutch lever but i went back through the ford but this time i drove on the river bed haha.

Ive put a topbox on mine and i use it for work, but i must say a lot of the time i enjoy the er more than my cbr as its more enjoyable pushing the er to its limits and using all the revs/power available than it is riding the cbr but not using its full potential.

So in summary

The Good

Very easy to ride

Does around 60 mpg

Excellent engine braking

Good reliable engine

Fun to ride as long as you don't expect to chase your mates on sports bikes.

Plenty of spares available.

Cheap to purchase

Cheap tyres as they are the size of most modern 125 bikes.

The Bad

Petrol tap fails (its a vacuum tap) normall flooding the carbs and the engine breather is directly under the carbs so you end up with fuel in the oil, but there is an easy modification to fix this, check the er5 forum http://www.bikersoracle.com/er5/forum/index.php

Carb floats sometimes need adjustment, i've had to do mine 4 times in 3 years

Front brake on A1 models has plastic inserts in the front brake caliper pistons, remove and throw these away, Slightly better on newer models but the front brake is not the best

Drum rear that suffer from going oval.

Newer models have a fuel gauge but thats about as accurate as a flag blowing in the wind.

Overall this bike has served me well and even with its little flaws.

[Crowe]

I couldn't agree more - i love my ER-5.

for me it hits that perfect sweet spot...

-It's full of character and is old enough/cheap enough that i don't obsess over it

-It's simple to work on

-It's a great commuter and a goes 2-up with comfort.

-fast enough AND economical enough for most situations

I love mine and find it much more utilitarian than my old ZX7R

[Fitzi]

Er5 was my first big bike. Loved it and regretted selling it. Nice to ride, easy to work on, great for city riding and not too tiring on the motorway either. Never had the brake or carb problems. Side stand was a little too short and had the bike topple over it a couple of times when loaded with luggage on the back. Single front disc brake was a bit weedy and the rear drum wasn't much better.