1997 Kawasaki ER-5 review from United Kingdom

Voltage regulator gave up causing the battery to be overcharged, resulting in both the voltage regulator and the battery having to be changed.

Front headlight unit became loose.

I have had the bike exactly 12 months now. It has just had a M.O.T. (roadworthiness check required by law in the UK every 12 months for motor vehicles more than 3 years old), and all it needed was an adjustment on the headstock bearings.

I have covered 20,000 miles on this bike in one year without a major service, and apart from the faults with the voltage regulator, it has been totally reliable.

It had an oil change when I had done 10,000 miles, and I have had to replace the tyres twice, once after I had done 10,000 miles, and again when I had completed 20,000 miles.

I have had to change the front brake pads twice as well.

Apart from the fuel, this is the limit of my spending money on this bike.

When I bought this bike, I knew it was only a 500cc motorcycle and I did not expect it to be very fast.

I have been pleasantly surprised. On rideouts with other bikes, it will keep up with much faster machines. What it loses in straightline speed, it makes up for on the bends and under braking, which is really surprising as it only has a single disk in front and a drum at the back.

The riding position is very comfortable and roomy, and the seat is very good.

It has a fuel gauge so you never need to guess how much fuel you have, and it is very economical, 150 - 170 miles a tankful. And that is riding at full throttle.

As you can probably tell, I am very happy with this bike, but I do have a few words of warning.

I ride in all sorts of weather. Wind, rain, sleet, sun, cloud, cold or hot. The chain needs to be adjusted quite often, and you have to keep cleaning it constantly to keep the dust and salt off it, because it rusts quite easily.

In heavy rain, the compartment under the seat gets flooded, so if you have anything under there, it will get soaked.