Kawasaki ER5 - 5 things I hate!

[@frankboff8185]

I bought a cheap er5 last September as a cheap winter hack, never had a bike with a fuel gauge, when it went empty after 110 miles, thought bloody hell that drinking some fuel, opened the fuel cap, loads of fuel still left, never look at the fuel gauge again. Don’t have a problem with the front brake and never use the back one, but most of my bikes are a lot older so a big improvement over what I am used to. All in all for the money I paid and the cost of the parts that I needed very bike, in fact I quite often ride it through out the summer as it’s just so easy to ride, goes along very nicely, handles well, and always starts. Good video, nice to see .

[@cjrides.1]

Glad to hear your enjoying yours too 👍🏻 they really are cracking little bikes!

[@MrEntertainer89]

I just bought my first bike and it's a ER5 , and so far I love it .

[@BreezyRider66]

Looks like it has a trip meter, reset it each time you fill the tank, there's your fuel gauge...👍

[@p.istaker8862]

Then ride a T140 to understand not being able to use the mirrors

[@thomaswykes3647]

That's what I have done with all my bikes

[@pickuo580]

Front brake replacement is a nightmare,right sparkplug difficult to remove,

[@benjamin2.076]

I bought one in a not too rough shape a couple of weeks ago. The fuel gauge really is making you panic, but it does not account for the reserve, and yeah, when it's on the red I usually fill only 7 to 9 litres. I know that the bike shares the same wheels as the GPZ500, and fitting the rear wheel from it would give you a good rear disk brake (though requires some DIY brackets for the brake cylinder, caliper and reservoir though). The drum brake requires adjusting every other week if you actually use it. To add to the cooling system, when it runs on a hot day, it blows all the hot air right over your thighs, it gets sweaty real quick (I live in a hot climate). And about the mirrors, yeah, this bike vibrates. Machined cnc mirrors which have solid attachment points would be a bit more usable (having the ball joint or angle bracket tight would vibrate less).

[@cjrides.1]

I have considered doing the rear disc conversion, maybe if I get time over winter. Yeah I agree with you on the amount of heat it kicks back to your legs. The mirrors I may look at changing to bar end ones soon 👍🏻. Hope you enjoy your ER5 👍🏻

[@benjamin2.076]

@@cjrides.1 switching from a Yamaha YBR250 that I rode on for four years, the difference is there. I really am enjoying the ER5. Will probably post some of the fixes that I need to do on my channel in the coming weekends

[@derrickmanning2597]

Just put er5 mirrors on my zr7 cos they're the same as I had crap ones on it and they're brilliant,I had an er5 a few years back and never had a mirror issue on that either!! Also ya can't blame the mirrors if your replacements are doing the same or similar!!

[@Ur-notalonehere]

Just brought one and only thing I had not done was petrol tap thanks for that great video

[@RRRRefuelRideRace]

Thanks for sharing it. Useful info. Appreciate it.

[@hellebarde1450]

Driving my ER-5 now for 50k km as all-weather(!) commuter bike and also did some touring with it already. Well, I'm excited by this small, reliable bike! Can't understand the guys with braking issues, it's a 50hp bike, one can't even drive that fast that the brakes couldn't handle it, or am I wrong? ;-) Well, I improved mine with the braided lines which gives a clearly better feeling in my opinion... the rear brake I rarely use to be honest. Anyway, the engine brake of this old GPZ engine is already so strong, that if one drives normally and non-sporty, one does not really need much breaking, having the same brake pads since 40k km... ;D One further could improve the older ER models with adding the breaking calliper of the newer models as those have 2 big cylinders instead of just one big and one small...

[@patmays7344]

The front brake is totally under par, it should have had twin disk, the power exceeds the usefulness of that front disc! It’s a great bike otherwise! 👑🏆🏵☑️

[@maikschaefer8940]

I'm a new er5 owner. Mine has about 9500 km on it and it has a really let's say weird idle, it like to jump around 1000 to 1200 rpm and then has a rare drop. In general when she's cold she runs abit bad

[@cjrides.1]

Possible blocked pilot jet 👍🏻

[@hellebarde1450]

sounds like a carburator issue...

[@UNCLECHEF69]

my aftermarket ones vibrated themselves loose before on the M5! now got a pair of bar-end mirrors and they’re perfect!

[@cjrides.1]

Interesting, less vibration with bar end mirrors then would you say?

[@UNCLECHEF69]

@@cjrides.1 definitely!

[@PaieFilhoemAlgarve]

I agree 100%

[@big_bear__]

hello, I'm wondering if a person with 190 cm and 100 kg could fit on the gs and if some slightly longer routes (80 km per day) would be possible for me?

[@cjrides.1]

Yes, absolutely

[@chonky4784]

The fuel gauge is a tough one, I use the trip meter, which usually fills up after about 120 miles and is about 9 or 10 litres at most, so it depends on how cautious you want to be. The brakes are honestly shit, I've done braided cable with ebc pads and disk with new high temp fluid and I cannot get over how shit it is but it's not meant to be rallied. Still love my ER-5 though Quirks and all still such a cheap and cheerful bike which has taken me all around Scotland and I continue to ride daily all year round, shame about the lack of tyre options though.