All-New Kawasaki Ninja 500 VS Aprilia RS 457: Spec Comparison

Let’s see how the Aprilia RS 457 stacks up against the likes of the newly launched Kawasaki Ninja 500 on paper.

Kawasaki recently launched the Ninja 500 in the Indian market. Priced at Rs. 5.24 lakh (ex-showroom), the middle-weight sports bike competes with the likes of the Yamaha R3, Aprilia RS 457 and KTM RC 390 in the country. So, let’s take a look at how the Aprilia RS 457 fares against the newly launched Ninja 500 in this spec comparison.

Kawasaki Ninja 500 VS Aprilia RS 457: Price

While the Kawasaki Ninja 500 is sold in India via the CBU route, the Aprilia RS 457 is locally manufactured. This puts a major gap between the pricing of these bikes. The Aprilia RS 457 is priced at Rs. 4.10 lakh (ex-showroom). On the other hand, the Ninja 500 will set you back by Rs. 5.24 lakh (ex-showroom). If you are buying the Ninja 500, be ready to shell out Rs. 1.14 lakh extra over the RS 457.

Kawasaki Ninja 500 VS Aprilia RS 457: Powertrain

Motorcycle	Kawasaki Ninja 500	Aprilia RS 457
Engine Displacement	451cc parallel twin liquid-cooled	457cc parallel twin liquid-cooled
Power	45 bhp	47 bhp
Torque	42.6 Nm	43.5 Nm
Transmission	6-speed	6-speed

On paper, both the bikes are very similar in terms of engine specifications. Using a parallel-twin setup, the Ninja 500 and Aprilia RS 457 produce more or less the power as well as torque figures. However, the Aprilia has a slight advantage over the Ninja 500 with 2 bhp extra power and around 1 Nm torque. It is also important to note that the peak power in the Ninja 500 is delivered at 9,000rpm while the RS 457’s peak comes at 9.400rpm.

Kawasaki Ninja 500 VS Aprilia RS 457: Hardware

Kawasaki has gone for a more conventional setup in the Ninja 500 as it gets 41mm telescopic forks at the front and pre-load adjustable rear mono-shock. On the other hand, the RS 457 relies on 41mm USD front forks and a mono-shock at the rear.

The front brakes come with a larger disc on the Aprilia RS 457 at 320mm as compared to the Ninja’s 310mm. The Aprilia uses a dual beam lightweight aluminium frame while the Ninja 500 uses steel-trellis underpinnings.

Kawasaki Ninja 500 VS Aprilia RS 457: Design

While the design is a subjective matter, the Aprilia RS 457 gets a modern design that speaks of aggressive with a butch stance. Even the graphics on the body panels have a dash of style to it and it is offered in three different colour choices. Talking about the Ninja 500, the bike continues with Kawasaki’s supersport design direction and appears in line with the other bikes in the brand’s portfolio. For reference, the Ninja 500 is only available in a single Black colour option in India.

Editor-in-Chief