Kawasaki EX500: problems, complaints, bulletins

Summary for the Kawasaki EX500 across 2 model years: 3 owner complaints and 0 NHTSA service bulletins, plus repair videos. Pick a year for details.

Model years

Year	Owner complaints	involving a crash	Technical service bulletins (TSB)	YouTube repair videos
1994	1	0	0	0
1993	2	0	0	0

What fails most often

1 Engine and cooling 67% of all complaints
2 Fuel system 33% of all complaints

Circle size and colour show each component’s share of NHTSA complaints. Schematic only, not a drawing of the exact model.

Engine and cooling: 2 complaints (67% of all).
Fuel system: 1 complaints (33% of all).

Components owners complain about

Component	Owner complaints	involving a crash	Technical service bulletins (TSB)
Engine and cooling	2	0	0
Fuel system	1	0	0

What owners report

Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.

The flywheel (rotor/generator) of a 1993 kawasaki ex500, , manufactured in such a way that the magnets on the rotor itself will break apart. A licensed mechanic has told me that it could pose a possible safety hazard concerning that if part of the magnet where to become jammed it could seize the motor of the…
Engine and cooling · 1993 · 2008-05-14 · NHTSA complaint #10227695
Motor cycle parked, caught fire, electrical short, will provide fire report. Tt
Fuel system · 1994 · 1996-01-26 · NHTSA complaint #978293
On exhaust pipe, black paint is bubbling and peeling. Peeled hot paint flies into other riders face and eyes. Please describe details. Tt
Engine and cooling · 1993 · 1995-07-19 · NHTSA complaint #969080

When owners complained

NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.

19951
19961
20081

What to check before buying

Engine and cooling. Radiator and fan after a frontal hit, coolant level and condition, overheating.
Fuel system. Fuel smell, leaks, rough running, fuel-system codes.

Other models of this make

Read also

Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.