Hi everyone,
I own a 2026 Kawasaki Z500, and I’m trying to find out whether anyone else has experienced something similar with their bike.
After the motorcycle had been sitting outside overnight at around 8°C (46°F), I started it and let it idle. Within approximately 1–2 minutes, I noticed that both exhaust headers were glowing a dull red in the first 5–10 cm near the cylinder head. The glow was only visible in the dark. The idle settles at around 1,300 rpm after 1–2 minutes.
I’ve read that modern Euro 5/Euro 5+ motorcycles may use specific fueling and ignition strategies to heat up the catalytic converter quickly and meet emissions requirements. Could this explain the glowing headers, or could it indicate an excessively lean mixture or another issue?
I also noticed a burnt-oil smell and a small amount of smoke around the radiator area after a 30–40 km ride in the rain, following the first service. I’m not sure whether this is related or possibly caused by residual oil from the service.
I’ve contacted the dealer/importer and am arranging a warranty inspection. I’m not trying to diagnose the bike myself; I’d just like to know whether this behavior has been observed on other stock Z500/Ninja 500 models.
A few questions:
Have you seen the exhaust headers glow red on your stock Z500 or Ninja 500?
If so, under what conditions, and how quickly after a cold start?
Is this considered normal during catalytic converter warm-up, or did your dealer identify an issue?
The bike is still under warranty, and I won’t run it again just to reproduce the symptom before getting advice from the service department.
Thanks for sharing your experiences!

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At around 18,508 miles while I was riding my bike a sound was coming out of it. I stopped my bike and put it on a truck, took it home and a few days later I took it to a mechanic for bikes. He told me he found metal flakes in the oil, images attached.

Since he’s not a Kawasaki licensed mechanic he let me know to bring it to one and contact Kawasaki for a good faith warranty on what is basically a new bike. I emailed Kawasaki and they told me since it is out of warranty, I’d need to bring it to one of their authorized dealership mechanics.

I did and as expected they denied good faith warranty. Kawasaki dealership will charge $4,000 for labor and that doesn’t include parts.
I will also attach their email.

My question, what should I do? Rebuild the engine? Sell the motorcycle?

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I know after this I am never buying another Kawasaki in my life.

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Hello

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Thanks !

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Having trouble figuring out what the problem is on my
24’ ninja 500
race bike
symptoms in comments

but I don't hate it

Z1Rもz1000r2もカスタム👍

別れの言葉無く友は逝ってしまったけど、、

see you again

あんたとおれで作ったバイク

楽しかったなぁ

Hey everyone!

For my engineering design project, I am currently developing a 3 in 1 integrated locking system designed to solve some of the everyday problems of locking up a bike in public.

The core idea is to combine a u-lock, helmet lock, and a disk lock into a single device, complete with a frame-mounting docking bracket (if needed) so riders don't have to lug heavy steel locks around in a backpack.

To make sure this actually meets real-world needs (and avoids issues like accidental disc-lock ride-offs or weak helmet cables), I’ve put together a short, anonymous survey to gather rider insights on weights, locking habits, and key preferences.

Motorcycle Security System: User research survey

It only takes about 2 to 3 minutes to complete, and your feedback will directly influence the dimensions, weight limits, and features of the design specifications.

I really appreciate any responses or thoughts you can share, as they will help me with my engineering project.

Ride safe!

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