Harley-Davidson Nightster Special vs Kawasaki Ninja 500

The Harley-Davidson Nightster Special (2025) and the Kawasaki Ninja 500 (2026) are compared with the same Moto Kıyas physics model under identical conditions: flat dry asphalt, no wind, a 75 kg rider and no passenger. The Harley-Davidson Nightster Special is a cruiser with 975 cc, 88.5 hp and 225 kg; the Kawasaki Ninja 500 is a sport bike with 451 cc, 44.8 hp and unlisted weight. Power-to-weight with the rider: 295.0 hp/ton versus 172.9 hp/ton. On this measure the Harley-Davidson Nightster Special is 71% ahead.

In the simulation the Harley-Davidson Nightster Special covers 0-100 km/h (speedometer) in 3.17 s and the Kawasaki Ninja 500 in 5.09 s; the Harley-Davidson Nightster Special is quicker by 1.92 s. In the 100-0 km/h brake test, braking distance without the 0.3 s reaction time is 49.1 m for the Harley-Davidson Nightster Special (ABS unknown, class assumption: no ABS) and 36.4 m for the Kawasaki Ninja 500 (with ABS). The Kawasaki Ninja 500 stops 12.7 m shorter. Calculated top speed: 180 km/h (estimated from power and drag) versus 186 km/h (estimated from power and drag).

All values are an estimated simulation, not road-test measurements. Technical data comes from the sources listed below; the model uses model-specific parameters calibrated against published road tests for the Harley-Davidson Nightster Special and class-average calibration (no accepted model-specific road test) for the Kawasaki Ninja 500. Missing manufacturer data (weight) is estimated by class regression, not measured. Open the interactive app (currently in Turkish) to watch the run side by side and change the load.