YAMAHA	●
KAWASAKI	○
RATINGS
ENGINE
Responsiveness				○	●
Vibration				○	●
Bottom end power			○		●
Mid range power				○	●
Top end power				○
Fuel economy					○●
Starting				○●
Ease of maintenance				○●
Quietness				●	○
TRANSMISSION
Clutch Operation				○		●
Gearbox Operation		○		●
Handling
Steering				○	●
Cornering clearance		○			●
High speed cornering		○		●
Medium speed cornering				○	●
Bumpy bends		○	●
Flickability				○	●
Manoeuvrability				○	●
Top speed stability				○	●
SUSPENSION
Front			○	●
Rear			○	●
Front/rear match			○	●
BRAKES
Stopping power			○●
Braking stability				○●
Feel at controls			○●
GENERAL
Quality of finish				○	●
Fairing efficiency
Seat comfort				●	○
Riding position		○			●
Pillion comfort			●	○
Touring range			○	●
Headlight				○●
Stands				○●
Mirrors				○●
Horn		○●
VALUE FOR MONEY		○		●

£3100, but compared to other bikes of a similar capacity the factory custom seems very expensive for what you get. After all, for around £3000 you could buy yourself a GPZ500, an XJ600, a GS500, a KLR650, an XT600E or a TDR250 - all of which offer superior performance and varying degrees of extra street cred. The EN is truly a horror and should be avoided at all costs, but the XV is quite a pleasant bike and is ideal for the smaller figure and for town work. 

bikes you either like or hate. I find them a puzzle because the Japanese manufacturers don't seem to treat them as they do other bikes. Perhaps they merely take a leaf out of Harley-Davidson's book by equipping them with the cheapest cycle parts they have kicking around their factory. Invariably factory customs come with useless brakes, crappy suspension, dim lights and a host of other nasty bits they wouldn't dare put on a 'real' motorcycle.
I'm not a big fan of this type of bike, but

there have been a few factory customs that come close to being a reasonably good bike in their own right. While things like the 1100 Virago and 750 Vulcan stand out as being truly dreadful, the 750 Intruder has always been the only one that has a nice motor and reasonable styling. Now the XV535 becomes the other good factory custom. As a light, small middleweight custom with modest performance and pretty styling the XV has no equal. At £2800 the XV is actually pretty good value compared to the EN, which costs 

TECH-SPEAK

		YAMAHA XV535	KAWASAKI EN500
Price		£2799	E3Q99
Motor		Air-cooled SOHC V-twin	Water-cooled DOHC parallel twin
Displacement		535cc	488a
Bore & Stroke		76x59mm	74 53mm
Compression ratio		9:1	10.8:1
Maximum power @ rpm		46hp @ 7500	50hp @ 8500rpm
Maximum torque @ rpm		35ftlb (@ 6000	32.5ftlb @ 7300rpm
Carburettors		2 x 34mm Mikuni	2x34mm Keihin
Transmission		Gear primary, 5-speed	Gear primary, 6-speed box,
		shaft final	belt final
Frame		Steel spine frame	Steel duplex cradle
Rake		31.5°	32°
Trail		125mm	142mm
Front fork		36mm telescopic	35mm telescopic
Rear		Twin shocks with adjustable	Twin shocks with adjustable
suspension		preload	preload
Brakes
	front	264mm disc with opposed piston caliper	single disc with opposed piston caliper
	rear	Drum
Tyres
	front	3.00519	100 90x19
	rear	140 / 905 15	140 90x15
Wheelbase		59.8in (1520mm)	61.2in (1555mm)
Seat Height		27.5in (700mm)	28.7in (730mm)
Width		28.5in (725mm).	33m (840mm)
Weight		4011b (182kg) dry	4101b (186kg) dry
Fuel capacity		2.97 gallons (13.5 litres)	2.42 gallons (11 litres)
Fuel		54mpg	52mpg
consumption
Range		160 miles	125 miles
Top speed		98mph	109mph