I bought the VN500 for my wife in March. I found the bike to be a rocket, light weight, fun to drive. The front brakes squeal loudly for the first 400 to 500 miles. The dealer told us that the squeal was normal and will go away eventually. He also recommended keeping the brake disk clean. The squealing has subsided in the past few weeks. Take care with the gas too! If you don´t run the bike often then add gas stabilizer. It cost me $200 to have the carbirators cleaned and Kawasaki won´t cover it. (Ethanol in the gas makes it turn to varnish if you don´t turn it over quick enough).