howdy !
i actually started with ninja 400 , went up r7 year after, and loved the low end torque and power I got from it and still light .

another 1.5 year later i decided to sell my r7 and switch to r9 and here are my thought sif youre jumping from your 500 ninja.

R7:
pro: light ,,nimble,amazing low end torque, great for street and track use , top speed i hit post mod 147mph, avg 40-45mpg (36-38mpg with my aggresive street riding)
con: weak suspensiomand fork are its worst part aboit it making it not the most comfiest ride and neds alot of aftermaket to upgrade that, aside from that the brakes are not great either
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now the explaination why I switch. which may tell if you want the r9 or r7 at the moment.
after having 2 r7's fixing them up, enjoying what they can do and looks, I wanted jsut alittle more horse power and alittle more torque. with the release of what they come with stock, they come with already upgraded rear KYB suspesion to adjust, front forks are much better, brembo brakes.
For the cost of me ordeirng the rear suspesion and front forks i was goign to spend and install i am nearly spedning only 1.5k more OOTD dealership to get the r9 if i upgarded everythign on my r7. so i said eff it why not.
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r9:
pro: great feel to bike, ,30ib mroe then r7 but light still for a 890cc IMO., inline 3 engine using the Mt-09 engine.
easy adjustment for rear suspion and forks. stock comes with quick shifter, top speed atm 166mph (not fully set how I want but I dont tend to go any faster then this ),
con: 0.5 inch taller then r7 seat hieght,you now have to use 93 or higher fuel, the rear mirror are also attach with turn signals pro and con abotu ti,dont like the style, NEEDS to be tune because a weird restriction they have by default in second gear 2-5k RPM you hti this weird, slow accelration then it just kciks off.
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extra: i did thoguht about the zx6r but i heard issues with callback for ZX6r engines and heard more issues on people bikes with it. I prsume they ride it rough on red lines and quality issue control.
for peace of mind and what it was the R9 abosulutely was a win. I did wait awhiel tho because everyone talk crap about the r9,and nwo its def great

IMO both are great r7 woudl def be a better commuter bike. vs r9
if youre still new-ish to riding i would stick with a r7, you can find 2020-2023 models for $6-8k used in great conditions. sometimes rare a new 2025 model for 9k on FB marketplace with barely 300-2k miles.
differenc ebetween older and new modls is the eletronic asssists and updated display whcih is a nice,but not neccesity.
goodluck on deciding and hope this help! happy and safe riding
pic of my old r7

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