1000-mile test of Suzuki’s SV650X

Plus Ninja H2 SX SE and Africa Twin AS test updates

Whirr, surge, chirp, pssshhh. Whirr, surge, chirp, pssshhh. The H2’s relentless wind orchestra has all the dogged insistence of the Titanic’s string quartet as it melodically blasts out its special brand of pressurised music to your every throttle input.

It’s an addictive tune, an ear worm that begs you to whistle along as you knit corners together with glorious surges of midrange propelling you to a rushing top-end. It’s heroin to my synapses, and after only a few hedonistic miles the message is clear: Kawasaki’s Ninja H2 SX is all about that supercharger.

Not a one-trick pony

In most other senses this superbike-tourer is largely conventional, not to mention practical. There’s plenty of legroom for my 5ft 11in frame, the riding position is focused but comfortable, the panniers excellent, weather protection adequate, the seat cosseting, and the quality impressive. The view over the clocks is marginally old-school, but saved by the quality multi-display TFT dash and neat features like the boost and braking force gauges, not to mention the dangerously teasing lean angle gauge. I’d still rather see a nice big flatscreen dash though, and the lack of integrated navigation and media connection feels like an oversight in 2018.

The dash’s inability to give you a believable range indicator, fuel reserve countdown, and

The magic blue bar gives a real-time readout of just how much boost you’re getting from the supercharger Normal road riding sees the SX burn through fuel at a rate of 42.68mpg

This box contains the fun machine