One Year On: MCN reader rates his Z1000SX after 4500miles
Does the perfect allrounder exist? MCN reader Chris CaulfieldJones seems to think so and reckons his Kawasaki Z1000SX ticks all the biking boxes. “My first bike was a nail of an ER-5, which I bought while I was still training for the test,” says Chris. “It was so bad that when I decided to trade it in for an SV650 a few months later, the dealer was surprised it even had an MoT! Luckily they took it as partex anyway and I had a lot of fun cutting my teeth on the Suzuki.” A one-owner 2006 Honda CBR600F followed, which Chris would have kept forever had it not been stolen. “It was the perfect bike for me,” he says. “Just the right amount of power, it was comfortable and even had a centrestand. Unfortunately, my garage wasn’t exactly secure and one morning it was gone.” After a period of travelling and working away, Chris settled back in Wales and returned to biking with a Honda CBR650F. “It was only £100 down and £125 per month on PCP,” says Chris, “so I rode that for a while until I felt it was time for my first litre bike. I sat on a few different models, such as the CB1000R, but as I was going to be using at as my daily transport I wanted something more practical. The Z1000 always seems to get good reviews and I felt that it ticked all the boxes for me, so I took one for a test ride and was sold.”
0 MILES
Although it’s on a ’19 plate, it’s a 2017 model that had been at GT Superbikes in Pontyclun. With the full touring kit (panniers, screen and satnav bracket) it came in at around £12,500, so I took out a PCP with monthly payments of £152 and an annual mileage of 4000.
600 MILES
As this was the most expensive bike I’d ever bought, I followed the recommendations for running it in to the letter. I’d get a few extra miles in every day after work just to make sure I was using all the rev range and I rolled back into GT for the first service with exactly 600 on the clock. There were no issues and the initial check and oil change came to £135. After that it was great to be able to start stretching its legs and explore the engine properly on my 25-mile commute.
1500 MILES
It took me a few months to build up my confidence to really give it the beans, but I absolutely love it now. It’s really useful through all the gears and is very forgiving, with loads of tractable welly. In the midrange it’s really punchy, but you have to watch yourself in second as it can be a bit too lively! I tend to keep it in third and upwards on the twisties. I get about 45mpg on average no matter how I ride it.
2500 MILES
I can do a good two hours in the saddle before I need to take a break. I’ve been told by a passenger that the rear seat is fine too, especially with those big handles to hang on to. The only issue is vibration from the engine at around 6000rpm which resonates up from the left footpeg and gives me a numb foot.
3000 MILES
There’s not much in the way of rider aids except for threelevel traction control (KTRC) and the two engine modes. The modes seem a bit pointless to be honest, it’s either 100% or 60% throttle and I can’t see why you’d want only 60. I run the KTRC in medium and it has cut in once or twice. I just felt the back step out before the system caught it.
3500 MILES
The front-end is actually a bit softer than I was expecting and there’s quite a bit of dive when you brake. It doesn’t seem to react to bumps as fast as I’d like it to and can also feel a bit harsh over potholes. On the go it stays pretty well composed though and the rear shock certainly doesn’t pitch me out of the seat mid-corner or anything like that. The suspension is adjustable, but I haven’t felt the need to play with as yet, other than to wind on some rear preload as per the handbook when I had a pillion on board.
4000 MILES
The brakes are fine. They give plenty of feel and one finger will give you everything you need. The ABS has kicked in once or twice when perhaps I haven’t been paying attention, but it’s unobtrusive and just does its job – it makes me feel very safe. I’m quite a heavy back brake user, for slow control, tight corners and when the road is muddy, and it has developed a squeak. I’ll be getting it checked next time it goes in for a service.
4500 MILES
Slow manoeuvring is excellent, all it needs is a little bit of clutch, a touch of throttle and a dab of back brake. For such a large bike I was expecting U-turns to be hard work, but it’s fine. The LCD dash is pretty basic, but it has everything you need, including ambient temperature and a nice clear gear indicator, which is really useful. It’s easy enough to scroll through information such as fuel economy and trip using the selector switch.