Kawasaki Ninja 1000SX
Editor Matt reflects on RIDE’S time with Kawasaki’s big-selling Ninja 1000SX
THE OLD Z1000SX was Britain’s best-selling sports tourer for the best part of a decade — until it was replaced by this. The new Ninja 1000SX (no Z any more), carries on where the old bike left off, but with much-improved electronics and the promise of better comfort and handling.
Covid restrictions have hampered our mileage but the Ninja has still travelled the length and breadth of the UK, scraped its panniers in the bump and grind of commuting and even done a trackday. During that time, it’s impressed with its abilities and been passed among the RIDE team to more-or-less universal acclaim. This is what we’ve learned…
1 The range of abilities are huge
Few bikes can combine the ability to crack out big miles with the joy you get when you arrive — it’s a genuine sports tourer. With the bike tweaked to my liking (Metzeler M9 RRS and stiffer suspension settings, as detailed across the page) it was lapping with the circuit bikes in the fast group of a Silverstone trackday, seeing 148mph on the Hangar Straight and 51° of lean around Luffield.
However, two days earlier it was calmly taking snapper Chippy Wood and £10k’s worth of camera gear to Scotland, with its superb ride quality cosseting him and sipping fuel at 54mpg. It’s an impressive mix and, while it is more touring focussed, it’ll do everything you need.
2 The electronics are excellent
I’m a little suspicious of rider aids as (ABS apart) many don’t offer a tangible benefit for most bikers, but the upgrades on the 1000SX are well worth it. Kawasaki’s first ride-by-wire 1000SX has fuelling as smooth as I’ve experienced on any bike with mode switches that actually make a difference to the bike’s attitude; a quickshifter that makes life easier and helps you exploit the bike’s midrange; and a TFT dash that’s easy to read and helps give the bike a high-end feel. The cruise control makes a big difference, too – easy to operate, it makes 500-mile days an undaunting possibility.
3
It’s got the most usable 1000cc four on the planet
As previous custodian Martin
Fitz-gibbons so ably demonstrated, the 1000SX motor is a masterpiece, oozing usable, off-the-throttle grunt and delivering calm, usable power that works everywhere. Kawasaki’s claim of 140 horses translates to 130bhp at the wheel but it’s the way it delivers it and the
80lb·ft of torque that is remarkable. Until you get into the upper-reaches of rpm, it has more power and torque than any 1000cc sportsbike, which means it always delivers what you need, from
overtakes to corner exits.
4 It responds well to tweaks...
Regular readers will see we’ve written in some length about improvements in handling that accompany the 2020 SX and how they come from what look like small chassis geometry changes. But there are more improvements possible through set-up changes. I found increasing rear preload to almost maximum to get the right amount of rear rider sag (42mm in this case) for my 90kg mass really helped.
Raising the rear ride-height also improved steering and combined with tightening up the damping at the front and rear resulted is a much sharper, sweeter-handling bike with no real downside in ride quality or stability. If I did lots of two-up, luggaged-up riding, I’m sure the bike would benefit from a stiffer spring, though. My set-up figures are in the November 2020 issue.
5
…but it could still be more practical
There is much to love and only a few things to annoy — and sadly, some of them haven’t been fixed from the previous bike. The lack of a centrestand has been a bugbear since 2011 and annoys when I’m loading the panniers or trying to clean the back wheel but its omission allows more cornering clearance and a happier routing for the exhaust and emissions gubbins.
Likewise, not being able to run three-piece luggage isn’t a bind for me as I’m a light-packer. This isn’t a full-dress tourer: it’s a sporty, practical machine that can turn its hand to anything and does most things bloody well while offering excellent value for money.