SUPER SHARP NINJA COMES OUT FIGHTING

One of my key rules of life, apart from to chase the cat up the stairs at least once a day while humming The Holly and the Ivy, is to do one thing well rather than two things badly.

Which is why I never really took to the Ninja 1000SX’S predecessor, the Z1000SX. Its small screen left you a bit too windblown for touring and its handling wasn’t quite sharp enough for a sports bike.

Mind you, I was in a minority of one, since although it wasn’t perfect, decent performance at a budget price saw it become the UK’S best selling sports tourer and account for half of all sports tourers sold in Europe, so it was obviously time for a fresh look at its latest incarnation.

First impressions were good – it’s been restyled for a sharper look in tune with the rest of the Ninja range, and a welcome addition is a neat 4.3in TFT screen which has all the information you need.

The seating position is perfectly neutral, allowing you to either sit up, cruise and smell the roses, or hunker down for some serious fun in the twisties.

And fun it is. Even riding off, it’s immediately obvious that the tweaked steering geometry, with slightly steeper rake and shortened trail, has improved the previously cumbersome low-speed handling.

At speed it’s as light and precise as a scalpel just back from the grinders. The two-way quickshifter worked brilliantly at high revs, but refused to play ball a few times downshifting through town. Still, with a new and slightly lighter clutch, it wasn’t a hardship.

The engine, meanwhile, is a beauty. I’d forgotten just how smooth and creamy the delivery of grunt from a four was, and this has a big fat dollop of it in the mid-range, just where you want it.

The front brakes are great, and unlike on the same company’s Z900, there’s excellent bite and feel from the rear for trailing into downhill corners or preventing helmet-bashing if riding with your significant other.

All in all it’s a significant improvement on its predecessor, and I’ll bet even more popular as a machine for fast, fun and comfortable touring.

Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s time for the cat’s daily exercise.

Kawasaki Ninja 1000SX

Price: from £10,999

Engine: 1043cc liquidcooled inline four

Power: 140bhp @ 10,000rpm

Torque: 82 lb ft @ 8,000rpm

Colours: Green; white; black; grey; grey/black

Geoff Hill @ghillster Fraser Addecott @Mirrorbiker

TWOSOME More than enough power and comfort for two-up touring

ANCHORS With big twin discs up front stopping power is great