The others
300 miles on the electric Zero, a trackday on the Ninja 1000SX and the ATAS hits the deck — again
THE LAST 4000-ODD miles have proved that the Ninja 1000SX can do the ‘touring’ part of being a sports tourer well. So far, it has travelled the length of the country, eaten up countless motorway miles and performed with willingness as it cut through Snowdonia and the Pennines. But with 130bhp at the back wheel and reasonable suspension, it has the potential for track work, too. So, with that in mind, I headed to Silverstone for the last trackday of the year.
It’s always a gamble doing a trackday in October and, as the rain beat against my window that morning, I thought it was one I’d already lost. Luckily the Kawasaki’s wonderful integrated panniers are just about big enough for a set of leathers, meaning I could ride there in Gore-tex, while the other pannier carried race gloves, a pressure gauge, a folding stool and enough malt loaf to feed an army. Try doing that on a ZX-10R…
The ride there was typical 1000SX: quick but undemanding, efficient and warmed by the glow of heated grips. Track prep was easy — remove the panniers, let the Metzeler M9
RRS down to 30psi front, 28psi rear and dial in the suspension settings from last month’s long-term report, plus a little extra front compression for composure on the brakes and a bit more rear preload to speed up the steering and help with ground clearance.
Fast group, sir?
Thanks to a bit of racing experience (a long time ago), the SX and I had been placed in the fast group and I felt a bit conspicuous lining up outside the soaking Wing Complex on Silverstone’s GP circuit. Around me were full-on trackbikes boasting fresh wets and lairy-looking riders, but I needn’t have worried. On the streaming track, the Kawasaki was a revelation and it was all down to what makes it so great on the road.
The Metzelers had abundant feel, traction and confidence, while the chassis allowed me to carve the kind of smooth, unflustered lines that work well in the wet. And all the time I was aided by the smoothest of power deliveries and enough torque so most corners had a choice of gears without affecting drive on the exit. Perfect. Obviously, good riders on superbikes fitted with wets would walk away but, as I gained in confidence, I started to reel in a few bikes and had a great little game of chase with a mate on his R1M. He was struggling with confidence on his more track-focussed tyres but my Metzelers gave me all the support I needed. See, who needs a £20k superbike to have fun on the track?
Drying up
As the day went on, the track dried and the Kawasaki delivered, and that’s partly thanks to the new tarmac. After the disaster of a cancelled Motogp in 2018, Silverstone resurfaced the track and the result is grippy, smooth and drains well.
As the late-afternoon sun burnt through, there was enough grip to fully load the Kawasaki – and it still didn’t feel out of its depth on a GP track running with the sportsbikes. Driving hard, tucked in, playing with the quickshifter, I’d see 148mph before the braking marker for Stowe and 51° of lean before ground clearance stopped play at Luffield and Beckett’s; real fun to be had.
Impressive for a comfortable, well-appointed bike. Session over, I re-packed my leathers in the panniers, turned on the heated grips and headed home. Sports AND touring? Done.
‘On a streaming track, the Ninja was a revelation’