Kawasaki Ninja 1000SX

When it comes to superbikes, Kawasaki is considered to be one of the most aggressive manufacturers. Globally, Kawasaki has the reputation of making big bikes, which are destined to be mean from the moment when their designing is penned. Their motorcycles come embedded with the requirement of having a more mature approach towards biking, whichever bike you pick up from the Green factory. The furiousness in the theories and abilities of Kawasaki can be proven from the fact that the world’s fastest accelerating production motorcycle too belongs to its stable, in the face of Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14R. They are big, brute and animal even in their tame states – that’s the character of these motorcycles. But in India, the bikes we had in sale from this prominent manufacturer over the couple of years, like the Ninja 250R and 650R, although being super quick and capable, but too silent, as they had smaller hearts than their bigger siblings.

Kawasaki, thus, wants to change this perspective for the Indian enthusiasts, and this can be seen by the number of superbikes they have offered in the last financial year. Launching exotic super bikes one after the other, Kawasaki ensured its fans that the need and thirst of the fans of their motorcycles will be quenched aptly, owing to different motorcycles with different characters. And it is where they mean with their wide approach. Even after having two liter class superbikes in the form of Ninja ZX-10R and Z1000, Kawasaki has launched another one – the Ninja 1000. But it is where the real game starts. Whereas the Z1000 is a monster of a street fighter and the ZX-10R is a completely furious animal with frantic power surges, the Ninja 1000, though a wild machine, is a bit milder than ZX-10R thanks to its upright seating posture and a relaxed power delivery, which puts it straight in the category of a sports tourer, which can be a viable option for those riders who don’t want a seriously committed track machine, without compromising on the power and performance. Does it justifies the tag of ‘Ninja’ attached to it? Let’s find out.

If you observe closely the Kawasaki Ninja 1000, you would come to know that it is a full faired version of its naked street fighter counterpart, the Z1000, which it is, as it shares many design cues and body parts with the Z1000. This means that there is no shortage of aggressive design cues and style quotient. Although not fully, it retains many of the styling traits the Z1000 is famous for. The bike looks purposely sharp and even at stand-still, it looks like to be in motion due to its forward aerodynamic design. This bike may not seem as futuristic and unconventionally styled as the Z1000, but still it looks like the bike from the present times and seems modern in every bit. From the front, that “out of the world” headlamp unit of Z1000 is replace by a full, beefy fairing which houses twin angular headlights with incorporated pilot lamps placed in the front cowl. The fairing is dynamically designed with a steep angle to allow those extra advantages of aerodynamics. Above the front headlamp units, a big and large transparent front screen is mounted to avoid wind blasts at towering speeds, which is one of the biggest troubles faced by the Z1000.

There are smartly designed sharp rear view mirrors which are mounted on the front fairing, but unlike the ZX-10R, don’t come incorporated with turn signals. Although the clear lens indicator units have found their position at the top front of the engine fender, which look nice and premium. The front fender and that gorgeously designed muscular fuel tank have been carried out straight away from the Z1000, with the only difference being that is the dual colored side fairing and front fender is a bit larger and extended right along its front suspension forks. The side profile of the motorcycle is further enhanced by the six spoke alloy wheels, though the green striping on wheels as found in other Kawasaki superbikes would have been welcomed. The engine bay and alloy wheels have been given matte black treatment which looks sporty. The exhaust pipes on this motorcycle is a straight lift from the Z1000, which means that the good looking and distinctive dual sided quad shaped twin exhaust pipes find their way to duty here as well. The rear of the motorcycle looks very sporty, accentuated by an octagonal angular LED tail lamp integrated nicely in the rear cowl and clear lens indicators mounted on rear fender. Here, the turn indicators are small and quirkily designed and don’t flourish with the overall sharp design of the motorcycle, and could have been nicely styled. The big and chunky rear tyre amplifies the muscle of the bike. Unlike the ZX-10R, here, the pillion comfort to is taken care of as the alloy split grab rails have found their placement here, along with split seats which are wide and accommodating, assuring its touring credentials.

Kawasaki has played safe with the instrument console on this bike, which features a simple layout, albeit being modern and futuristic and giving all the necessary information. This is a part analog, part digital layout and comes with an analogue tachometer having an illuminated white needle for the rev counter, with the redline setup at 11000 rpm. Accompanying it is an LCD panel which displays digital speedometer, odometer, 2 trip meters and a fuel gauge. The basic telltale lights are nestled above the LCD screen. To sum up, the Ninja 1000 is extremely good looking motorcycle, which the full faired bike lovers will definitely like. Not being too extremely sporty and aggressive as compared to ZX-10R, the Ninja 1000 still comes with all the necessary and good looking styling bits without compromising on the functionality.

The Kawasaki Ninja 1000 is fully loaded with safety features, with ABS, Traction Control, Different riding modes and warning lights offered as standard. This bike comes with all the desired safety features which can be expected from a bike of this price.

This is the arena where the difference between the two liter class bikes from Kawasaki is apparent. Where the Ninja ZX-10R sports a 999cc engine with a wild power output, in comparison, the Ninja 1000 feels calm and composed in nature without falling short in power surges by a large margin. Powering this smart looking motorcycle is 4-stroke, 4-cylinder, DOHC, 16-valve 1043cc engine, which is the same power mill found in its naked sibling, the Z1000. This creamy smooth engine manages to figure out the maximum power output of 140 bhp at 10000 rpm and an utmost torque output is 110 Nm, which comes in at 7300 rpm. Like in the Z1000, the engine is same in character and this bike loves to be revved due to its refinement and responsiveness, even at higher rpms. The engine is tractable enough to make least possible noise if pushed really hard. The refinement is so impeccable that even at triple digit speeds, or say, even after 200 kmph, the engine doesn’t feel panting off the limits and performs really well under controlled NVH levels.

Since the peak torque is available at a lower rpm, the low and mid-range performance are the real strengths of the motorcycle, and the credits for this largely goes to the improved cams and throttle bodies. The super slick 6-speed gearbox with a one down five up pattern, has well matched gear ratios which make the most of the performance at lower rpms on tap. The power delivery, although not as spontaneous as the ZX-10R, still is linear and quick enough to cover up the 0 to 60 kmph in sprint in just 3.8 seconds. This fabulous surge of power gives it an instant throttle response across the whole rev range. With the help of electronics on offer, you can set the mode of power delivery from the three modes on offer – low, mid and full. What makes the things even more interesting is the three stage traction control system (KTRC). With this, you get three riding modes - track mode for riding in dry conditions, second mode for intermediate riding and third mode for riding in slippery conditions. This particular feature makes the bike so easy to ride on our non-uniform road conditions.

One more advantage of the well spread and wide power band is the minimal amount of gear shifts required, thus making it a breeze for riding in traffic as well. This also results in a better fuel economy of 15 kmpl, which is a high figure for superbike standards. This mature and gradual feel of the engine makes it a completely different liter class machine than the other two offerings of Kawasaki, the Ninja ZX-10R and Z1000, and thus making it suitable for fast speed touring purposes and easy to ride motorcycle even for amateurs who sling their leg for the first time on a 1000cc superbike.

This is the particular department where the Ninja 1000 completely outshines the other two 1000cc bikes, ZX-10R and Z1000. Kawasaki has not given a fully committed leaned forward sporty stance for the Ninja 1000 like the ZX-10R, but instead has chosen a more comfortable riding posture for the rider, by offering a raised handlebar with nice feel palm grips and easily reachable rear set foot pegs. The tank cuts are positioned well enough to give knee recesses which can accommodate the rider comfortably. The Ninja 1000 is provided with nicer and softer seats to avoid fatigue for long riding distances. To enhance the high speed stability, Kawasaki has given the facility of adjusting the front windscreen, which can be done as per the choice of rider by just pressing a button present behind the fairing at three different angles. For full throttle actions, the screen can be adjusted to tackle the wind blasts and hence, improve aerodynamics. Sharing the same wheelbase of 1440 mm and frame as that of the Z1000, the Ninja 1000 boasts of some incredible handling and ride qualities, which a touring motorcycle should definitely have in its spades. The bike can flick out like a scalpel even after being a full sized 1000cc sports tourer.

The suspension setup is a fully adjustable 41mm inverted USD telescopic forks at front and a linked mono-shock at rear, which properly maintains the bike at places and absorb all the shocks from the worst of the conditions. The tyres are grippier too, and are the same as those of the Z1000 – a 120/70 x 17 front and 190/50x17 rear, each shodded on 17 inch, 6 spoke alloy wheels. The dual petal disc brakes of 300mm at front and a single 250mm at rear wheel carries out the job of being a fabulous braking unit perfectly. And the presence of ABS only makes the things easier and safer. Though due to the added weight of the fairing and body panels, the slow speed stability is somewhat lesser than the Z1000, but for a full sized tourer, it works excellently.