Value for Money Sport Tourer

Value for Money Sport Tourer

Writing this review after clocking 14,000 km on my 2022 Ninja 1000SX. To start with, very comfortable bike for long-distance touring. It was a little intimidating in beginning due to its size and weight but as you ride the bike everything falls into place and gets your confidence. Seat height is comfortable for someone more than 5.8” tall and 235 kgs of weight is properly distributed, only will feel the weight while manoeuvring bikes in parking or at tight U-turns. The electronic package put this bike a true value-for-money machine but at the same time needs to be very careful with cables and sensors. The engine is silky smooth in whatever gear and speed you ride. Heat management is fine and manageable for such a large engine.
Ground clearance was the biggest issue due to the big catalyst convertor, it scraps almost all speed breakers and I changed to full system Akrapovic exhaust, making the bike lighter and adding much-needed ground clearance. Quickshifter makes the bike more fun, upshifts are fine but downshift is not as smooth and also don’t work below 2500 rpm. The stock windshield is adequate but above 140 kms/h you can feel a lot of wind blasts hitting your helmet no matter if you keep it in what setting. I was quite surprised with the way the bike performed on corners, it feels so simple and easy on curves that you tend to forget the bike’s weight and on highways it’s so stable thanks to the weight here.
Due to the early steering lock and the weight of the bike, one needs to be careful during tight U-turns for the first few months of ownership. Fuel consumption is decent for a litre class bike, I get somewhere around 18 to 19 km per litre but Kawasaki recommends 95 octane fuel for their litre class bikes which is a little more costly than normal petrol.
Kawasaki's general service is ok but parts are very expensive and also not readily available which will frustrate users.
Overall, hand down Ninja 1000SX is the best sports tourer currently available in India. It has got all the electronic packages to keep you safe and a great suspension and engine to cruise our highways at a good speed and comfortably. If someone has shortlisted Ninja 1000SX then please go ahead with the purchase it will bring a smile every time you swing your legs on it. Period.