2017 Kawasaki Ninja 1000 review

I always look forward to testing a big Kawasaki – big engine, lots of green and stability and neutral steering all day, in all conditions. Good fuel range, rock solid front end, quality seat and great brakes. It’s always a pleasure. The Z1000SX, aka the Ninja 1000, Kawasaki’s latest big girl, ticks all those boxes – except one.

The engine is a beauty, of course. It has ample bottom end grunt and top end push (a claimed 141hp) that simply fries your brain – it’s the kind of top-end rush you ride big bikes for. Point at horizon, then make said horizon bigger, quickly – the Ninja 1000 simply becomes high speed.

With fresh premium fuel in her, the Kawasaki is sweet off the bottom of the throttle range and I really enjoyed cruising the bike at freeway speeds, something it’s really built for. It does it all reasonably miserly, too, with my extended test period yielding around 350km a tank, more than enough for decent fuel range between fuel stops on interstate trips.

2017 KAWASAKI NINJA 1000 PRICE AND SPECS

Trouble brewing
I enjoyed the ride position, too, as would your pillion with solid grab rails and a decent perch. It is a low seat height, something manufacturers are aiming at these days as they know riders want that. The 2017 Kawasaki Ninja 1000 has actually gone as far as a new rear shock linkage to help reduce seat height by a claimed 30mm – and this could be where my trouble with this bike starts.

As mentioned, I love my Kawasaki front ends, including my first big roadbike, a ZXR750 (’89 H2) and even my ZZ-R250 and KX250 motocross front ends from back in the day! But this bike, not so much.

The first 10 metres on this bike, I thought I had a flat front tyre so I deviated straight to a servo. Tyre pressures were fine. Weird. I set off again, and found the bike likes to hold its front end high, needs forcing off the straight ahead to turn before dropping on its side and then has a distinctly remote feeling there, as well as the fact it needs to be physically held down when cornering. Must be my test unit, I figured, so the bike went back to Kawasaki. Yep, it felt that bad.

I had the bike returned, assured it is as it should be and – same thing. I wound the rear remote preload adjuster up and down trying to make it better, I wound the fork’s compression damping to full – the fork is very soft – played with the spring preload and tried everything I knew.

I ended with it feeling marginally better, but still nowhere near the excellent front end manners of the Z900 or Z1000 I have so recently ridden. Very un-Kawasaki and not very confidence-inspiring, at low, high or medium speed.

So what is it? Without an official explanation, my feeling from three weeks on this bike is that a combination of a too-low rear linkage and a too-soft fork has led to the unthinkable – a bad-handling Kawasaki!

Happily, I reckon a new linkage and heavier fork springs would have the Kawasaki handling more like its brethren, the track record of which has been so good it makes this bike stand out – just not in a good way.

Typical Kwaka
That front end is disappointing, particularly because the rest of the bike is typically weapons-grade Kawasaki Big Girl engineering.

The Kawasaki method of toggling through the electronics is still good, and the addition of an Inertia Measurement Unit (IMU) for 2017 means the bike has all the clever stuff, such as cornering ABS and angle-sensitive traction control, as well as the engine power mode options of the model before.

I left the bike in “high” power apart from to test low power and yes, it has less power. The throttle response is better in High, and that’s where the engine feels best.

The brakes are excellent as usual and cornering ABS is a lovely back-up to your standard ABS, however I can’t admit to testing it as I didn’t feel happy the front end would let me brake into a corner hard. In a straight line, full force front braking is a sweet place to be and that’s a good thing on a bike with so much grunt.

Nice touches
The cockpit is well-thought-out, with features that will endear this bike to the target market in these areas. The adjustable screen is simple, but such a great thing to be able to adjust. If you’ve ever spent three hours on a bike with a windshield directing the breeze straight into your visor and creating an almighty racket, then you’ll know what I speak of.

With the Kawasaki, I just set the screen in a position that wasn’t blowing a storm at my ears and was done with it. It was also handy when on one ride I ended up getting spat on with drizzle – I adjusted the screen up to help deflect some of it and was thankful for some extra protection.

On that day, the wider fairing was also welcome – squeezing more air away from the legs than before and still looking good from most angles. It is obviously more bulbous than before and looks it, but the nose is still sharp and very, very Kawasaki Heavy Industries. Overall, the new bodywork is a winner for me.

The remote preload adjuster is a nice touch for something that is going to do duty with and without pillion and luggage depending on the job at hand. It does have a million steps, however, and it would be more effective to have a smaller, more defined range in my option.

The all-new instrument panel is a winner, looking less like the alarm clock some panels have become on other bikes and more like a functional motorcycle instrument panel. I much prefer this style tacho, too, than the led bar-style Kawasaki has favoured in recent years.

Geared up
The gear position indicator is gold as well, as the engine is so capable across the revs and gearbox you are never sure which gear you are in! I ran the traction control in the least intrusive setting most of the time and when it was the most intrusive, it was too much so for me, mainly because bumpy roads can play havoc with the sensors, thinking wheel speed is too different and therefore chopping power.

With the screen up, the throttle pinned and the helmet under the bubble while the 1043cc engine does its legwork, the Z1000SX is the bargain-priced sports tourer it’s meant to, and the addition of the IMU-fed electronics, updated engine and new bodywork is worthwhile value for the $16,299 asking price.

Unfortunately, however, the handling of this bike is sub-par. It’s not in the ballpark of what I expect from Kawasaki, a brand that has delivered such solid front ends as those of the entire ZXR range, the ZX-12R and even the previous model of the Z1000SX – a bike that is much better to ride in every situation than this model.

I’d love to try a different linkage and front springs in this bike, as it really feels like a geometry problem to me. Dropping the forks through the clamps isn’t an option as there is little room to move there (the handlebar raisers get in the way) and it’s not the tyres, I have ridden plenty of bikes with the Bridgestone S20 rubber and grip-not-withstanding, never had the reluctance to turn, want-to-stand-up behaviour and sheer lack of mid-turn feel.

I have ridden some great green machines lately, the Z900 of particular note, however while this bike has all the hallmarks of a great sportstourer at an excellent price, until Kawasaki does something about the steering, the bike will not be able to reach its potential. Next year’s bike will be interesting to ride!

Shame, I really like my Kawasakis, however this bike is flawed to a point I just can’t recommend it to anyone not prepared to spend time and money on the suspension set-up.

RELATED READING: 2014 NINJA 1000 REVIEW