News 3 Mar 2017

Review: 2017 Kawasaki Ninja 1000

CycleOnline.com.au test rides the 2017 Kawasaki Ninja 1000.

Words: Matthew Shields

Kawasaki sports-tourers have always been excitingly and effortlessly fast and sporty machines to ride. Perhaps it’s because most of my Kawasaki experience has been since the 90s when you could argue whether the ZZR-1100 or GPz1100 was the better sports-tourer. After the GPz came the ZRX1200R – which was more old-school 80s superbike – in the early 2000s while the ZZR-1100 made became the ZX-14 – a big, fast, good handling sportsbike. That all changed in 2011 with the introduction of the Ninja 1000, a machine now in its third generation.

When the Ninja first came on the market the sports-tourer genre was becoming one that was highly varied in style and performance. With the prerequisite of a fairing, comfort, exciting performance and handling, there are many, many new motorcycles that could be considered sports-tourers. But Kawasaki’s new bike raised the bar in every respect when it came to the Ninja 1000. While it may have had a sporty-style, it was comfortable, easy to load up with a gear and pillion, ride day in, day out and at the same time a weapon at speed or in the twisties.

Image: Alex Gobert (Foremost Media).

Kawasaki perfected the balance of sport and touring with the new Ninja 1000 on its release and has gone about improving the recipe ever since. In 2014 the Ninja got traction control, adjustable power settings, new panniers, suspension and brakes. This improved the original model in the areas where it had started to fall behind the newer competition on the market. In much the same vein the updates for 2017 have seen an improvement to the electronics, styling and comfort.

One thing that hasn’t changed is how fast, easy and confidence-inspiring the Ninja 1000 is to ride in any situation – touring, commuting, wet, dry, solo or two-up. The new electronic package played a big part in me forming that opinion after experiencing a full range of conditions aboard the bike. The latest generation IMU – by measuring what the bike is doing more precisely – ensures a totally fluid traction-control system. There are three different settings and between riding in torrential rain on the highway and fanging it in the dry on a twisty piece of perfect tarmac, it worked well and wasn’t abrupt.

The engine performance might be 40kW down on a superbike but torque is much the same as one. Torque is what matters on the road and the 2017 Ninja 1000 has had its ECU settings revised to make things smoother. Torque comes on strongly from idle and it’ll pull from top gear at 40km/h. Below 6000rpm it is more tourer than sportsbike in its character but that soon changes with the noticeable induction roar as the engine speed rushes towards redline. At highway speeds the bike isn’t vibey or noisy and you could effortlessly do tank-to-tank runs without feeling any pains.

Image: Alex Gobert (Foremost Media).

Aside from the external electronic influences on the engine, the mill is the same as the previous generation with a smooth operating six-speed gearbox, assist & slipper clutch and two power modes that have enough variation to call them Sport and Touring for how they feel and work. The new electronics also allow for cornering ABS (KIBS: Kawasaki Intelligent anti-lock Brake System) which will mitigate rear wheel lift under heavy braking. As the name suggests, it also helps keeping everything in-line braking in corners and against my natural instincts I could feel it working hard on the brakes tipping into corners.

The only chassis change is a 5mm shorter wheelbase and a 5mm lower seat height thanks to a new shock linkage and revised shim stack in the rear shock. Otherwise the whole package is the same sharp, stable and compliant package as the previous model. The overall feel is sporty enough to make a mountain pass exciting and when you hit the backroads the suspension eats up the harshest bumps you can throw at it. The brakes have good bite and with the extra electronic back-up you can use everything the big four-spot have to offer.

Image: Alex Gobert (Foremost Media).

The big styling change is hinged around the sharp new LED headlights which work superbly at night. The riders seat is wider, the pillion seat is longer and the padding in both is new and improved. On a tank to tank run I didn’t feel a hint of soreness even though the riding position was sporty when I wanted it to be. The three-position fairing screen gives good wind buffeting when up high and lets a lot of air past when down low. The wider fairing – about three centimetres – was good enough to keep a little bit of me dry after a 150km freeway run in torrential rain.

Cruise control is the only thing that seems like an obvious oversight on this model update but its absence is not enough of a reason to detract from the overall performance of this machine. For 2017 Kawasaki has brought the Ninja 1000 back to the forefront of the sports-touring segment with one very fast, comfortable, sharp and versatile package – just what you want a sports-tourer to be.

Specifications


Capacity: 1043cc
Power: 105kW @ 10,000rpm
Torque: 111Nm @ 7300rpm
Wet weight: 235kg
Seat height: 815mm
Fuel capacity: 17L
Price: $16,299 (plus on-roads)
Detailed specs: www.kawasaki.com.au

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