Kawasaki Z1000SX (2011)

2011sxmark
Reviewed: 14 May 2013

A great all rounder

A very responsive ride with bags of Kawasaki character. Panniers are typical Givi and work well on this bike. Does almost everything you could want solo, perhaps not so 2up, certainly on the sports side of sports touring

A very hard seat that has to be upgraded. Heel guards prone to scratching on a £10K bike - come on Kawasaki!

A great bike and cannot see any reason to change it.

parablob
Reviewed: 08 December 2012

Best street bike that can tour scratch or commute at any time anywhere Blooby fantastic Kawasaki well done

Engine engine engine contols handling quality ,looks fantastic easy to ride jump on and go from crawl walking or warp factor the Sx takes it in its stride, the enine is what makes this bike, The fairing is good and with the screen up i have no bufferting at all , The controls are light and responsive,and the suspension seems to suit this bike and the way i ride

Stock tyre are pants in the cold not passing any feel to the rider,they have the grip but dont inspire no other cons

Having come off a cb1000r on to the naked z1000 in 2010 it was the bike iall ways wanted but found the lack off a fairing allways a pain so after 2 yrs on the Z1000 i could not find any other bike that would come close to it untill i tryed the Z1000Sx now i still have the best street bike but now with the added benifets of more comfort and protection 100% improvment as far as i am concerned

Rob13swe
Reviewed: 18 July 2012

Rather capable sportstourer with a fantastic motor that take you and a passenger on a, not too long, trip.

Suspension is plush and responsive riding two up (although we're not heavyweight).
Good looks and draws a bit of attention.
Great motor! Alot of power down low and still a kick up top!
Fun on a trackday (however, see con about suspension

Paintjob seems a bit prone to get scratched, even frame and heelguards.
High passenger pegs and even if your passenger is small and light she will not be comfortable for long.
Had preload on max even while alone. Suspension is not up to the task, like is often the case.

Good bike with great motor and great looks. Perfect if you don't want to have a sporty riding position but still keep attitude and a bit of abiliy.

However, for me a VFR800 vtec abs (I switched to one) is alot more capable both on touring and on the track. However the engine of the vfr is no loon.

mart69
Reviewed: 04 December 2011

The best allround bike i have owned in years.

Fast, quick to turn into corners, inspires confidence in fast riding, easy to maintain, looks great. suspension easy to adjust, adjustable screen is great fo the motorways.

Seat a little to hard.

all round bike. fast sprty tourer.

erazor_head
Reviewed: 11 February 2011

Smart looks, lightweight sport/tourer, flickable fun but quality no match for VFR1200. More sport than tourer.

Price, looks, weight, flickability, colour scheme

Build quality and finish ok but not quite up to top Hondas. Stock exhaust a bit muted. Dials and mirrors look cheap. Pillion seat has minimal comfort.

Having been a long term VFR800 owner looking for a replacement I was quite interested in trying the Z1000SX. I was fortunate that Bristol Kawasaki asked me to run in a brand new launch model over a very cold weekend. Obviously being brand new with shiny tyres I wasn't about to test it to its limits. My main aim was to do as many miles as possible on winding A roads. First impressions were that it is a really nice looking bike and once on board feels and looks like a Z1000. From the riding position due to the rake of the forks you really can't see any of the fairing. It feels really small despite looking big from the side profile. On the road its handling reminded me of a 400cc with the power of a 1000cc. It is very manouverable at low speed in and out of traffic and on faster A roads really feels solid and planted. I would have loved to open it up but was too respectful of the very few miles on the tach. Just taking it up to 5000rpm however gave some idea of the torque on tap which seems plentiful. After about 70 miles the thinly padded seat started to gripe. The passenger accomodation looks very miniscule and if this bike is to appeal to 40 somethings then I think said middle aged partners of these riders will be complaining. The riding position is more comforable than full on sports bikes and the tank is a reasonable size for covering distances. I had a fun time on the Z1000SX but as I am after more of a tourer than sports bike I've just bought another VFR, 1200 this time.