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Dealer has an SX in stock - time for decision, but have a few questions for you all

14K views 237 replies 37 participants last post by  1hr_ride 
#1 ·
My local dealer has just gotten a 1000SX in stock. As mentioned previously in the New Member thread, I'm 74 (but fit...5'10", 145 lbs...work out regularly, eat well) and considering trading my '17 BMW S1000RR for the SX, mainly for comfort plus sportbike performance.

I've read previously that the seat and windscreen are two "cons" to this bike. What say you? I can ride my S1000RR for 300 miles in the mountains and don't find the seating all that uncomfortable, so if the Kawi seat is as bad as some say I might have to reconsider my plan to trade. Also, the windscreen...this is a problem for a lot of bikes, not just the SX. Is an aftermarket screen going to be required to keep wind noise within reason. My RR's screen is the taller BMW screen and with it my head is in mostly clear air. Is the SX screen throwing turbulent air into your helmet?

Finally...tell me what you DON'T like about the SX. I'm already leaning toward it because of the things people DO like.

Thank you all!!
 
#2 ·
Just get the 1000SX, you won't regret it. What I don't like is overwritten by what I like.

Besides, I get to spend more time riding it rather than baby-sitting German machineries in the garage.
I was an avid BMW person and have had enough of baby-sitting vehicles.
I bought cars/SUV/bikes to ride, not do baby-sitting.
 
#3 ·
I'm 75 and 5/6th. I changed the rear seat for my wife, but I use the factory from seat. I also use the factory wind screen. However I'm 5'7" so you being taller may want a taller screen. Myself I like clean air, so the factory works for me one stop down from the highest. No pet peeves, it's the second best bike I have owned out of about 50!
 
#4 ·
I love my SX! The seat was slightly painful as the ridges on the seat put pressure on my hamstrings, but a thousand miles later the seat is perfect. No more pain. Spent 6 hours on it the other day, no complaints. I replaced the windshield with a Puig and keep it on the 2nd from the lowest setting. Perfect for highway and all other riding conditions. My helmet is in clean air and my body is well protected. The windshield gets loud in the 3rd and 4th positions. The wind also starts to tug at my shoulders in the more vertical settings.
 
#5 · (Edited)
You're right to think the seat isn't that great and you'll probably want to replace it like most of us have but once you have you'll have the bike you described as wanting. Besides, you should have enough money left after the BMW->Ninja swap to afford a great seat (or get it redone to your liking). It's cheaper/easier to change the seat than the paint color.

I got my first N1k 10 years ago at 64 and still riding one (with an aftermarket seat). I'm still doing pretty easy 400-500 mile days in our mountains (and Oregon's and California's and western Canada's mountains).
 
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#13 ·
My local dealer has just gotten a 1000SX in stock. As mentioned previously in the New Member thread, I'm 74 (but fit...5'10", 145 lbs...work out regularly, eat well) and considering trading my '17 BMW S1000RR for the SX, mainly for comfort plus sportbike performance.

I've read previously that the seat and windscreen are two "cons" to this bike. What say you? I can ride my S1000RR for 300 miles in the mountains and don't find the seating all that uncomfortable, so if the Kawi seat is as bad as some say I might have to reconsider my plan to trade. Also, the windscreen...this is a problem for a lot of bikes, not just the SX. Is an aftermarket screen going to be required to keep wind noise within reason. My RR's screen is the taller BMW screen and with it my head is in mostly clear air. Is the SX screen throwing turbulent air into your helmet?

Finally...tell me what you DON'T like about the SX. I'm already leaning toward it because of the things people DO like.

Thank you all!!
Hi BEARR,
Firstly, how about clearly saying if your SX is the current version or a pre 2020 version ??? Many here refer to their older bike Z1000SX when they hear Ninja 1000 said.
Windscreens are very much not the same between old and new. I had the later currently new 2020 version, and it's windscreen in the lowest position was like riding a Naked bike.
I am 1800 mm tall, 6' for the non metric here, and approaching 70.
The screen got noisier as the angle of the screen cranked up. It doesn't get higher, as in vertically, just angles forward to become more vertical.
Seat is OK for the time most people ride till they need a stretch of the legs or re fuel. In my opinion, the seat height is too high. 25 mm lower would be ideal to lower weight on the hands.
Comfort comes via the excellently supple suspension - a magic carpet ride that the older Z1000SX did not have apparently.

What did I like least, you ask ?
Overpriced, Overweight, and lacking in instant bottom end power at lower RPM's. It's not a sportsbike, it's a fat sports tourer that could easily loose 25 kg from the bodywork and frame.
It's certainly NOT a S1000RR made with a Kawasaki badge.

Rob.
 
#16 ·
The s1000rr sells for 20k..closer to 25k, all in, if you get a good deal . The Ninja? You should be otd for 13k. Maybe even 15 if you pay Covid prices.

Is there anyone in the world who would mistake one for the other. Even if price was the only thing they knew?
 
#17 ·
Weighing in here. I've got a '21 1000sx and absolutely love it. The OEM seat is fantastic for me (6'4" 220 pounds). I swapped out of the OEM extended windscreen and like it as well.

What I don't like? Not much. The quickshifter is garbage. It's ok going up but terrible going down. Seems like it's tuned for pure track riding. The Kawi Rideology app is hot fu%^ing garbage. Not even worth installing. IDK about their new SPIN app though. Hopefully that one's better? The brakes are a bit soft for my taste, but still plenty good. The cruise control is a bit finicky, but again, not a big deal. I'm really nitpicking here. The N1K is an amazing bike.
 
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#22 ·
Weighing in here. I've got a '21 1000sx and absolutely love it. The OEM seat is fantastic for me (6'4" 220 pounds). I swapped out of the OEM extended windscreen and like it as well.

What I don't like? Not much. The quickshifter is garbage. It's ok going up but terrible going down. Seems like it's tuned for pure track riding. The Kawi Rideology app is hot fu%^ing garbage. Not even worth installing. IDK about their new SPIN app though. Hopefully that one's better? The brakes are a bit soft for my taste, but still plenty good. The cruise control is a bit finicky, but again, not a big deal. I'm really nitpicking here. The N1K is an amazing bike.
For the OP, I find the stock seat on my 2021 N1K very comfortable. The stock windscreen was noisy and ugly, so I replaced it with a Puig racing screen. Now it's noisy a pretty. I usually keep it at the lowest level as that allows clean air on my helmet for less noise. I just have to tuck in a bit if I'm aggressively passing "slower" traffic.

As for the quick shifter, mine has been flawless both up and down when used as designed. Easily one of my favorite features. On down shifts, you just have to have the throttle completely closed, and don't try to down shift under 25-30mph. On upshifts just be on the throttle and it clicks cleanly up. The cruise control is also excellent, although mine stays engaged with anything short of a full brake application. The throttle allows about 1/4" negative turn, and this dissengages the CC instantly. It also allows the cleanest downshift with the quickshifter.

I love the bike, and would buy it again today.
 
#18 ·
I think the funniest thing I've ever read was when one of our Houston guys talked about Kawasaki's app . If I'm not mistaken, he recommended downloading the Yamaha app to your phone. He said it worked better.

A question. Is it cost prohibitive to have apple, or Google build a OEM motorcycle app that works? You know how they have Brembo build brakes, fcc build clutches, why not let the experts do what they do best?
 
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#21 · (Edited)
I believe it has to do with the fact that BEAR is coming off an S1000RR and for some reason it looks like he's asking how that compares to a Ninja 1000.

Obviously the Ninja weighs 50lbs more, is way slower, won't handle as good and is more comfortable. It's like going from a Porsche GT3 to a Mercedes S Class sedan.
 
#28 ·
I'm sure you know 300 miles in the mountains is not exactly the same as 300 miles superslabbing on boring interstate. I've ridden bikes that were rather painful for more than an hour at a stretch, on my way out of town to the twisties. Once I got to the twisties and start moving around on the bike, the bike was painful no longer. So... IMO a lot depends on how you intend on riding the new bike.

As far as screens go, my experiences with sport touring bikes of this sort - and I've had quite a few - is either to keep the screen low and get clean air flow to the helmet (like a sportbike), or get the tallest, albeit ugliest, screen to get as much of the dirty disrupted air off the rider as possible. Anything in the middle is gonna end up noisy at speed.

What I don't like about the bike? The incessant inline4 buzz at higher RPMs is about the only niggle I can throw at the N1k. Kawi has done a good job refining it over the yrs.

Honestly, if I were you, I would keep an eye on the GSX-S1000GT as well. If I didn't already have my '18 N1k, I'd have a tough time deciding between the two.
 
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#31 ·
I'm sure you know 300 miles in the mountains is not exactly the same as 300 miles superslabbing on boring interstate. I've ridden bikes that were rather painful for more than an hour at a stretch, on my way out of town to the twisties. Once I got to the twisties and start moving around on the bike, the bike was painful no longer. So... IMO a lot depends on how you intend on riding the new bike.

As far as screens go, my experiences with sport touring bikes of this sort - and I've had quite a few - is either to keep the screen low and get clean air flow to the helmet (like a sportbike), or get the tallest, albeit ugliest, screen to get as much of the dirty disrupted air off the rider as possible. Anything in the middle is gonna end up noisy at speed....
+1 on both points. .

The issue that I struggle with (on point #1) is that i have to ride 2 hours to get to my favorite twisties area. My current solution is to just take more remote roads and not the state highway.

On point #2, I also use a set of custom molded earplugs to cut down on helmet wind noise and run the windscreen at the lowest setting.
 
#29 ·
How's the QS downshift when you rev-match?

In my experience with an aftermarket QS, you only should be using upshift at high rpms when you're close to WOT. Otherwise it will be clunky, and do not go from 1st to 2nd with it.. Another thing is the kill times are manufacturer spec. You can adjust the times once the ECU has been cracked.
 
#30 ·
My QS must be a bit better tuned than some others. I don't have to be WOT to upshift not even close. It's not that clunky (except of course from 1st to 2nd). It's timing is a bit more than a race setup, but then it's not a race bike. Downshift don't need a closed throttle although pretty close to it. I wouldn't want it on a race bike, but for this street sport tourer it seems fine to me. When I bought the bike I didn't think I would even engage the QS. I tried it out and used it about 50% of the time, then as time went on I know find myself using it for except the 1-2 gears, as most often the wife is on and I usually launch slower and smoother.
 
#212 ·
This is exactly how I find mine. I don’t need to be at WOT. I up shift and varying throttle positions. From 1-2 it’s harsh/abrupt like you said, at lower speeds with not much throttle opening. If I am launching it it’s fine. Down shifts are good too with closed throttle or almost closed. Slow speeds around town it’s not great but it isn’t meant for slower speeds.
 
#34 ·
The Ninja 1000sx covers the user group that want a multipurpose bike that is capable of a wide range of uses. That's not defined by age, but by use case. There does seem to be a larger percentage of folks with "advance wisdom" that find the wide range use case appealing. IMO if you look at all of the available products out there it is hard pressed to find a better performance/price ratio than the N1K. Interesting is that it seems this market segment is recently getting more attention (e.g. GSX-S1000GT, BMW S1000XR, KTM super duke GT, etc). I'm getting the feeling that the market is shaping up to be the MX/adventure crowd, sportbike/sport tourer crowd, and the basic bike transportation segment.

I'm 6' 180lbs. Seat is fine, not the best but good enough to do hours in the saddle. Who cares about the stock screen, find one that works for you. Ergonomics are fine, performance is fine, controls are fine, display is fine...... It's a fine machine that is about as versatile as you can get with proven reliability and a purchase price that's hard to beat.
 
#35 ·
I ride an older version of this bike... a 2012 with no electronic aids (not even ABS). It is the Jack-of-all-Trades bike... I've toured, tracked, commuted, canyon carved, and bike-nighted successfully. I can say from experience though, that it does not do well off road and will gladly throw you off! Lol. o_O But being the JOAT, it does not do any of these things the best. For me, that is fine. It goes fast enough to get me arrested or killed and have fun the whole time without being uncomfortable at the end of the day. I changed the things I didn't like (windscreen, brake pads, and geometry), and adapted to others (rubber mounted pegs, stock seat) and have really enjoyed our 10 years together. I have liked many other bikes, but not enough to replace this one. If I had the means, I would have more than one bike. But because I do not, I have found this one the best for how I ride most of the time.
 
#38 ·
Seems like most of the important topics have been covered- geometry, seat, comfort, power, etc. A couple details that I noticed.

The bike does not feel planted at speeds over 120mph. On a true sport bike (like your S1000RR) you're accustomed to going 150mph and feeling glued to the road. Not with this bike. Anything above 120 mph, it feels like the bike is floating- steering is soft, handlebars wobble, the whole bike feels like it's catching a ton of air. It's mainly because of the geometry of the bike, there's not much that can be done about it. My CBR600RR made me feel glued to the pavement at those speeds, I felt very secure. I took my Ninja up to 156 mph on the speedo and while it was fun, it wasn't as steady and secure as I would have liked. So, if you're looking for a high speed cruiser, a ZX-14 or a Hayabusa is probably more your speed. But, the S1000RR probably feels smooth as butter all the way up to 190mph.

Otherwise it's a fantastic bike- and obviously the main reason I got the bike isn't to break speed records, but there are plenty of times when I want to book it, and being able to ride at high speeds for a sustained period is a plus.
 
#44 ·
My 2021 is rock stable at high speed. I'm lucky to have some very long, straight back roads that run between open fields. No risk of cross traffic, deer, or patrol. This is too tempting to resist, so I've seen an indicated 150 on numerous occasions, and was shocked each time I saw it. Did NOT think I was going anywhere near that fast.
 
#39 ·
My N1K feels completely planted all the way to top speed which so far has been 156 indicated.
 
#41 ·
Same with my 2020, WOT it behalves, no not like the zx14r, but there is no adverse concerning handling, it takes a while, but that would be expected, and yes my suspension is tuned for me.
 
#42 ·
From a BMW S1000RR to a Ninja 1000? That would be a leap of faith I’d never make. Chalk and cheese. Day and night.

If you are sure you want to enter the sport tourer segment you should check out the 2022 Suzuki GSX S1000GT. The engine, frame and suspension are far sportier than on the Ninja 1000.
 
#43 ·
Looking at that bike. My first sportbike was a Suzuki, back in 1983. But, yeah, the RR is an amazing bike. I've got almost 20,000 miles on it, and other than a new chain, tires and sparkplugs, it's been relatively "cheap" to own. And that engine...
 
#48 ·
I guess I'm saying comparatively speaking. I'm not saying the bike can't be ridden at those speeds or anything like that. The OP has an S1000RR though so from his frame of reference, the N1K is not going to be as stable at high speeds simply because of the aerodynamics of the bike and its geometry. The handlebars are much higher and the rider sits in a much higher position than on a pure sport bike like a ZX-10R or comparable.
 
#49 ·
The bikes geometry isn't bad, and rhe front end is steady, but I hear what you are saying.

On this style bike, or even anaked bike, you are sitting straight up and your body catches a lot of air. This removes weight from the front, and pushes it to the back. Suspension set up starts to become very important.
 
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