The Kawasaki Ninja 1000 SX (sold in some markets as the Ninja 1000, Z1000S or Z1000SX) is a motorcycle in the

Ninja A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enem ...

series from the Japanese manufacturer Kawasaki sold since 2011. Other than its name, it is unrelated to the Ninja 1000R produced from , or to other Ninja motorcycles. It is generally characterized as a fully faired sibling of the Z1000

streetfighter A streetfighter, muscle bike, or super naked is a motorcycle of high displacement and horsepower. It is typically a super bike with the fairings and windscreen removed. Beyond simply removing fairings, specific changes that exemplify the stree ...

, sharing the same 1,043cc liquid-cooled, electronic fuel-injected, 16-valve four-stroke

inline-four engine A straight-four engine (also called an inline-four) is a four-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft. The vast majority of automotive four-cylinder engines use a straight-four layout (with the ...

and aluminum twin-tube backbone frame, but with ergonomics, storage, larger fuel tank and other design elements more oriented to the

sport touring Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

market. The Ninja 1000 is also fitted with an electronic

speed limiter A speed limiter is a governor used to limit the top speed of a vehicle. For some classes of vehicles and in some jurisdictions they are a statutory requirement, for some other vehicles the manufacturer provides a non-statutory system which may b ...

, not because it is capable of exceeding the 300 km/h (186 mph) agreed to in the

gentlemen's agreement A gentlemen's agreement, or gentleman's agreement, is an informal and legally non-binding agreement between two or more parties. It is typically oral, but it may be written or simply understood as part of an unspoken agreement by convention or th ...

but apparently to keep its top speed the same as the unfaired and unlimited Z1000.

Class

Kawasaki has positioned the bike as a "sport bike for the real world." As the model will not be

homologated Homologation (Greek ''homologeo'', ὁμολογέω, "to agree") is the granting of approval by an official authority. This may be a court of law, a government department, or an academic or professional body, any of which would normally work f ...

for

racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goa ...

purposes, the designers were free to make compromises for street performance. The Ninja 1000 thus has an upright seating position, large fuel tank, and adjustable windscreen among its features, as well a transmission geared for street-riding as opposed to racing. Nevertheless, it retains the large engine and aggressive styling of a

sport bike A sport bike (sports motorcycle, or sports bike) is a motorcycle designed and optimized for speed, acceleration, braking, and cornering on asphalt concrete race tracks and roads. They are mainly designed for performance at the expense of comfor ...

, and its performance characteristics remain on the sport end of the spectrum, placing its sports-touring type more in competition with bikes like the

Honda VFR1200F The Honda VFR1200F is the 7th generation Honda sport touring motorcycle from the VF and VFR line motorcycles powered by a transverse mounted V4 engine. The VFR1200F has several new technologies including the first dual clutch transmission offere ...

or Triumph Sprint GT as opposed to the Kawasaki's Concours or

Yamaha FJR1300 The Yamaha FJR1300A and FJR1300AE/AS are sport touring motorcycles made by Yamaha Motor Company. Both models have a 1,298 cc inline-four engine. The AE/AS model has an electronically controlled clutch and gear shifting system called YCC-S. Th ...

History

2011-2013

2014-2016

Main highlights of this series was the improved throttle response, and the addition of three-way traction control, along with two power modes as standard. ABS was also offered as an optional extra. Brakes were changed to Tokico with more bite. Suspension received a revised damping rate and shocks received heavier springs - both of which improve the ride quality. Other revisions included changes to the mirrors, seat, panniers and even some tweaks to the induction noise.

2017-2019

The updated 2017 bike received a wider front fairing and a taller wind screen, also the addition of a brighter LED headlight replacing the previous halogen light. New high level electronics include the addition of a six-axis IMU that works with ABS and traction control - all of which is now referred to as Kawasaki's KTRC and KCMF (Kawasaki Cornering Management Function). ABS now comes as standard. The new addition results in a new claimed wet weight of . Compliant with

Euro 4 The European emission standards are vehicle emission standards for pollution from the use of new land surface vehicles sold in the European Union and EEA member states and the UK, and ships in EU waters. The standards are defined in a ser ...

rules, furnished with new styling and capable of competing with Suzuki GSX-S1000F,

KTM KTM AG (Kraftfahrzeug Trunkenpolz Mattighofen, formerly KTM Sportmotorcycle AG) is an Austrian motorcycle, bicycle and sports car manufacturer owned by Pierer Mobility AG and the Indian manufacturer Bajaj Auto. It was formed in 1992 but traces ...

1290 Super Duke GT,

MV Agusta Turismo Veloce The MV Agusta Turismo Veloce is a motorcycle produced by the Italian motorcycle manufacturer MV Agusta. The machine premiered at the 2013 EICMA, but production was delayed due to the financial crisis being experienced by the manufacturer. The mo ...

and the Ducati SuperSport of 2017, the bike will contribute to the regained strength of the sports-touring class. Other changes include a re-designed dash with gear position indicator, changeable rev limiter and ambient temperature sensors. The exhaust system was also changed to conform to the Euro 4 rules.

2020 -

Unlike previous versions which had 2 different names (Z 1000 SX or Ninja 1000) in different countries, the name Ninja 1000 SX now is used in every country. This new version has the following changes : * Single exhaust (on the right-hand side) * Colour TFT dashboard with Bluetooth connectivity * Up/down quickshifter *

Euro 5 The European emission standards are vehicle emission standards for pollution from the use of new land surface vehicles sold in the European Union and EEA member states and the UK, and ships in EU waters. The standards are defined in a seri ...

ready * Cruise control * Thicker seat padding * 4 riding modes : Sport, Road, Rain, Rider (configurable) * Shortened trail () to enhance handling even more * Revised fork internals to improve shock absorption * S22 tyres * Ride by wire (electronic throttle) * Revised camshaft profiles with reduced tappet noise * Two shorter intake funnels on cylinders one and four

Specifications

References

{{Kawasaki motorcycles Ninja 1000 Sport touring motorcycles Motorcycles introduced in 2011