2024 Kawasaki Ninja 1000SX Performance Tourer Review: The best sport touring bike? 

After being a devoted VFR800 fan for many years, I have been riding an older ('12) of these for several years now and I have completely converted. I commute daily on it in all weathers, I've done day rides out in the country and mutliday trips. It had 2600km when I got it, and it's just past 55 000km now. It's an excellent bike, that exemplifies the sport tourer. I have tested the new model, and would buy one in an instant if I could ever get the money together. Glad you enjoyed it.

Kate, you absolutely nailed that review. Especially about the quick shifter and 3000 revs. Not many reviewers touch on that. You are very good at what you do. The passion for bikes also comes through. ***People you need to subscribe*** I own one and I bought it because it ticked so many boxes. But after owning it and putting some miles down, it has really blown me away with how good it is. In the corners it obviously isn’t as sharp as a Zx. But it will be much better than you think. You will be looking for the twisties on this beauty. The smooth power and smooth suspension just makes it a delight to do any road riding. I have the lower seat and the standard seat. Longer miles the standard seat is more comfortable. Better/more padding. However, for commuting or less than a 2 hour trip the short seat is much more comfortable. The foam is better cut for getting your feet does. The standard has a way of protruding into your thighs in stop start traffic. I keep the short seat on, unless I’m planning a long trip. I’ve owned many adventure bikes, but went to try this. Aside from the ninja being much better to look at than any adv bike IMO it is also a lot more fun to ride. The ADV is more comfortable (mainly in the legs) and in most cases easier to work on. The ninja just has character when comparing the 2 styles. I feel you just enjoy the ride more while getting to your destination. I find myself glancing back at it every time I walk away from it. That means a lot. The wind shield. It is there to keep wind off your body, not head for most of us. I’m between 5 11 and 6 foot. I put it on the second lowest and I get clean wind. High position the noise is too much. This is where adv bike would be better if you don’t like to have your head in the wind. Personally, having your head in the wind is a big part of riding. Yes, I’m really looking forward to the comparison with the Suzi.

Hi Kate great review as always and I gotta say I particularly love the outtakes, it reminds me of old movies where the outtakes were almost better than the movies themselves, cheers!

Loved the review Kate, you nailed it the bike is a super perfect to ride and never feels lacking. Cheers Paul

Really glad you enjoyed your time on the Ninja 1000sx. I bought one a couple of years ago and have been all over Wales, up to Yorkshire and the highlight was going to the Picos in Northern Spain (you must go if you haven't already Kate!!). Love this bike and it's even better now I have a full system on it. Loud but not deafening. Brilliant bike and under rated (even though they sell by the bucket load) and from one shorty to another (I'm only 5'6") the low seat is brilliant 😁😁

Great to see you on the green side ,hope you get to those H2 SX and ZH2 SE soon ,my mate has one of these and I must admit I've been really impressed by it and Dam it can shift when you want it to ,plenty of grunt ,well thanks Kate for another great review and can't wait to see your girly wk end on it

A nice review - thanks. Kawasaki really are producing some excellent bikes at the moment.

Hi, your review is without a doubt the best presented i have ever watched. Im very impressed. Ive watched plenty of harley ones as that is what i currently ride, but yours was extreemly practical and, as i said earlier, well presented. Top job.👍

Going down the gears you have to close the throttle completely, if you don’t you get that resistance you experienced. I have that model and that works for me pretty much every time. Great vid. 👌

I bought mine at the end of last summer and hardly rode it until very recently due to the lousy weather. I think your assessment is spot on, and I agree completely with your conclusions. I hope I can at least put 600 miles on mine this year and catch you up. I love it so far, it's my first sports tourer after a lifetime of sports bikes (I still have a ZX7-R) and I love the comfort and the smoothness. An excellent bike and an excellent review.

Thank you for the review on the knox clothing, the summer gear specifically. It is always useful to hear someone opinion on the sizing. I have the opposite to you. I have a 34 length leg requirement. Since I intend to ride somewhere warm next year to celebrate my 60th birthday.

Another great review Kate. My wife has a 2017 sx1000 from new she loves it. The OEM bridgestone are not great it wants to drop in all the time l did not want to ride. But changed to Metzler 02 different bike altogether. You can get a USB insert for the socket. The bike handles well.

amazing video as always, i love watching your reviews they are very informative and hones, you trips always just look so much fun. question.. have you done a review on the versys 1000 se grand tourer? im intersted in getting my hands on one i have an xsr700 doesnt have the luggage space :D i would be interested to know your thoughts on that bike.

Great to see you reviewing this as I own a 2020 one of these in Green. The only year they actually did a proper green bike. It's the same but it came with a satnav mount not a phone mount. Before this I had a 2018 model SX version and the Ninja is a better machine in many ways and was worth the upgrade and it's a great sports tourer.

An impressive review. Covers all the issues someone touring wants to know.

Hey up Kate, hope you're well. Thx for this new vid, great as always. I'm looking forwards to the Northumberland 250 vid as I just got the map and thinking about doing it this summer after my Lakes trip. Any road up, you mentioned gritty roads?... Are the roads bad and gritty?... If so I might not bother... Thanks in advance, your avid fan (but not a nutter) Andy. Lol. X

Hi Kate I’ve got the performance tourer and absolutely love it I have no trouble with the quick shifter fantastic option you gave 👍🏍️😎

Great review, Kate! That looks like a solid sports tourer with a lot of features. When you consider the price, that's quite a good value.

Great vfm package, nice to see a proper sport tourer still available. Might try one next time around👍

Great videos, Great info, like the outtakes, I've got to get a bike ❤👍👍

Very nice review ❤ I got my 2021 Model as my first bike ever late '21 after falling in love with it on first sight and can only agree on almost everything. What I noticed after the first couple of thousand kms is that the downshifting actually started getting "smoother" and more consistent after some mileage. It still doesn't feel anywhere near as smooth as upshifting but it's much better than in the beginning. I went for the SE Performance combo with all factory extras and mods and added a few bits to make her look and feel even better. I'm hitting 22k km these days riding her all through the year and enjoy every moment.

Kate with your looks and enthusiasm you should be on TV with your own show Top Lady 😍👏

Kate a very professional and informative review keep the good work up, I would recommend Oxford heated grips ,less expensive and much hotter

Great review. I really dig this bike.

I love your VDO clip+ KAWASAKI Bike.

This is the exact opposite to the bike i currently ride but i still love this sport tourer, if only i was 20 years younger its just the bike i would buy. Isn't that howl from the engine addictive, love it, nice video Kate, as usual.

Great vid Kate 👍🏼👍🏼, as a touring bike not many people seem to try them two’s up are they just not upto the job or has no one that rides them two’s up got a good review vid, think there a good bike in the way of value for money if you don’t want all the fancy kit of a bmw or ktm and such as in electronics to go wrong if you was away on tour. 👍🏼

Ohh awesome. Those BOA gloves look awesome.

Got one and love it 👍

Great video..as always!!Is it a proper bike for long touring travels..is it comfortable?Greetings from Cyprus

Had my SX kawasaki 1000 Tourer since 2017 unbelievable bike ,that's why I still have it ,7 years old now , new ones have too much black not enough colour dislike the poor choice of colours petrol tanks are all black, apart from the new red and black version, I get an average of 54 to the Gallon best I've had is 57 , Only thing it needs is heated seats for me , Nice review 😊

Feels like this could be the modern Blackbird. Nice review thanks 😊

I just bought this a month ago as an upgrade from my 400. I love every bit of it. Insurance was only $25 more than my 400, the dealer and I were sitting there in shock. Amazing bike! Great review. I don't believe in the Ninja tax though, maybe I just have a decent insurance company.

I have the 2022 ninja SX and it’s awesome. It’s got incredible power and speed and as you point out in your excellent review, it can handle everything in all gears without complaint.

Not very often we're treated to a Kawa here on the UNK Channel. Thanks, i'm looking forward to eventually seeing more of their exciting and beautiful modells here in the future.

Thanks for the info about the phone mount Kate. I’ve just ordered one from M&P………👍

Nice review and what a great bike

That's a lovely bike. Great idea having a phone mount - so much faff on mine getting one to fit.

Nice review 👍

Great video Kate.

Great review it’s a pity there’s no centre stand

Thanks, Great Video.🙂

yes I reakon you should do a back to back with them both great job ! ATB

I like the panniers.

Nice Vlog. Would be good if you could also review Kawasaki’s more touring oriented Versys 1000. Apparently it shares the same motor but in a different state of tune.

Michelin Road 6 GT's totally change the handling on this bike. I ran the standard Bridgestones for a bit and didn't have a huge amount of confidence. Definitely worth swapping the boots.

Good review... Yet another bike I want to test ride. How does it compare to an R2250RS....particularly in handling terms ?

Great job Kate nice bike

😮 That's a giant ninja monster... Can you touch the ground?😂 I can't wait to see you ride it! 😍

Love the 1984 ninja 900 color scheme….,I had one!

Great review! That is a badass bike and you ride it well. 🥷

Great review that the bike looks good, I thought it was only me that drives past junctions day dreaming ! 😂

Kawasaki ergonomics spot on , city manners also , very smooth great machine, nicely girl .

It’s a great bike.ive owned a few and can definitely say the best and first thing to do is get rid of the Bridgestone tyres.Transforms the bike by putting on metzler 01 or Michelin road 6

Don't. Change. In the good way, that is. Seriously though, whatever comes of this channel, please just keep being yourself. Thans to you my wife is starting to rethink our budget....at last. And that's not all...she asked me about CBT!!!!!!

I liked this so much that I bought one. For me it’s the perfect all rounder, but I do use the clutch for downshifts. Thank you for this review. How about one of the S1000XR?

That is such a sweet bike! 😍 Have u tried the h2 version?

Fantastic ! Wonderful to see you on something from the sportier side of biking, love these bikes (big team green fan) and would have one if it had a decent pillion seat, but wifey refuses to sit on " a sandwich box" that's something I think designers neglect. Great review and (hopefully) looking forward to seeing it back to back with the suzuki.

Just bought my 2nd Z1000sx a 16 plate these are fantastic all round bike with more grunt than a pig farm 👌

For me this bike does everything. Great for a Sunday scratch, brilliant commuting and Very comfortable on a long tour . I looked at loads of sport touring bikes BMW XR etc but it came down to looks in the end and I've not been disappointed a great upgrade to my 6th Gen Veefer👍🏻👌🏻🤟

Thanks to KD Cycles for loaning our girl the Kawi SX.

Just picked a 23 reg bike with 1200 miles, absolutely awesome bike, and I've had a lot of bikes!

A stock 2015 besides a flash and a Sergeant seat is a fantastic bike. The flash lets you access all of the power and the new seat gets rid of the torture device that it comes with.

I was going to buy one of these until I got an insurance quote, not gonna pay an extra £450 for the Ninja tax vs the Suzuki GSX1000S. If they had made the improvements and left the name as the Z1000SX I think you'd see a lot more of these on the road. Great review as always🤩 Looking forward to the mini tour Vlogs

I got a 1000sx back in December, I'm still running it in and I love it. I personally like the Kawasaki 1000sx ninja better as I recently owned a Suzuki gsxs1000gt.

If then the anniversary. That paintjob surely works.

Great review! This bike is almost perfect. It's just too bad we can't put the top box and banniers at the same time... Because of that I am split between this one and the Tiger 900.

My bike in a few weeks !

Hi Kate , I own a 2019 Ninja 1000, just curious to know the mobile holder in this bike. Brand and how this got installed. Also I like your Riding gloves . Pls share the details of these 2 items.

👏👏👏👏 hi Kate, great video 🫶

My 2019 SX is awesome I did not want all the technology what comes with the 2020 onwards. I like a basic riders bike and no tele screen. My bikes been mapped with new exhaust system punching out 158bhp , it’s also much better on fuel and goes like stink. Just toured Scotland for 4 days the bike was brilliant, 200 miles plus to tank with full luggage including back box. Great machines.

Nice Review Kate, If you change the tyres to the Michelin pilot 6 and put a 255 profile on the rear over the 250, it really sharpens up the steering.. I am very happy with it. Great bike

I swapped my Tracer for one of these last year, it's a fantastic machine, nice review. I got the Kawasaki comfort seat which is better than the standard seat.

What do you think to the alpinestars helmet Kate???

Definitely the best sport touring bike, Kate. As you know, I've owned a Stormcloud Blue 2018 model (so still called a Z1000SX) which I bought in 2020 and have since ridden for over 22k miles. It's still going solid despite a couple of issues I've had to sort (corrosion in the evap pipe and loose/sheared subframe bolts). Did my own 4-year, 22k mile review recently. It's the same bike, except for the throttle by wire and QS. No QS on my one. Only two power modes on my one (Full or Low) and 3-level Traction Control (1, 2, 3). I've left it in Full & 1 (lowest) since my first ride, never felt the need to adjust it. Definitely changed from the Bridgestones to sport-touring tyres very quickly. Have had Metzeler, Pirelli Angel GT2 and will soon fit Michelin Road 6. Nice review, Kate.

I can see me riding down to Cornwall on one of these...? But that blue katana looks amazing?

Great review and ride of the NK1. Look forward to seeing the vlogs of your adventures with Lilly ( always entertaining) and you stretching the legs on the SX. I bought a used 20' in Mar of 22' with 6k miles. Came with the panniers, heated grips, comfort seat and the PO had installed a Puig screen. Fast forwarded to April 24' and the bike has 27k miles. It is great all rounder. Eats up miles and is fun in the twisties and is comfortable for my 61 year old body . Over time I did change out the front brake pads had the ECU flashed, and cat delete with a Leo Vince can. It sounds proper without being obnoxious. I also added a top case for the longer trips. I just recently had some upgrades done on the suspension with a new shock from YSS and the front forks were re- sprung and re-revalved by Traxxion Dynamics (US). The ride quality and handling went way beyond my expectations. Ride safe! Cheers from the US!

I like this bike from when it first came out, for touring solo it's a good bike but two up and luggage not the best but I bought a 2019 versys 1000 SE GT with only 4,500 miles on the clock in full emerald green colour , Just enjoy the bike four a more relaxed riding position for two upand fully loaded luggage. I use a din twin USB adapter for the 12 volt port on my bike and works fine.

The outtakes are brilliant! Do you often have such monologues when talking to yourself? 🤣

If ever a bike has suited you Kate, it's gotta be this one. You look the perfect fit for it, i'm sure Kawa made this with YOU in mind. Although green is my favorite colour, strangely i've never owned a Kawa and only ever test ridden a w800! Always liked Kawasaki, but never lived with a dealership nearby. But my love of Suzuki has been too dominant anyway so, I doubt if i'd ever of had one anyway. Thanks to KD Motorcycles for loaning you this beauty, coz without their generosity, we'd not of had this excellent Review Video to drooool over! You have made this a very interesting bike to get to know, with your excellent review... I only wish I was in the market for this sort of Bike. I'm sure the well thought out, and all incl. extras, will make this a very interesting contender for anybody from the Tourer fraction looking for a new bike. Looking forward to your Northumberland trip, as I was there a year ago, April '23, also to hearing more of your thoughts about this Ninja1000SX.

Got the performance and love it. Manage big miles days and never gets uncomfortable. Heated grips as you say are a bit lacking, Oxford grips are better IMHO The insurance is more than a GS. £400 vs £600 for me

Great review, I am torn for my next bike either 1000SX or the BMW S1000XR. Which would you choose and why

I wonder if the quick shift is protecting the drive and engine on the downshift. If your wanting to downshift aggressively being made to use the clutch is a bit better than using the quick shifter due to the greater time with disconnected drive. For example one of my bikes has the "race shifter" and you can go 5th to 1st. If it had quick shift with protection that would be quite nice. Mostly on our roads cruise control that's not adaptive, in my opinion, is redundant. Love these reviews.

Great review as always Kate, Did John make to pay for his LCR tee shirt 😉🤣🤣

I follow and watched most of ur reviews if you had to chose yamaha tracer 900 gt 21 model or kawasaki 1000sx or 1000 versys

LETT'S GOOO!!

The quick shifter works best over 2,500 revs when coming down the box 👌

nice vid and this bike is a beast but i have one question, how tall are you(cm) and what your inside leg length?thank you very much

Very nice.

As of April 2024 many Kawasaki dealers are offering this basic bike at £10,499 and £11,500 with loads of extras. At that price it’s probably unbeatable value, I’ve just had my second one and love it. Easier to ride than many much smaller bikes due to relaxed uber smooth engine and seat height, more refined than the Suzuki rival.

this or a gsxr 750 is my next choice i'm looking to step up in power next year

Was that a GLA 45 AMG you want? I have a 2016 one, under 20,000 kms. I mainly drive a van because my dog likes it better,easier to get into for her. The car is really a lot of fun though. It has been on a track for training several times. Was a lot of fun. And I have a 2020 Ninja 1000SX SE. Best of both worlds.

Hallo Where can I get the Akrapobic Ninja1000 stickier that attached to the muffler?

Sold my 2023 for a Tracer 9 GT. More relaxed riding position and better wind protection. 1000SX was hands down the smoothest bike I’ve owned - that motor is a gem - and a blast to ride; just didn’t fit 💁 Great review. P.S. Yoshimura pipe sounds way better 😁

Murphs bar risers make the seating position much better for anyone that is as beat up as I asand can't lean over anymore.

hello Am a Ugandan and am planning to acquire a z1000 SX, kindly explain more on variations of kawasaki z1000sx. for example you talked about kawasaki z1000SX performance tourer, i am requesting you share more light on variations available in z1000 sx

Those crash protectors (I assume) look like foldaway indicators! Funky! 😂

I'm picking up my new 1000SX performance tourer (red/black - NOT the anniversary edition) next wednesday. Trading in a '17 Z1000SX on it. The USB socket is an option from Kawasaki, its fitted under the back seat and is an extra £87. As for the 12v socket at the front, the first time you've got a flat and your only option is buy a pump from Argos.....you'll be really happy you've got that 12v socket when you see the compressors in the catalogue. The frame sliders.....got em on my current one and the most use they get is for putting a leg on if I want a stretch while moving. If they sell this bike in India there's gonna be kids sat on the fuel tank using the sliders as pegs. Re: the range counter. On mine it really, really means it when the range counter starts showing 3 lines. The good news is the panniers will easily fit a fuel can so you don't have to push the bike to a petrol station. I did have to buy a fuel can though...

Hi I had one the quick shifter only works 2500rpm and above.

Great review of a great bike. You can buy a new standard model for £9999 with a 4 year warranty down here in SE England. Thats a bargain, who said RE are good value.🤣