Living with the 2023 Kawasaki Ninja H2 SX SE | Long-term test 

Is the Kawasaki Ninja H2 SX SE your favourite sports tourer?

I owned 1000sx before buying the h2 sx se, and the h2 is better in every single possible way

Mate you deserve a better pay package. You have entertained people from all round the world for many years. With your genuine knowledge and no doubt countless hours in often sub standard conditions. You deserve to afford any new bike. Cheers mate

I love these long term reviews with some really decent mileages by someone who knows what is what.

I fixed the comfort issues with a sergeant seat, which was excellent! Doubled my time in the saddle. Additionally, you can get lowered pegs that bring them down about 1.5-2.0 inches. Also a brilliant help! I also got an aftermarket screen for my 2018 H2 SX SE. Went on trip around the US ... about 5000 miles and it was awesome! Especially in South Dakota and Wyoming. I added a tank bag from Givi as well as Kriega bags on the back. All-in-all the best sport tourer I have ever ridden bar none.

On my 2nd H2 SX se…..REMAP! Had both done and the bike is completely transformed! Did 19k on my old one and currently on 11.5k on my current one. 220bhp at the rear wheel so approx 250 engine with de-car, filter & yosi. How the bike should be! Add that power to everything like build quality, suspension etc 👌🏻 and an absolute weapon!

I always look forward to this time of year when the MCN team reviews its fleet. Excellent stuff - keep ‘em coming!

I have a 2022 and your experience closely matches mine. Here are my exceptions: the quick shifter on my bike is flawless, up or down; the adaptive cruise control adjustment on the run has been mentioned by others; I've never had a problem with the brakes, specially, I have never had the brake lever collapse all the way into the grips; the Bridgestone S22's have worked great for me.

Totally agree with your comments on the bike, neevsey ,I traded in a z1000sx and got a new H2sx in 2019, changed the screen for a powerbronze, double bubble, which made a big difference,put alloy pegs on, which gave me slightly more legroom,the standard rubber ones are really thick, I also fitted the road Tec 01 tyres, excellent tyres,I'm also a tall rider so it was my wrists that eventually made me trade it in for a versys 1000,more comfortable but a lot less exciting,traded versys in after a year,now I've got a 23 BMW GSA and wished I'd got one sooner,it's so comfortable, enough usable power for the road, perfect! I'm glad I had a H2sx, really exciting to ride and own,but wouldn't buy another one, another great road test👍

Massive kudos to Kawasaki and Yamaha for integrating the radar sensor into the front ends of their bikes properly, goes to show with some effort, adaptive cruise doesn’t mean you’re stuck with this large flat panel mucking up an otherwise svelte front end.

It's a fantastic bit of kit ❤ I thank my lucky stars everyday that I'm fortunate enough to have one in my garage 🙏 I was very surprised to hear your comment about the quickshifter..... mine works 100%, 100% of the time 👍. Totally agree with your thoughts on the screen...... far too low. I'm 6ft and it just blasts turbulent air up under my lid, unless I'm tucked up!! The fuel tank could definitely be larger. However if and it's a very big 'if' you can moderate your throttle control then it will literally just sip fuel. Crack that throttle open tho and you'll be spending a lot of time and money at the pumps 😂 Definitely not the most comfortable bike I've owned but with the adaptive cruise control you can literally sit right up and let the bike do its brilliant thing. This year it got me from deepest Devon all the way up to Heysham for the ferry to the TT, with discomfort not really noticeable until the last hour of the trip!! But once on the Island, I just popped those brilliant panniers off and headed for the mountain.... When you can fully unleash that engine mixed with its touring capabilities, then the that big price tag makes sense. I think that as I get older and my body gets less forgiving I may need to look at a "tallrounder" For now tho, its everything and I mean everything I could ever want from a motorbike and I love it 🏍❤️. Thanks for a great and honest review of this amazing machine 👏

You can adjust radar distance on the move ,hold function button and then up or down it will change distance but always defaults to far when you stop, also puig do a screen, hope this helps for more enjoyment

I'm 5'11" and have done the Knight peg extensions with the Murphy handlebar risers and love it's comfort- Here in Texas I commute between Austin, Dallas and Houston regularly with no problems except speed !!!! Great review - It's not an everything bike but pretty darn close

I purchased mine new in 2019, it’s the performance touring pack, so it’s got the Akro, panniers, smoked sports screen plus all the other SE goodies. I’ve done 15k on it, mainly in Spain,France and Italy and two up with luggage. I can honestly say apart from three minor recalls, it’s been flawless. The gearbox is sublime, the handling with 01SE’s on it is brilliant, stable at any speed, it’s reasonable on fuel and now it’s out of warranty she’s been remapped to get rid of the restrictions and clean up the fueling. It’s now putting out 222 at the back wheel, which is a gain of the best part of 40bhp from the standard map. I love the thing, it’s a bloody masterpiece as far as I’m concerned. It can do everything I want it to do with no fuss, it’s ultra reliable and goes like s### off a shovel when you want it too… Looks amazing, what’s not to like🤷🏻‍♂️

Thank you Neevesy for a very detailed review. Kawasaki USA hasn’t offered press reviews of the 22-24 model year updated version of this bike, so thankfully we have you. I’ve got the 22 version after owning the 18 first gen. Seat comfort is vastly improved, but handlebar height is unchanged and too low. The combination of radar for adaptive cruise, radar for blind spot monitoring, electronic suspension, TFT dash, and a supercharger arguably make this the most feature packed bike on the market. It makes everyday rides feel special. It’s a keeper for me.

Great review of the bike. I own a 23 H2 SX SE too and really enjoy it. Just a couple of opinions to offer here. You can make the 18-21 Givi rack fit the 22-23 bike. You need to enlarge the holes in the Givi fitting kit from M6 to M8. Once done, if you then use M8 45mm bolts to attach it, it'll then fit as designed. Puig now produce a touring screen which accomodates the auto-high beam. You can also change the radar gap when riding. Hold the FN button on the right and press the 'down' button on the left bar. It'll cycle through the 3 distances. Thanks for the great review look forward to seeing more👍

Thanks for the review. I agree the top end rush is very addictive, you just need to watch your license when opening it up but I am on my second one, which says a lot. I completed a 2 week 3000 miles trip through Europe back in June this year without any issues whatsoever. I don't have an issue with comfort at 6ft 3" and I can ride it all day, without any discomfort. My only complaint is the wind noise of the front screen, I do agree with your comments. I found the SE suspension in sport to be very harsh, so I opted for the H2 and had my suspension set up, now its set up it handles like its on rails and cornering confidence has certainly increased. I only use the radar on motorways, which is not often as I prefer the back roads. I also changed to Road 6 tyres, which also gave more confidence corning. I have found the quick shifter to be very good, never really had a complaint.

Nice review thanks . Powerbronze do a screen for both the older H2SX SE and the new one with the camera . Myself go an 21 plate year 19 model so a little less on the gadgets. but as im short and coming from a zx12r I found the seating pos felt upright LOL I was so glad to fin I could flat foot both sides of the bike. also found it had a lot of low end power !! as in I could ride in any gear and pull away easy I even was riding in slow traffic 15mph and forgot what gear I was in until after I stopped I found it hard pulling off and looked at the gear to find I was trying and did pull off in 4th LOL not the zx12r would have been in 2nd at that speeds and would not have liked pulling of in 2nd so the H2 did very well. I also found the gear shifter worked ok when you either have the throttle open going up and closed when going down as in speeding up or slowing down a lot. in street slow speed riding then NO it dont work that well but I found myself still using the clutch after riding so many years like that LOL. It came with Road 6 on and like you said very happy with them. the only negative I have with the bike is that when trying to maintain a set speed with the throttle not moving the bike jerks back and frow as in it dont know what to do. ok is accelerating to slowing down. its also fine if you use cruse control

Finally something besides an ADV a 400 or an E bike. Thank you.

Mr Neeves. The gent. The Legend.

I had a 2018 se & traded up to the se plus 2019 which is still the best colour in my opinion, it's an epic bike went to Italy in the summer & it was fantastic I love it as much as the day I picked it up. Had a of bikes & Kawasaki is right up there, this bike does everything & I wouldn't change it.

Nice one Neevsey. Thank you. Surprised about how poor the QS is. What has team green said about it when you’ve had it serviced?

The reason it has low torque down is It has a short stroke, In order to claim high HP they shortened the stroke to 55 mm as opposed to 57 on Ninja 1000SX, or any other road use liter engine, That made it weak low down, Ninja 1000sx is hailed for torquey engine. For touring heavy weight bike they should have focused of flat torque curve.

Thanks for the great review. I've had one since 2019 and have ordered a new one for 2024. I had my bike flashed which makes a significant difference to performance (110lbft and 215+bhp) without hitting the fuel consumption/range. All bikes are a compromise and sports tourers are possibly the biggest compromise of all. This bike can cross France in a day with the adventure bikes or full dress touring bikes, ride the passes in the Alps and the Dolomites with the sports bikes, and blast the Autobahns with the hyper bikes, all with a pillion and luggage. Nothing else can can do all of those things half as well as the H2 SX

No one can describe a bike as well as you can Michael, excellent.👍

I have a reservation about asking to a motorcycling journalist “would you buy one”. For most of the bikes of course they do not buy. Just because they can ride numerous different bikes through out the year and satify their riding appetite. Most of ordinary people like me (mere riding enthusiastics) do not have the chance to ride a bike like that for year. Yet we want to. Maybe it’s just me but I think “is it a keeper for you” question would bring more transparent opinion.

The issues he talks about that are supposedly the negatives are obviously faults with that particular bike. I have the same bike and the QS is superb, plenty of low down grunt and absolutely no problems with the brakes that he describes. I've owned Ducati V4's and the brakes on this bike trump the Dukes all day long Very short sighted review tbh .

Excellent as always Neevesy. Seeing the direction that motorcycles are all heading in. I think we should see little niggles cross all brands addressed soon. Motorcycles are taking off again in a great way. I personally feel that it's in part to do with cars becoming so electronically advanced or smart if you will. And people wanting to have some form or shape of control again over what their piloting. Regardless, the dirt bike scene and the off-road scene is growing like crazy. The road scene is growing like crazy. I believe the racing scene is going to grow like crazy.

Hi, great review as always. I have a 2022 model and you can adjust the distance of the adaptive cruise control on the move. Hold down the right hand function button and at the same time the lower of the cruise control (mode) buttons. You cycle through the distances one after the other. If you hold down the right function button and hold the upper cruise control button you set the launch control. Better hang on.

Love how you are parked in an EV only bay. 😊

With icy roads, like we have at the moment, I'm glad to be on my Niken GT.

It's a sports tourer! not a Goldwing or a GS, I'm 183cm and have no problem with 3-4 hours before a break, the pros for me: Suspension, electronics, brakes are awesome so must be something wrong with your bike, comfort, supercharger, quality. The cons: pillion comfort, to little low end grunt, can't change much of the settings on the go. I bought a 22 because I didn't want the automatic highbeam, also you need to remember on this bike you can do trackdays as well, also the looks being a sport touring bike with panniers are awesome

Michael, was the first one locked when you had it stolen?

Nice review. I have the SX SE+ and just love it to bits. At 5'6"" the windscreen and pegs are great for me - but again I am of normal height. Sounds like they have tweaked the mapping for the MY23 version, for if anything, mine is wanting to get going when pottering around, and my mpg is currently 54mpg in the 3 1/2 years of ownership. 10 days away around the Picos de Europa and the two panniers are more than enough for me. I do not carry pillion, and so do not care about the rear seat / pegs. Before the H2SXSE+, I had 2 Z1000SX (one was RIP) and loved them, but then I gave the H2 a try and am smitten. Would I have one again, too right I would. But, the cost and then the depreciation :( Forgot to say, I found that the S22's do not last long as you noted and am now running T32's. Great tyre, but not getting 6K like your Roadtec's (didn't get that long when I had them on the Z1000SX). I will have to give them another look.

I just love Michaels reviews. Great and honest.

If your quickshifter doesn't work smoothly (which it sould and mine does now) - check the position and lube the clutch lever. They're a little glitchy and trigger the clutch lever sensor. If that sensor is engaged, the KQS won't fire up. To test this, try pushing the clutch lever away from you and then up/down shift like you would normally. If it works, you got to lube up the clutch lever and maybe change the clutch sensor. Take into account, that downshifts only work if there is no throttle applied and upshifts only work if there is. Reason is, since this is a drive by wire system and the downshift does rev matching, there would be more throttle applied than user input allows, so that's cut for safety reasons.

Much needed video after a long time. thanks guys

You can change the adaptive cruise control on the move. Hold down the function button and then press the down arrow and it changes the distance on the move. Quite easy and works well. I wish people would read the bike manual more before riding it, so many questions and problems can be solved by just quickly reading the manual!

Poor information coming from you..... 1. You say your too tall for the bike, ( help people out, how tall ARE you ? ) 2. Don't mention if the side panniers hold a full face helmet ? 3. You mention the screen ( ok, it's a bit low) but you don't say if the fairing protects you from the weather ? 4. Mirrors, VERY important, are they big enough to see who's behind you , do they vibrate or give a clear view ? Are the switches illuminated, easy to read Speedo at night ?

I have the 2022 model. You can change the radar cruise control gap distance while moving.

Good bike,impressive mpg for a supercharged 1000cc.just way out of my price range sadly.thanks for the great reviews 👍

Test-rode one of the earlier generations and it did feel pretty sporty. I was actually quite surprised by that because it felt vastly different from the CBF1000 (also a sport-touring machine, I dare say) that I used to have at the time. I would've expected a more welcoming riding position. Anyway, while I still admire this machine and still absolutely love the design of the rear wheel and the single-sided swingarm, I am slowly coming to the realisation that 200bhp is just overkill for the road and if I were to get a sport-touring bike, I would probably take a very close look at the 950 Supersport, although it not having cruise control is a rather weird omission if you ask me. Anyway, fantastic, honest, and well-balanced review as always, Michael.👍

How did you first bike get stolen; as heavy as that bike is ? I'm curious to know....

nice review, as you always do! i'm shorter than you and find the handlebars on my ninja1000sx to be too tall for long trips, but good for around town. the stock windscreen is too short and even with the tall V-Stream, the wind noise on highway is high. the tall windscreen causes instability above 120mph. those h2sx handlebars do look too low for long rides and its windscreen belongs on a trackbike, not a highway! it is a bit bigger than the 1000sx's, but if it doesn't tilt forward, it is useless for highway. i cannot imagine the stress in an engineering sport-tour design team; how much sport versus tour?! i'm 3" shorter than the average american man, but tall when i was in japan, i was tall. i frequently ride over the a ton on trips, well over. the only way to satisfy more riders would be to offer more handlebars, windscreens, seats and footpegs for dealers to custom fit a sport tourer for riders' size and preference. seems like whoever wakes up and does so will sell more! contrary to my wife's opinion, i don't and cannot own too many motos. ideally, (if parts and funds were available) i'd keep my 1000sx for local rides (my daily) and customize an h2sx for longer trips. manufacturers are missing sales by not offering more handlebars, windscreens and adjustments, seats and rearsets

You can set the folloing distance by holding the "fn" button on the right and then some button on the left, I believe it's "reset" or one of the up/down arrows. You can't switch in any direction however, it just allows to iterate trough all settings.

I love that you take up not 1 but 2 EV charging bays for this!

Nice review that points out the same things, that I as a owner sins summer 22 feel for the bike. 13:20 there is a way to adjust the range of the adaptive cruise control, us the function button together with “enter”

Also you can set the acc distance while driving using theright hand thumb button and mode down.

Nice review had a test ride on one and I agree about the comfort and the weight on the wrists as I'm 6'1 , but one thing is missed out for someone actually buying one rather than getting it free for however long is the servicing costs I've heard the 15,000ml service is 4 figures

Awesome bike. Still wish they just added cornering abs/traction control to zx14 though. Nice simple big power.

Took me a few months to discover that you can change the following distance on the adaptive cruise control whilst on the move by pressing function button on the right with the up and down button on the left

I was actually thinking of swapping my ZZR 1400 for one of these but sounds too small for me unfortunately.

A great and comprehensive review of your experiences, living with the bike. Having now tested 2 different types of sports tourers over the past 2 years, it would be interesting to hear your thoughts on the merits or sacrifices of this more traditional sports tourer geometry vs last year’s “tall rounder” Tiger 1200 as you move away from sports bikes on the road?

Love the bike and on my second one. Great to know about the tyres as although I acknowledged the wear of the S22s I liked the initial feel of them and just stuck with them each change, thinking I was playing safe. I'll be looking at the others for next change which is coming soon. Agree with a good lot of this review too

As always, another great review Mate - I just bought the 2024 1000SX as a stable Mate to my V2 Multi. I'm about the same size as you, and man, i love it. Really love to see the sport touring category potentially on a come back? I looked at the GSXR1000GT too. loved the engine, but the brakes were horrible...

I agree with the ergo review. I am just over 6 foot tall so it was a little cramped. Not as cramped as my 2017 ZX14R was though. Easy fixes though, Knight pegs about one inch lower, Murphs bar risers are 1.4 taller and back .4 inch. I have the 2021 model so replacing the windshield was easy. The changes on the 22 and up are why I didn't buy the newer model. Kawasaki really limited the throttle openings via the ECU, so a flash opens up 100% throttle opening and over 20 rear wheel horsepower.

Should’ve upgraded the 1400cc pair, a Concours 14 with the skyhook suspension, radar cruise, cornering ABS, cornering lights etc would’ve been better with the shaft drive as well. If the could drop 20 - 30kg of weight of it you’d have a winner and the same goes for the ZX/ZZR.

Never connected with this type of bikes tried back in time ZZR600 &1100 wasnt for me I prefered ZXR 750 or even KLR 650 or KMX 200 (best bike for the city) if we are talking about Kawa, otherwise Yamaha was more in line with me back in time FZR 1000 also XT600 /XTZ 750 then R1.

Actually you can adjust the radar distance while riding (FN key + Down arrow)

Great review but it’s a shame that you didn’t show us the problematic rear end. Presumably you’d take the Ninja 100sx over this if it were your own money ?

Function button + riding mode down button = adaptive cruise control distance change.

These types of bikes are so niche it's a wonder they sell enough to warrant building them in the first place. It's the same with the Hayabusa and the 1600 GT. Let's be honest, how many 3000 mile trips around Europe are you going to do realistically?

One of the ‘characteristics’ which I think is not mentioned enough, is the smoothness of the engine through the rev range. I have ridden a few 4 cylinder bikes and all have them have some form of vibrations at certain revs- this one doesn’t

Great review ,I have a 2021 and I love it and with a few additions (sergeant seat,genuine touring screen ,Nitron shock and top box) it really is fantastic ,only negative is fuel consumption but I guess with just a dyno map mine runs 210 at the rear wheel so I guess you can’t have it all ,also the map gives you the bottom end you say is missing and once done it will annihilate the zzr…my gripe with this 2023 is I don’t think it looks as good as te previous model ,disappoints me that with this amazing new tech on the bike you lose functionality of a touring machine ,seems silly

Neeves, I honestly am a bit surprised that you apparently did not read the owner's manual for this long-term test bike.

Is a squeaky voice a requirement to get a job at MCN?

QS not working well got muuuuch better on mine when turning of kebc. Not that I noticed kebc during my normal riding anyways. KEBC on = QS is slow

Thanks for clearing that up, I often wondered how it feels when a powerful bike equipped the radar cruise control takes off again after a slower segment of the ride, I have it on a Golf GTD and when that decides the road has opened up again you can get pushed back in your seat, but that isn't too bad as your not going to fall out of the car. As for buying one, it's a no from me as I think I would go for the Suzuki GSX=S1000GT or Mandello V100S.

Really enjoy your frank reviews, Neevesy. Lovely bike, but I think the z1400 or the Busa would better suit a one up for me. Cheers.

for ~$19k usd i can get a new yamaha FJR1300ES which might not have the street cred of a supercharged h2 but completes the same mission and you get to keep your wallet

There's a local gent selling one of these tricked out and essentially brand new in the low 20k's. If I was in the market I tell you what....I still couldn't afford it. Great lookin bike though and I almost wish they would use this design language on the more affordable 1000sx because that one is a little vanilla to me.

You can adjust the distance on the cruise on the go, just hold the fn button

Hi, could you send a picture of the tank bag Please

I had the 2016 Ninja H2 which this was based on. It was wonderful and bloody fantastic to own and ride for lots and lots of reasons This bike seems a watered down version and it’s obvious you dont seem very impressed with this one. For all your well explained reasons I dont blame you. Thanks for the review enjoyed it 👍

Curious to know what you would buy…please advise?

How about the handle bars? Any confort issues there? I'm 5'6. Do you know od helix bars for this? I'm coming off a Connie at 60yrs old soo I'm kinda spoiled. Thanx

Meh, not a fan of forced induction on motorcycles. They should've just brought back the monster 1.4L from the ZZR14 revised for Euro 5 like suzuki did with the hayabusa. It had more torque than this and you can't beat the N/A feel. And let's not talk about reliability and maintenance in the long run.

Great review Neevsey. I have the 2020 model, it had a horrible, spluttery flat spot around 3K revs (until I had it remapped). Does the 2023 model suffer the same?

Do you think an HK MP5K would fit in the saddle bag? That would be nice.

Thank you for review brilliant video as always

do you know if the bags fit on a 1000sx...

Man i would buy this bike in a heartbeat,the only thing putting me off is the weight. And I am coming from a 1200 Multistrada with a bunch of Ohlins etc. Weighs only 220-230 kg. Hard to find a comfy bike for myself(i am 192 cm) with loads of power. Super duke gt comes to mine but looks like crap

Dear Internet can we get this guy paid more so he can afford the sick bikes he deserves.

Haven't had a chance to sit on one, but what is the fitment like for taller riders with longer inseams?

I’ve got a super charger on my Triumph , it’s a Optimate 🤣🤣😂

Great review Neevesy 👍. What's your next long-termer ?

Now that's a good day at the office

Could you please consider make some comparison verdict of four litre Tourer bikes from Kawasaki： This H2 SX, Ninja100 SX, ZZR1400 Concours, and Versys 1000

- Negative comment about breaks I can not confirm for my 2020 H2 SX SE+. I don't have these issues. - Same for the torque. I have no need at all to use rpms of a 600 cm³ bike when driving country roads or highways.

Is this replacing the zx14?

Thank you for the great contents.

Great informative review. This sounds like it asks for too many compromises for the price.

I spent a few years in the Royal Navy and have been all over the world. When you said your bike was stolen in Naples I had to laugh and completely understand. Probably the worst place I ever visited.

Does the bike come with steel braided hose from the factory? 17:03

if some owners had spoken with a servicemen about reliability of the compressor and engine? what is max mileage it can run?

Wait, so you got this one and the poor lady the other day got the nasty electric?? 😅😂 I do find the fact you start by complimenting how in 9 months the paint hasn’t peeled and that the engine turns on in the morning, on a 24K+ bike… disturbing 😅. Not a glowing review overall… especially a 30% success rate on the quickshifter…

Only downside is the huge pricetag and the high weight. Its a rocket ship on two wheels and scary fast on the testride.I would instead recommend Hayabusa that is 8000£ cheaper and you get even better build quality with gen3. Only downside is you maybe need to put down 140£ to raise the clipons. Givi sells bags and topbox to it now.

comparing a 1443 cc engine vs a centrifugal super charged litre bike at low revs is silly !!! khi did a GOOD JOB doing what they did for pure safety reasons for how certain superchargers work .

It is a novelty of engineering exellence, but an outliner that has better alternatives like the Multistrada, BMW boxer, Versys1000, Triumph tiger, all better as utility bikes for practicality but still retaining sufficient sportiness.

would be interesing if you test the versys 1000 SE GT.