Japanese motorcycle manufacturer Kawasaki has launched its litre-class Ninja 1000SX on the Indian market. Replacing the Ninja 1000, the sports tourer motorcycle comes at a starting price of Rs 10.79 lakh ex-showroom (Rs 50,000 over its predecessor). To justify the increased pricing, the new Ninja 1000SX comes with a considerable range of updates for 2020MY (2021MY internally). It is available in only two shades: Metallic Graphite Gray / Metallic Diablo Black and Emerald Blazed Green / Metallic Carbon Gray / Metallic Graphite Gray.
In comparison to its predecessor, the 2020MY Kawasaki Ninja sports a new right-sided single-outlet exhaust system in place of a dual-outlet unit on either side. Kawasaki states that it follows a ‘4-into-2-into-pre-chamber-into-1’ configuration. This would have aided in making the motorcycle compliant to BS6 emission norms as well.
Thanks to a better seating design, there is a noticeable improvement in overall ergonomics. In fact, the entire body panel has been tweaked a bit even though the most obvious revision seems to be the windscreen. It offers four vertical position adjustments.instead of three.
Other highlights and notable equipment include full-LED lighting, 4.3-inch TFT instrument console, KQS (Kawasaki Quick Shifter), KCMF (Kawasaki Cornering Management System), smartphone connectivity via ‘RIDEOLOGY THE APP’ (also available in Kawasaki’s new middleweights), cruise control, etc. In addition to this, the Ninja 1000SX offers four riding modes: Sport, Road, Rain and Rider (custom setting).
Powering the 2020MY Kawasaki Ninja 1000SX is a BS6-spec 1,043cc inline-4 motor churning out around 140bhp @ 10,000rpm and 111Nm @ 8,000rpm. There is only a marginal difference in output characteristics as against its BS4 counterpart in the Ninja 1000. Yet, Kawasaki has made a few key improvements inside the power plant such as electronic throttle valves, new cam profiles, reworked intakes (to match the single-side exhaust setup) and secondary crankshaft balancer.
The Kawasaki Ninja 1000SX is unsurprisingly on the heavier side at a kerb weight of 238kg. It has a 19-litre fuel tank and rides on 120/70R17 and 190/50R17 tyres at the front and rear, respectively. Being a premium motorcycle built to cover long distances (on well-paved roads), a wide range of official accessories are offered, all of which may not be available in India. At the moment, it does not have any direct rivals in India but a few alternative sports tourers such as the Ducati SuperSport and Honda CBR650R. Previously, the Suzuki GSX-S1000F locked horns with the Kawasaki Ninja 1000.
Source: Bike - rushlane.com
