Living with the 2023 Kawasaki Ninja 1000SX: Is It Worth It?

Do you want to know what it's like to live with the brand new 2023 Kawasaki Ninja 1000SX? I'll tell you all about it, after riding it for 2 weeks straight here's what I really think about this motorcycle.
How does it compare with the Suzuki GSX-S1000GT?
Here's my first impression review: • 2023 Kawasaki Ninja 10...
Find out more about this bike: www.kdmotorcyc...
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KD Motorcycles: www.kdmotorcyc...

[@louismartin4446]

way better torque curve than the Suzy…way better….way better bike…will keep my ‘22 for a LONG time

[@bobbryars8672]

Ditto

[@SOLOMOTOUK]

I’ve got the same colour on a 22 reg never part with it 👍

[@Knobblytyressoggysocks]

I have a 22 plate and I genuinely wouldn’t change it for anything. It’s awesome, totally in love with it 🥰

[@elithegreat6463]

Also, Kawasaki allows easy oil and filter changes. You don’t have to remove any of the fairing that’s one thing Kawasaki always did well. But the Suzuki you have to spend 30 to 40 minutes removing and putting back on the fairings just to get to the oil filter.

[@TonyChettleburgh]

Never taken the fairings off of my GT when changing oil and filter.

[@brazilianrider8882]

Swapped my 2015 Tuono (fully pimped) V4 factory for a 2021 1000sx and so far got no regrets. It has very good brakes, handling is great, the bike feels light once you're moving and it handles super nice. That i4 is also so smooth on all rpms and will pull at any gear which is a great contrast t0 the Aprilia V4.

[@ridepastu1418]

Hows the wind buffeting. I’m looking for a two-up sport tourer.

[@brazilianrider8882]

@ridepastu1418 stock (short) screen doesn't do much, especially if you're tall.

[@exothermal.sprocket]

After living with a raucous V4 engine, are you a bit nonplussed with the inline-4?

[@brazilianrider8882]

@lifted_above I deleted the cat+pipe+ecu flash, and now, the bike is truly fun and sounds great, but on its stock trim, yeah, It was a bit boring, too smooth. I do miss the V4 sound and power delivery. That's why I'm probably getting the mt10 as my "fun" bike next year.

[@exothermal.sprocket]

@@brazilianrider8882 I thought the i4 might be low drama compared to the V4. Not saying that's a bad thing but it has to match one's personality and what they want to get out of a bike. MT-10 is pretty cool, but has a couple of downsides: very fuel thirsty (I'm sure the Tuono wasn't much better), it's very expensive now, and it's kind of just too much power for the street. Have you swung a leg over the '21+ MT-09/SP model? Or Duke 890R? Or something similar?

[@ajithrajendran3516]

Short and precise review. Good job

[@gmmotomedia]

Thank you sir!

[@johnvif]

Being a motorcycle enthusiast and willing to save for years... To ride as much as possible... And living in Germany... The H2 Sx Se will be my bike

[@tartrek87]

I have this 2023 model and highly recommend it. Quick shifter, cruise control, luggage, it's everything I can ask for.

[@anuragrpande]

Road does not cut the power afaik, only rain applies the L power mode (~70%). Road just maxes out TC.

[@jamescornflake1542]

What. Plain english please. What is afaik? What is L? What is TC?

[@jamescornflake1542]

It's ok. I found out) I aint 17 any more))))

[@tinnycook]

The handbook does say only rain mode cuts the power. As stated, road just has higher traction control setting than sports mode.

[@exothermal.sprocket]

@@jamescornflake1542 I had to look it up myself. It means 'as far as I know.' L is low, TC is traction control. Because the 1000SX has full ride-by-wire throttle (just means that your twist grip is not pulling a cable that's attached to the throttle blades, but rather the twist grip is nothing but an electronic control telling the ECU how to operate the throttle), there's several ways for Kawasaki engineers to change throttle behavior. You might have "full horsepower" in a given mode, but the shape of the power curve will be different, will have less snappy response to your input. They achieve that by differentiating the _actual_ ECU throttle application from your _actual_ wrist twisting inputs.

[@jamescornflake1542]

@@exothermal.sprocket Fair enough. I just bought a 2021 Performance version. I have left it in Rain mode for the past week. Kinda cautious with it for a while. Coming from a 650 Versys I can imagine It would be very easy to lose this bike on damp roads. And tomorrow yet another rain storm is coming in from atlantic so it has been a baptism of fire with my 'new' bike. Thank you.

[@charliequach6399]

I've been riding my Z900 2017 with 28k on the clock, and I love every moment on it. This will probably be my next bike, hopefully by next year.

[@Davidlouis3]

It’s a brilliant bike and beautiful looking, had mine 3 years love it

[@javarilla]

I live with a 2022. It’s awesome. The most incredible thing is it’s wind management, and cross wind handling. Comfort is hard to communicate - I am a large fellow, but handle 10 hours days easily.

[@mohdkhairulsaidin9357]

Tq bro, i am the fan of Suzuki but after a few minute test ride this 1000sx i already falling love with it. Hopefully next month i will upgrade to this bike. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@KiwiMoto72]

Nice work. I rode the Suzuki yesterday. Next up is this Ninja. The Suzuki was wonderful but the front brakes laxk of feel and lack of lean sensative IMU was a deal breaker. Riding the Ninja next week...

[@LiterFreedom]

I have the 2020, 4 year old bike now with absolutely no problems! I have lots of fun with her specially on mountain roads and long days riding with a passenger! Thanks for the video!

[@TMo-cu3yi]

How many miles/km's so far?

[@LiterFreedom]

@@TMo-cu3yi I believe about 25000km/15000miles it could be more but I have to check haha. I went for a 8 hour riding day on a 9000ft elevation road and it was great! I’m working on a video about that right now as well in case you’re interested! Ride safe, brother!

[@TMo-cu3yi]

@@LiterFreedom I own a 2020 ZX6R Ninja myself and have ridden 60,000 km / 37,250 miles on it. I think I must've spent at least the 12 grand I paid for it in 2020 in maintenance, new tyres, taxes, insurance and petrol. (not to mention helmets and clothing and what not) The last thing I had done just last week was an entirely new clutch pack and cables (for which they charged me $1,250 including man hours). As much as I like sports bikes, the fucking Japanese fairings are swinishly expensive in case of a mishap and a hassle to work with/clean. I also don't like the looks of the final drive of Kawasaki, the area around the chain is just messy and very difficult to access without losing a lot of time. Also: Kawasaki has a notorious "issue" with the nut holding the front sprocket in place. It's literally impossible to remove on any model without a special nut-breaking tool. Not with breaker bar, not with the most powerful impact drill you can buy. So I would strongly advise against replacing sprockets and chain yourself. It's a task that could make a grown man cry like a bitch, just because of that stupid locking nut.

[@kennysurber3947]

I think i need to get this bike . Thx for the review ; )

[@gmmotomedia]

👍

[@richardwhite5651]

It’s worth it only wish a centre stand was fitted to it.

[@ninji5226]

Short and to the point, I like it. I am torn between this and the GSX but I keep hearing more and more about the GSX having timing chain noises from a potential bad tensioner and no solution so that makes me nervous (I have ocd and to hear that on a new bike would be torture). I think the Suzuki looks better and overall it is cheaper once you add bags but still, I want refinement and this seems to win that argument.

[@lancemartinz1814]

Get the Kawi. You won't regret it.

[@Irfan87]

The Suzuki rides too much like your run of the mill liter bike. The power spread is higher up, the low down/mid range isnt as good as the Kawi it doesnt cruise as well.

[@bhpuk6280]

Great review 👍🏼

[@gmmotomedia]

👊

[@rolstonlarge2808]

Iam 71 years old I've always liked the Ninja 1000 sx but I believe I'm too old for the power that that bike has.

[@TMo-cu3yi]

They could've done with a facial update though; it's been this look since 2020 unlike ZX6R, ZX10R (and the whole range of smaller ninjas) that have had 2 face lifts for the better already.

[@exothermal.sprocket]

The Kawasaki cost $200 more in the USA. But then there's the + model Suzuki which runs that price difference the other way.

[@timmy3822]

Went to test ride a ZZR1400 today and I loved the bike but was super disappointed that the bars were just too low for me with high knee placement. This is a possible alternative for me, still has plenty of power (although no ZZR let’s be honest!). I just wish they still had all green paint schemes. Too much black I think. Good review, thanks for the upload. BTW, does it support a centre stand? The exhaust box looks big under there…

[@jakefatman4876]

Good review👍🇫🇮

[@gmmotomedia]

Ta 👍

[@harolddavis4138]

Good video

[@michaelbongiorno5132]

I previously owned the Z900 RS and found the fueling in town to be poor. Does this bike share that trait?

[@BoomaOhDet]

Can the abs be turned off?

[@gmmotomedia]

Yes 👍

[@louismartin4446]

also way better looking than the Suzi

[@dilly2023]

Definitely

[@sharadshivaharess]

Hey can you send me the back side photos with cowl?

[@paulbarnes6124]

Factory panniers available ?

[@katkinsDLV]

Yes. Color matched and uses the same key as the bike also.

[@willraven7]

Would u pick this over the yamaha FJ or and adv??

[@gmmotomedia]

I would pick this one. I'm not an adventure or tourer type of rider.

[@juliuscarlopoblete2092]

is the slip on exhaust not too low or its all just camera angle?

[@exothermal.sprocket]

There's hard bags as an option from Kawasaki and having a giant pipe sticking up pointed at the moon is not conducive to fitting equal sized bags on both sides of the bike.

[@richardcook621]

I am looking for a sports tourer, would you recommend this bike as the best or would you recommend another, I don’t want another adventure tourer.

[@gmmotomedia]

There's really only a couple sport tourers alike. This Kawasaki and the Suzuki GSX-S1000GT. As I said here I prefer the Ninja slightly better but like always it's always best to test ride both first before you make a decision it's worth it 👍

[@101BadBreath]

I am torn between getting this or the updated 2024 Truimph 900GT next year...I am average height but slightly heavy at 5ft 9 and 180 lb's... I like that the Truimph is a lot lighter but it's also less powerful and a totally different style.. I guess I will need to test ride both. I have a R7 for shorter daily rides and mountain fun... So this will be a touring focussed second bike. Both brands have dealer support in North Carolina so no issues there.

[@s2k442]

@@101BadBreath I have ridden the Tiger 900 Gt Pro and its a plush ride, can be sporty. It just depends if you want the surge of power an in line 4 will give you. The Tiger is plenty fast enough IMO but its just rider preference

[@exothermal.sprocket]

Really wish Triumph would bring back the Sprint ST, but use the bigger current 1160cc triple.

[@dupajasiu920]

just forget Suzuki, easy.

[@andrewright1834]

How much does it cost for this bike?

[@stevethedonful]

Watch the video you nob

[@oederdekoe]

I have the same bike and It has 1 flaw. If u lean to much it scrapes the panel on the left side... also my kickstand is scraped *facepalm* according to the bike my max lean angle is 47 degrees

[@skimotoch9081]

Done 49 right and 50 left without scratching on the ‘21 model. Works all very well for me

[@oederdekoe]

@@skimotoch9081 Stock suspension settings? Weird man... Even me sidestand is scraped 😢

[@skimotoch9081]

@@oederdekoe sorry for my english…I hardened the manual backspring suspension quite a bit It from stock. The only time I had sparks was on the rights on a track day. Sound flash but I am total noob…

[@oederdekoe]

@@skimotoch9081 I'll be taking a look @ my suspension settings with the manual :) Stock suspension makes the front dive a lot. Thx for all info

[@Peter-Parkey]

Did 50° l/r and didnt scrap anything. 2021 model, 100% stock..

[@undercrackers56]

Fine if you don't have a wife or long-term girlfriend. That pillion seat is nothing more than an afterthought.

[@English_MoFo]

Imagine getting on a bike in a review and blurring out the speedometer EVERY time, fkn YIKES 😬

[@gmmotomedia]

Don't know what you're talking about, I think your Internet connection isn't so great!

[@English_MoFo]

@@gmmotomedia lol

[@Jim-su7en]

Why can’t kwackasaki ever change the styling of this bike? The dented tank look doesn’t work for a lot of people.

[@seantuaima]

Is this the Kawasaki Ninja H2?

[@gmmotomedia]

No this is the Ninja 1000 SX

[@gzdcn]

The Ninja.

[@amazingchefadrian4432]

Amazing video thanks

[@gmmotomedia]

You're very welcome 👍