| 2011 Kawasaki Ninja 1000 | | Print | |
| Written by Brad Puetz |
| Sunday, 04 September 2011 11:06 |
  Sometimes in life it's hard to face the truth. Even when things may be plain as day to see, we sometimes find a way to fool ourselves. For motorcycle enthusiasts this is often more than apparent when we make a motorcycle purchase. How many riders each year rush to the local bike shop to buy the fastest, lightest most advanced racing machine available because surely only the most extreme motorcycle will showcase their Troy Bayliss-like track skills. They make their purchase and soon have to acknowledge the fact that more than half of their riding is done on surface streets or in traffic, not exactly the place to spend the day on a race-oriented sportbike.
Many riders in this economy are also facing the reality that they can no longer afford to have two bikes in their garage to fulfill their sporting and touring needs. Could it be possible for one motorcycle to exist to take the place of both of these breeds? Kawasaki sure seems to think they have the answer in the new Ninja 1000, a close sibling to the naked Kawasaki Z1000. There are numerous differences in these two models, full fairing, revised ergos and larger fuel tank to name a few. The larger fuel tank and full fairing are surely going to go a long way towards making the Ninja 1000 function much better as a touring machine than the Z1000. While I have always liked the styling of naked bikes there seems to be a big divide in the people who either love them or hate them. The Ninja 1000 with full fairing will likely appeal to more riders across America.
While the new Ninja 1000 may not be my ticket to finally dating a super model it definitely oozes some sportiness and sex appeal which caught my eye the first time it appeared in the press. Seeing it up close for the first time I was not disappointed and it is one attractive machine. It does not appear bulky and has a mean and aggressive design. It will never be mistaken for an Italian motorcycle but I think Kawasaki has done a good job of producing a bike that is modern and sporty in appearance without looking boring as so many Japanese bikes in this class often do. The wide bars have a good bend and are very comfy on the wrists while giving plenty of leverage to help with turn-in. I was kind of surprised at just how comfy the new Ninja 1000 is. Viewing the Ninja from curbside it looks absolutely sport, but once you sit it on the bike and feel the rubber mounted pegs, wide bars and comfy seat you are soon thinking this will be a great sport-touring bike.
The seat has has an extra degree of comfort you won't feel on a purebred sportbike. This carries over to the passenger seat as well and the Ninja 1000 provides ample room for a passenger and is comfortable for long distance 2-up rides. I am a big fan of the exhaust design and shape on the Ninja, I have always liked an exhaust more on the stubby side that does not hang way off the back and the Ninja's is very short with a low center of gravity. The all-black exhaust features a 4-into-2 pre-chamber-into-2 layout with a catalyst. The exhaust note is very quiet meaning your neighbors will love this exhaust just as much as you will!
The Ninja 1000 features a liquid-cooled, 16-valve 1043cc inline-four powerplant fed by Keihin DFI and 38mm throttle bodies. Bore and stroke is 77.0 x 56.0 and the compression ratio is 11.8:1. The Ninja produces 136 Horsepower at the crank and redlines at 11,000 RPM. The motor delivers plenty of torque and wheelies are never a problem but it does so in a refined way, with no bad boy attitude. Power starts building very early in the rev range at about 2500 RPM and makes a very useable and fun power delivery. The power seems to always be on tap whenever you need it in any situation and the bike feels stronger than it's slightly low horsepower numbers would have you believe. It's an extremely versatile motor that feels just as happy doing some touring as it does carving the local canyons. While it may not have loads of straight line dragstrip speed, it is very quick getting you from corner to corner through varied terrain and is overall a very credible motor. It's a Kawasaki 1000 motor . . I don't think anyone would expect it to be weak.
The Ninja 1000 weighs in at 500 pounds wet and while no lightweight it does not feel heavy or bulky at speed. In fact it feels quite composed and stable when the pace gets quick and riders should have no problem keeping up with their racer-replica friends on anything short of a closed race course. The Ninja has an inverted 41mm fork with compression and rebound damping and adjustable preload. Out back is a horizontal monoshock positioned above the swingarm where it is less exposed to exhaust heat. The shock features rebound and spring preload adjustment. Suspension was firm and planted and soaked up the urban jungle quite well. There is no excessive dive in the front fork when hard on the brakes and overall it delivered a plush feeling. As I also found out it did a good job of soaking up speed bumps at serious speed. While taking a chance to wind the Ninja open on a little open road I stumbled upon near the dockyards along the coast of Long Beach I failed to notice a set of speed bumps that came into my vision just as I was Shifting on the big Kawi's 6-speed transmission was typical smooth and precise. The front stoppers on the Ninja 1000 are dual 300mm petal-type rotors with radial-mount four piston calipers. The rear features a single 250mm rotor with a single caliper. The brakes are superb and make hauling you down from speed a breeze. I really liked the feel at the lever and they felt nearly race worthy, not weak or wooden as some street biased brakes often feel. So is the new Ninja 1000 really the perfect recipe for the everyday rider? A rider who knows he will never be racing Monza or touring the Iron Butt across America? The answer is yes, you really can't go wrong with the Ninja 1000. I'd be plenty happy having this bike parked in my garage regardless of where the ride of the day takes place. So if you wake up in the morning with two text messages, one from a buddy who wants to do an early morning canyon ride and another from your girlfriend wanting to do an all-day two up ride, just stroll down to the garage. If the Ninja 1000 is parked there, you've got the perfect bike for those rides! ENGINE: Engine type : Horizontal In-line 4-cylinder Stroke : 4-Stroke Cylinder : 4 Valves / Valve per cylinder : 16 / 4 Valves configuration : DOHC Displacement : 1043 cc (63.6 cu.in.) Bore x Stroke : 3.03 x 2.2 in. Compression ratio : 11.8:1 Starter : Electric Cooling system : Liquid Fuel Requirement : Regular gas Fuel System : DFI w/ four 38 mm Keihin throttle body, oval sub-throttle Ignition : TCBI w/ digital advance Redline : 11000 rpm TRANSMISSION: WHEELS & TIRES: BRAKES & SUSPENSION:
Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites            |
| Last Updated on Wednesday, 02 November 2011 10:40 |
