What makes the Ninja 1000 so great?

[Silverbird]

Looking a all kinds of different new bikes, but I hear this 1000 is a gem. Any nit picks you can't fix with the aftermarket?  

[blakebird]

six of the top eight threads in Mfr Row/Kawasaki are about it  


It's just another bike - like any of them, some love it, some dont.... and some think their Bandit is the be-all, end-all  

I've only had mine a short time, I haven't lived with it on the road for a week yet.
Haven't bonded with it yet so that it feels comfortable throwing it around at a pace.

But, all indications so far are that it's going to be a helluva lot of fun - and it got as far as my garage by having a few features I like.
Comfort, range, and hella power where you can use it.

You anywhere near Denver? You could take mine for a spin.

[ray916mn]

I've done about 9K on mine.

What makes the bike great is the relatively low weight, combined with good power/power curve, handling and availability of hard bags.

One nit I have not seen solved is the bar angle is not to everyone's taste, nor is the bar height. Some people would like a higher bar, some would like a lower bar. I expect that a set of ConvertiBars would fix the problem to anyone and everyone's satisfaction, but I haven't heard of anyone actually trying them.

The other nit is, the bike seems to chew front tires when ridden aggressively in turns. In over 30 years of riding on over two dozen bikes from almost every maker, I've never had a bike which wore its the sides of its front tire so fast. Front tire seems to last fine when ridden straight up and down in terms of tire longevity, but do nothing but twisties on it, and the front tire wears as fast as the rear.

[JSharp]

I can agree that the front tire wears almost as fast as the rear. It's the first bike I've owned that did this.

To comment to the OP, as long as you don't expect the bike to be ZX10 or a Concours it's a great bike. Fast enough and sporty enough to be fun but easy to ride and live with day to day. It's a lot like street bikes used to be in the days before they became so specialized. It reminds me a lot of the '81 GPz 1100 I bought new.

[Silverbird]

Is this motor tuned the same as the Z1000's? I hear the Z1000 is a buzz factory but also that the Ninja is counterbalanced.

[JSharp]

The engine on both bikes is identical except for the airbox. Gearing is different too, the Ninja is geared slightly taller.

[DogBoy]

This current generation Z1000/Ninja1000 has a completely new engine developed for these bikes only and shares nothing with the previous generation ZX-9 based engines. I doubt it would be as smooth as the CBR1100xx engine which is supposed one of the smoothest I-4's ever produced.

[blakebird]

This current generation Z1000/Ninja1000 has a completely new engine developed for these bikes only and shares nothing with the previous generation ZX-9 based engines. I doubt it would be as smooth as the CBR1100xx engine which is supposed one of the smoothest I-4's ever produced.

It's a fairly long stroke motor, that's where the impressive midrange grunt comes from. Strokey motors buzz at high rpms, but this one lives and does it's business below 9k. It's very smooth until you really spin it up, but by then other things have your full attention.

As smooth as the Blackbird is, you'll find the 14 to be noticeably smoother. There's a couple of generations of engine development between the last XX and current generation hyperbikes. The 14 is amazingly smooth - might be the sweetest motor put in a bike.

[RideDualSport.com]

Dudes, I just returned from a 1200 mile ride to West Texas for a hike and here are my impressions of the the Sargent seat, Dunlop RoadSmart tires and other stuff.
The Sargent seat is very high quality and light weight. The foam is about 1/2 inch thicker than stock which gives a nice relaxed feel in the knees. The first few hundred miles on the seat were uncomfortable, but as the ride progressed the foam took on the shape of my butt and became very supportive without bottoming out. The seat is wider and has a dished shape which prevents sliding forward. One of my sit-bones protrudes more than the other - which causes a hot spot of discomfort to develop after a few hundred miles, but to the seat's credit the discomfort never escalated and during gas breaks my butt recovered quickly. The seat is a huge improvement over stock and I am very happy with it. I tried a sheep skin on the seat, but frankly it hinders the seat's ability to fully cradle your butt. So I don't use the sheep skin.

After 1600 miles the Dunlop RoadSmarts have a slight flat spot now, but they are holding up really well. I run 36psi front and 42 psi rear and the grip, handling and feedback are superior to stock. They also absorb small road irregularities and give a more comfortable ride. I hope to get 8,000 miles out of the rear which is twice the OEM mileage.

The Ninja 1000 does have some shortcomings as a long distance bike, fiddling with soft luggage is a pain but it is cheap and effective. A day in the rain showed how poorly the minimal fenders protect the bike and rider from road grime and chain lube - the radiator, motor, tail piece and shock were really grungy after only one day in the rain, plus the luggage got fairly nasty. While most riders seem to want to minimize the appearance of the rear hugger and chain guard, I will be looking into ways of extending the fenders to minimize the amount of road slop on the bike.

The OEM front screen provided ample protection in the full up position, I was comfortable and helmet noise was minimal.
But I am only 5'8", larger riders may prefer an aftermarket screen.  
I plan on covering even longer distances on the bike, so once I address the fenders and modify the chain guard (to reduce  fling from my Scott Oiler) the bike will be easier to clean and maintain after a long wet ride.
I think I got around 35 to 38 mpg depending on how gentle I was on the throttle, the bike loves to cruise at 80mph and the  gobs of power make overtaking vehicles a breeze. However, I found myself wanting to pass vehicles sooner and more often. In other words the bikes power was influencing my decisions to pass. So to be safer, I would just chill, as if I was riding my Buell.

[sportrider]

     

[blakebird]

Last weekend's 1,600 mile ride to southern NM, AZ and back.

I can travel pretty light, luggage was easy. One of my smaller tank bags and the excellent Held Speedy tail bag.
The Held had room for socks, shorts, t-shirts, shaving kit, and my Gerbing heated liner.
I wore Alpinestar leathers (lower) and a 3/4 length jacket, brought no jeans or shoes - I do not overdress for dinner

Parker, Walsenburg, Ft. Garland, Taos,Santa Fe.
Galisteo, Madrid, MountainAir, Socorro, TorC, 152 to Silver City, 180 to 78 jct....Clifton, AZ
Devil's hwy, Alpine, Reserve, Very Large Array, Santa Fe
Alamosa, Salida, Canon City, Parker

43mpg...  Comfortable and smooth, plenty fun when the roads get good.

Mule Creek Jct  - NM 180/78




Clifton, AZ


near the south end of 191


Blue Lake vista overlook - 191


Very Large Array

[DogBoy]

How come we don't have a jealous smilie? I sure could use one in these Ninja 1000 threads.

[blakebird]

An 1,100 mile weekend down into northern New Mexico, the bike continues to impress with a perfect combination of comfort and sportbike ability.

US50 between Canon City and Salida, aka Texas Creek Raceway


breakfast in Saguache


west over Wolf Creek Pass




Pagosa Springs, Chama, Abiquiu, Santa Fe

While there we rode the Jemez....from Los Alamos on 4 to Jemez Springs and back.
Back home today via Espanola, Taos, Eagle Nest, Cimarron, Raton...

[blakebird]

[shrogers]

All bikes are compromises, but the Ninja's all-round balance nails the sweet spot for many of us.

[sfalexi]

What's the excess wattage on this bike?  

I've searched and searched and searched, and I can't find it anywhere.  FJR has about 230 extra which is more than enough for heated gear for me and the wifey, but how's this one?  That's pretty much the only thing keeping it from going to number 2 on my "possibilities for the future" list (number 1 being a Tiger 800 as it intrigues me more)

I will say, this is one pretty bike and makes me drool every time I see one at a dealer.

Alexi

[blakebird]

she ok riding back there?  

I don't have my manual handy, but I read on another forum the alternator output is around 336w. I always thought my Gen II FJR was low on output, but I ran aux lighting and heated gear, etc on that bike. I did put a voltage monitor on the FJR to keep an eye on it.

On the N1K I don't carry a passenger, and no aux lighting.
My 77w Gerbing liner gets used all the time on this bike with no issues.

[sfalexi]

she ok riding back there?  

I don't have my manual handy, but I read on another forum the alternator output is around 336w. I always thought my Gen II FJR was low on output, but I ran aux lighting and heated gear, etc on that bike. I did put a voltage monitor on the FJR to keep an eye on it.

On the N1K I don't carry a passenger, and no aux lighting.
My 77w Gerbing liner gets used all the time on this bike with no issues.

Bummer.  I was hoping it'd be more.  I can see that it probably has a LITTLE bit of juice (I can see one vest on fulltime, or a heated jacket with a heat-troller), but that still is not close to what I'm comfortable with.  Looks like I'll have to keep the tiger 800 as my number one wish for upgrade in the future till something that intrigues me more comes out.

Alexi

[JSharp]

The 336 watt alternator output seems to come from numerous magazine articles. I've looked in both the owners manual and the service manual and can't find a number anywhere that's actually provided by Kawasaki.

[blakebird]

that's plenty of output for a solo rider with heated gear.

[BradleyRas]

I never saw the 1000ninja until now, how did I miss this model?    I must admit, I   it!

[Deacon66]

I never saw the 1000ninja until now, how did I miss this model?    I must admit, I   it!

I recently bought one but with rain and travel only have a few hundred miles clocked.  I just put Givi hardbags on for a trip up to NC (from FL) in October.  Early indications are that this is an excellent bike.  The seat sucks, but everything else in my limited experience with the bike is really good.  Looking forward to getting some more miles on the clock.

[JSharp]

I recently bought one but with rain and travel only have a few hundred miles clocked.  I just put Givi hardbags on for a trip up to NC (from FL) in October.  Early indications are that this is an excellent bike.  The seat sucks, but everything else in my limited experience with the bike is really good.  Looking forward to getting some more miles on the clock.

 

Almost 11K miles on mine now. The more you ride it the more you'll like it.

[Cricket1]

How is the handling?  I know the stock tires suck, but when BIKE magazine did a long term test, they thought it was just so- so, even with replacement tires.

[ray916mn]

How is the handling?  I know the stock tires suck, but when BIKE magazine did a long term test, they thought it was just so- so, even with replacement tires.

Handles fine. Better than the 5th or 6th generation VFR in my opinion. Stock tires were fine, just didn't last long.

[JSharp]

Handles fine. Better than the 5th or 6th generation VFR in my opinion. Stock tires were fine, just didn't last long.

+1 on the BT-016's. If someone else was buying them I'd keep running them.