
KAWASAKI Z1000SX (2017 - 2019) Review

At a glance
Owners' reliability rating: | |
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Annual servicing cost: | £240 |
Power: | 140 bhp |
Seat height: | Medium (32.1 in / 815 mm) |
Weight: | High (518 lbs / 235 kg) |
Prices
Overall rating
Next up: Ride & brakesThe first Kawasaki Z1000SX had the mixture right back in 2010 and they’ve just continued to improve the model over the years, culminating with this latest version.
It has since been replaced, so follow the link for the 2020 Kawasaki Ninja 1000SX review.
The new SX is littered with advanced rider aids, is sharper looking and comfier than before. Kawasaki have simply listened to customer feedback and made small changes which have made a big difference.
Ride quality & brakes
Next up: EngineKawasaki have lowered the rear by changing the shock linkage and modified the suspension at both ends. The lowered rear has slightly reduced ground clearance and slowed down the steering slightly compared to the previous model. The steering is ok, just not as neutral as I was expecting. But the feedback is actually impressive, more so from the rear.
Engine
Next up: ReliabilityAs the old saying goes ‘if it ain’t broke don't fix it’, which is why Kawasaki have left the motor untouched from the old 2014 model. The bore and stroke and all internals are the same as the old 1043cc Z1000-derived motor. Kawasaki have been forced to clean up the fuelling for Euro 4 and added an eco-friendly exhaust, but essentially it’s the same with near identical power and torque.
Reliability & build quality
Next up: ValueKawasaki have retained a high quality feel while keeping costs low. The clocks now feature a gear position indicator, changeable rev limiter and ambient temperature.
Value vs rivals
Next up: EquipmentPrices haven’t been confirmed yet but are expected to be below £10,000 - only a few hundred more than the current model. Impressive considering the amount of rider aids and new technology. ABS now comes as standard, panniers are an optional extra.
Equipment
Kawasaki have added traction control (KTRC), controlled by an integrated Bosch Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU). This is also partnered to the new Kawasaki Cornering Management Function (KCMF) which modulates braking force, meaning the SX’s traction control and ABS are both lean angle sensitive for the first time; a very similar system to the current ZX-10R. Panniers don’t come as standard and are an optional extra.
Specs |
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Engine size | 1043cc |
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Engine type | 16v DOHC in-line four cylinder, 6 gears |
Frame type | Aluminium twin tube |
Fuel capacity | 19 litres |
Seat height | 815mm |
Bike weight | 235kg |
Front suspension | 41mm inverted forks, fully adjustable |
Rear suspension | Horizontally mounted rear shock, adjustable preload and rebound |
Front brake | 2x300mm petal discs. Tokico four-piston radial calipers |
Rear brake | 1x250mm petal disc, Tokico single-piston caliper |
Front tyre size | 120/70ZR17 |
Rear tyre size | 190/50ZR17 |
Mpg, costs & insurance |
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Average fuel consumption | 49 mpg |
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Annual road tax | £93 |
Annual service cost | £240 |
New price | - |
Used price | £6,200 - £15,000 |
Insurance group |
- How much to insure? |
Warranty term | - |
Top speed & performance |
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Max power | 140 bhp |
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Max torque | 82 ft-lb |
Top speed | 165 mph |
1/4 mile acceleration | - |
Tank range | 180 miles |
Model history & versions
Model history
2010: Model introduced
Other versions
Kawasaki Z1000: Super naked version
Other Kawasaki Z model reviews
- Kawasaki Z1000 review (2014-on)
- Kawasaki Z1000 review (2010-2013)
- Kawasaki Z1000 review (2007-2009)
- Kawasaki Z1000 review (2004-2006)
- Kawasaki Z1000SX review (2014-on)
- Kawasaki Z1000SX review (2010-2013)
- Kawasaki Z125 review (2019-on)
- Kawasaki Z250SL review (2015-on)
- Kawasaki Z300 review (2015-on)
- Kawasaki Z400 review (2019-on)
- Kawasaki Z650 review (2017-on)
- Kawasaki Z750 review (2007-2012)
- Kawasaki Z750 review (2003-2006)
- Kawasaki Z750R review (2011-2012)
- Kawasaki Z800 review (2013-on)
- Kawasaki Z900 review (2017-on)
- Kawasaki Z900RS review (2017-on)
- Kawasaki Z900RS Café review (2018-on)
Owners' reviews for the KAWASAKI Z1000SX (2017 - 2019)
16 owners have reviewed their KAWASAKI Z1000SX (2017 - 2019) and rated it in a number of areas. Read what they have to say and what they like and dislike about the bike below.
Review your KAWASAKI Z1000SX (2017 - 2019)
Summary of owners' reviews |
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Overall rating: | |
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Ride quality & brakes: | |
Engine: | |
Reliability & build quality: | |
Value vs rivals: | |
Equipment: | |
Annual servicing cost: | £240 |
Version: Performance Tourer
Year: 2019
Annual servicing cost: £250
On to my third Z1000SX and it remains a fantastic bike... could do with electronics adjustable shocks and heated grips but apart from that it's just a joy to ride on the road and track...
As mentioned, ride quality and shocks are excellent although to get the best you have to remove the Bridgestones as they do not like slippery scottish roads. Breaks are perfect for the road and I only ever changed them for track use as they would start to fade after a day of lapping donnington... but not a concern on the road and have done 10hours hard riding in a day and had nothing but perfect road feedback and quality stopping power.
This bike is renowned for its engine and they have even managed to reduce the 7k vibration I had on previous versions. Power delivery is fantastic!! You can potter through a town in 6th gear at 30 and then take it all the way up to 150mph without changing gear but if u want to do some real track work it really comes alive at the top of the rev range... and sounds lovely without being stupidly loud...
I can't complain much as the bike is extremely well built , electronics work in harmony and shocks etc are all of good enough quality for most of us road users and track day mental.. over the years ive had very few issues with any of them. Latest version has fantastic lights compared to previous ones, and has thenupgraded in cornering ABS but on the down side the OEM chain is awful as it rusts even when its never seen rain but does give you the excuse to upgrade to a better one and replace the sprocket with a colour coded SuperSprox one.. also, the Bridgestone tyres that come with it give really poor grip and I always end up having to change them immediately to PR5s which bring the bike to life and drastically improves front tyre confidence....
Local garage ive used for years so quality is good as kawasaki garage too far away....
Definitely got lots of positives but could do with electronic suspension for us not techies who want to do a little racing every now and again (remembering it weighs in around 235kg so mucking about with the suspension can be as rewarding as dangerous) also heated grips, comfier seat, better quality chain and always, I mean always, change those Bridgestones before u end up with a costly drop!!!..
Buying experience: Got it from Preston Superbikes and they were excellent from initial contact through to after care contact... highly recommend them and their prices were very competitive...
Version: Touring model
Year: 2019
Smooth engine loads of tork and grunt. Great gearbox, can be in 6th gear at 30mph and it will still pick up and go.
Quiet and smooth throughout the rev range
Good build quality.
500 mile service £80 then annual service of around £225
Heated grips a must have! Tyres that bike was supplied with Awful. Changed them after less than 2000 miles.
Buying experience: Fantastic buying experience from Greenham Kawasaki
Version: tourer
Year: 2018
Excellent engine, silky smooth with plenty of grunt and beautifully fuelled; great value for money bike with decent service and running costs; the handling is fine once you ditch the awful OE tyres; build quality, fit and finish are very good; the panniers are well made and there's no ugly fittings for them; there's a decent amount of electronics on the bike. The few minus points for me are firstly the digital dash is very difficult to see and brightness can't be adjusted; the OE tyres are vile, they made the bike fall into corners and very skittish over white lines, drain covers etc. I find it quite heavy manoeuvring in tight spaces and on slopes; the seat is not suitable at all for touring, after 100 miles I'm aching and after 500 plus miles in a day it's painful. Overall though it's a great bike.
Brakes are fine; ride quality is also good, the seat however is, for me at least, far too uncomfortable when touring, after 100 miles it's taking my mind off my riding!
Plenty of power and lovely delivery, very enjoyable.
After 2 years and 7k miles it still looks very good and I'm not the best at keeping it clean! I've had no reliability issues at all.
1st service was about £80 and the 1 year service around £170 I think; and that's reminded me thank you, I need to sort out the 2nd year service!
Panniers are very good and have a great fitting system; I had the 12v socket fitted too which I think is a must. There's a great selection of sport touring tyres these days which all get great reviews, so why they fit the dreadful OE tyres I've no idea, I ditched them with less than 2k miles on them, horrid things!
Buying experience: I paid less than £10k brand new including the panniers and a tracker from a dealer and got a fair trade in price for my old bike.
Version: Touring
Year: 2017
Annual servicing cost: £150
Great all rounder
7500 service quite expensive
Year: 2019
Super smooth 4 cylinder engine . Excellent brakes. Love the riding modes. Could ride all day Great paint.
Some nuts and bolts showing signs of age
Buying experience: Bought from Completely Motorcycles in Gloucester, great to deal with.
Year: 2017
Best feature engine the ride,brake and the look of it Worst no place to have your change and maybe glasses.
Love the color orange it was difficult to find a bike with this color
Buying experience: Brought privately it was for £7800 I paid£7250
Version: Performance Tourer
Year: 2019
Annual servicing cost: £200
Happily delivers as a tourer eating up mile after mile with ease while you head to a track day... remove the panniers, set up the suspension a little and you now have a peg scraping track bike that doesn't disappoint. best of both worlds and doesn't break the bank..
Ride quality = 5 out of 5.... brakes = 5 out of 5 on the road but if you want to do track days they start to fade really badly so have had to upgrade them to Brembo and this totally solved the problem Nd I can do full day track sessions with confidence... but as I say, brakes are brilliant for roads as-is..
Plenty of low end torque, tonnes of power away from the lights, 100 easily in 3rd, 6th gear poodles at 30 then drives all the way up to 150 (when allowed ;-)), still has excellent punch when cruising at 80 and you turn the throttle for a lot more, and limiter gives enough room for you to play without killing it... electronics are little lacking and the setup remains a little too manual to be brilliant but set it up once and away you go.......
Only two things to report 1. The oem chain is awful and woukd rust after 2days in the desert, had to change ut and the rear sproket on all my Zs within a few months from new.. 2. The Bridegstone oem tyres are f'ing dangerous as they are lethal on slightly dam roads and, living in scotland, thats all we have!!! Front tyre is terrifying and regularly scares you on roundabouts at slow speeds.. Drop a pair of Pilot Road 4s on it before you even consider picking it up from the dealer and the bike becomes a planted missile with great feedback and front end confidence (I've head Methley and Dunlop give similar improvements) but the original tyres are a disgrace.. (ps. On the pre -2017 the lights were appalling and everyone has to change them to after market leds.. this has been resolved and now the lights are better if not amazing!)
Owned different Zs over the last 5years and not had anything but normal services, new boots, chain & sproket and lots of mods that I chose to add... brilliant value although the first service can be nearer £400...
As discussed, the original bridgestones are far too hard and do not heat up easily in wet condition, leaving a scary front end and continuous flickers of the traction control light even at low speeds. But change them and the bike transforms... no heated grips or cruise control as standard which is poor and decidedly behind the competition in electronic goodies (no modes and manual setup!!!!) but does have incornering ABS and excellent traction control but I guess this is how they keep the price point good... and the after market buoyant..
Buying experience: bought all my Zs from dealers and experience has been excellent. Last two have been demonstrated with my current 2019 being the top of the range Performance Tourer work over £12k but had done 400miles and I negotiated a £9800 purchase which had already had its first service early (saving me £450), cam with 4years extended warranty and I took the train to Preston and rode it home saving me a few hundred pounds and giving me a chance to enjoy the bike and get to know it.....
Version: Sports Tourer with Performance Package
Year: 2019
Annual servicing cost: £400
I have not had this bike long but has just what I need. I'm short legged (29" inside leg) but can put my feet on the ground and the bike isn't as heavy as some. It has a good smooth gear change and excellent braking. The best bit is that the acceleration is great and soon gets you passed that car or away from trouble.
The ride is good but a sfter seat is called for. I've bought an air seat to ease the bum pain. As I've said earlier the brakes are good and gives you alot of confidence.
I still haven't used my bike in the sports mode but am very happy for the performence as it is. Probably get 120 miles to the tank (15 - 17) from empty. I'm sure you could get more out of it if your ride was more conservative shall we say.
I bought this second hand. I've only been a couple of thousand miles on it but have had no issues with it so far. The only thing that seem like it needs tightening is the rear light cluster but I'm told that's how it was designed.
My next service is a major service at 7500miles. The service cost is from Kawasaki. This isn't cheap and should I need a tyre or pads it could be even more expensive. I will probably do around 4000 miles a year so it will be one service a year.
Sometimes hard to see the display when it's sunny but other than that it's great. Had fitted Sat Nav and heated grips.
Buying experience: Bought both of my bikes from J&S Oakmere (Northwich) and the service was great.
Version: Performance tourer
Year: 2018
Annual servicing cost: £170
No centre stand no cruise control disappointing for a sports tourer seat gets uncomfortable after a couple of hours. Epic engine ride around in sixth gear all day long
Awesome engine epic airbox howl
Sometimes gears don't engage you have to be firm with gear changes
Buying experience: Bought new from a dealer
Year: 2018
Great bike as stock.
Brakes are good but poor initial bite
Paint stone chips easily.
Year: 2017
More power than I'll ever need, brakes to match, every electronic rider support going, comfy to ride, lots of bike up front so weather-proof for year-round riding, great lights, integrated pannier system a joy and she's oh so pretty.
Loves the bends, devours the straights. Even with panniers filtering is easy. I've needed a pee before I've needed to stretch my legs. Commuting on busy roads into Oxford a pleasure, taking the long way home a treat. I ride year-round in all weathers and am enjoying the extra weather protection of the substantial fairings and screen. I am degrees warmer than on the GSR750.
140bhp. Smooth at all revs in every gear. Very forgiving in busy traffic. There's no-one going ahead of you at the lights. Overtaking from 60-90 even in 6th before you know it, drop a gear and she's there before you've even thought about it.
Very early days of course but the finish is superb. Paintwork (burnt orange is the fastest colour) is gorgeous, plastics solid and sturdy, all exposed metal seems well protected.
Purchase seemed excellent value to me, such a lot of bike for the money. MPG varies depending on how good a time I'm giving myself from 30ish to 50ish. Not yet at first service which is just a 'nut-check' at 4500.
Electronic rider supports can be as helpful as you want or not at all. Still on the supplied tyres which are OK, I will change to PR4 when ready I think as I've always enjoyed those. Kawasaki panniers solid. Easy to remove, capacious. No top box option with them so looking for something post-Christmas for when I'm not carting much stuff to and from work. Standard exhausts are a bit of an odd look maybe but I don't really mind and they sound good to me.
Buying experience: On Yer Bike Aylesbury gave a decent deal on a six month old ex-demo with 1000 miles on clock, which they put up to full tourer spec for £9k. Customer service top notch.
Year: 2017
Annual servicing cost: £350
What is there to say apart from what a bike, handling and grip is awesome. And the sound of that exhaust is just wicked when you open it up, blistering speed that will put a smile on your face. You can tour on it or be a hooligan when the time is right.
Love it
6000 miles so far from new and hasn't skipped a beat
Michelin pilot 4's and heated grips, what more is there
Year: 2017
Annual servicing cost: £136
I like its stance, handle bar positsion, and the mirrors are better positioned, not just ornaments. The panniers, how they attach and detach, no ugly mounting frames on show. All the traction and suspension gadgets. I've had this bike over seven months and never tire just taking its cover off and seeing its overall looks, and colour.
The longest l have rode it was approx two hours, back was a bit stiff when l got off. Very lightweight easy to take bends, seems wide, but still easy to filter. City and country roads are not a problem.
Starts first time every time, usual Kawasaki quality, build and finish.
Had to get checked at 600 miles.
How it looks and rides.
Buying experience: Bought from M&S motorcycles in Newcastle, shopped around most of the country and glad to say l got the best deal on my doorstep. Gary was first class, l got the bike at the retail price, but got offered the best part ex value.
Year: 2017
Annual servicing cost: £300
Massive improvement over previous version
Great ride supple and well balanced, handles all roads, this best improvement over the old model. Brakes are top notch for road use. The riders seat is more comfortable now but its still not a two up long haul bike, pillion seat is just to small compared to a proper tourer.
Lovely smooth power delivery,not as vibey as my old model much easier to ride at higher revs. Still got a good top end rush. 140 hp is good enough for most situations.
Lovely paint, finish on other parts not as good as some European brands but that is reflected in the price. No issues with reliability so far.
not much difference to any other 4 cylinder 1000.
New clocks are good, no helmet lock, the std Bridgestone tyres seem to work much better than on the old bike, but i will still try some other brands when worn out
Year: 2017
Excellent bike with one or two issues
Great engine but gearbox needs better refinement when going down in the gears.
Cruise control on longer trips.
Version: Tourer
Year: 2017
This is my second Z1000SX. I loved the first one and I wasn't even going to swap it. But when I read about the improvements on the new Z, it was as if they asked me to write a things they could possibly improve. Head lights, wind protection, seat comfort, gear indicator, outside temperature ... I must say however, I am still slightly disappointed with seat comfort. It is claimed by Kawasaki to have been improved with this new version, but I really can't feel any major difference from previous version. Apart from that, I can't fault it. Amazing bike.