I had a new 2012 Z1000SX that I kept for 5 years. It does have great build quality, performance and it was green. Resale value was also good and I only lost £3k on the original price when selling. I found it enjoyable at times, but the lack of comfort from the hard seat, stiff rear suspension and bars that were too flat and without adjustment made it rather a pain the majority of the time. Owing to the powerful engine there weren't that many opportunities to gun it in real world road riding. I now own a 2010 Mk1 CBF1000 I bought second hand. To be honest I wasn't expecting it to be very good, just cheap. It's not as powerful (42bhp less), but it's much more usable, comfortable and fun to ride on roads. Surprisingly it's really grown on me and personally it's my choice (of these two) as a proper road bike rather than needing track days to use the performance.
My pick of that bunch is the Suzuki GSX1250 FA. This bike is a genuine all rounder capable of doing almost everything well. It's low down mid range torque is exactly where you need it in the real world. It's basically a GSF Bandit with full fairing, centre stand and ABS. Best of all it's only £8,000 new which is amazing considering what it can do. It's powerful and fast which isn't surprising when you consider it's muscle bike heritage. With a few mods this bike can do 160 MPH plus in a straight line and the stock OEM bike will push 145 MPH. For high speed comfortable motorway mile munching this beast is superb as it will sit at 100 MPH all day. The engine is over engineered and is bulletproof.
@@41778055 I bought a 16 plate 1250 in feb 17 and it is as good as the review above states, I paid 6k for it then and was offered £4300 a couple of weeks ago for a trade in. I was tempted to go down to a smaller more commuter friendly bike, say a 650 versys or vstrom, which tbh would suit my needs better, but each time I go for a demo, I am reminded how great my bike is on the ride home, so I have decided tomkeep hold of it. You can come off a roundabout at 20mph in second gear, open the throttle and in a few seconds look down and see you are up to 60 lol, great fun. I have had it up to 120 and felt safe on it. It is quite heavy when manouvering around in garage etc, but that goes away as soon as you start moving
I would not argue that the Kawasaki is the best of the three bikes tested. I am a Honda man but I love all three of these bikes. But Adam, you were a little harsh on the Honda. "Whats it got beneath it ?" you ask - Well its a fireblade engine actually. "Not sure where the money has gone", whilst it may be a little expensive it is pretty good quality and, compared to the earlier version of the CBF 1000 it has adjustable, & better quality, suspension front & rear, sorted generator/RegRec, ally frame, clearer speedo, slightly more power etc etc. I know lots of people who have traded from the Bandit to the CBF to get a lighter bike with better handling. Albeit slightly less torque. I have not ridden the Kwaker and I would like to - it looks great. But the CBF is better than Adam gives it credit for, and, in my opinion, better than the Bandit.
i've got the kawasaki, just bought it a few weeks ago and it's a great bike, best i've ridden. no buzz saw. perhaps years ago, has a better counterbalancer set up and is just quite smooth. i could ride a thousand miles on it, in fact i have! that said, easily the best out there in this class.
I owned a brand new 2016 model of the Ninja 1000 as it's called here in the states, and a brand new 2016 Bandit 1250S. Kaw has much more horsepower and just a very little bit more torque than the Bandit, and the bike weighs over 50 pounds less, but that 1255 cc Suzuki engine produces the torque lower in the rev range making it more useful. The Kaw has only the one headlight on when on low beam, looks like a bulb has gone out, unbalanced looking. The Suzuki's engine is MUCH smoother than the buzzy Kawasaki. The Kaw shifts much smoother. The dual (weird looking) exhaust on the Kaw ( to me) isn't as nice as the Suzuki's single sided unit. In the end I sold my Ninja and kept the Bandit.
Twist and go, nothing to worry about, even pull from any gear more or less, no rush up top, will do everything well enough. Bland is a good description, as most scooters are, even the pricey ones, it's hard to get the adrenaline flowing on an automatic bike (scooters) regardless of everything else, and there's really just one scooter out there that's really fast (GP800/SRV850).
We've bought the 2012 Z1000SX. Half a year ago. Its pretty sporty and fast, not just becouse its the first bike for me. You can dive into corners completely but if you are unlucky, you might scratch your exhaust! The only sad thing is, that it is limited to 240-250km/h although it could reach 300 with its 140hp. Another negative thing is or might be its weight but thats usual for tourers. Its a great Funbike, everyday Bike and an OK tourer. Good for sporty people who like to travel
3:35 "In every kind of aspect it's better than the other two" sure, if you ignore an important feature for a so called '...tourer', where's the centre stand? 4:22 "it does everything the other two can do" unless you need to pull the rear wheel off in the middle of nowhere to change a tyre.
I guess you've never had a flat on a long trip. It's very simple, you place the bike on it's centre stand (if you're lucky enough to have one), remove the wheel, thumb a ride from a good samaritan to the nearest town, have tyre changed/repaired, reverse the steps. The alternative is to trailer the bike or wait for a van/truck, not good options. The obvious additional benefit for chain drives such as this bike is cleaning, lubricating and adjusting the chain. It also helps when loading luggage if you're in touring mode. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Kawasaki nut and I'd probably buy one of these but, if KHI want to offer a Sports 'Tourer', I just don't see why it doesn't have a centre stand.
I bought one of these at 56 as a born again biker. It is just like a scooter. Any old gear at any speed and it goes. It can also be thrashed off the line with nothing happening apart from loads of acceleration, no wheelies or wheel spin. My last bike was an RD350. The first few gears would have the front wheel in the air, and it was impossible to use full power off of the line. All this excitement would go on as everybody else overtook me. My wife has a scooter (SH125), it is brilliant but slow. My CBF is just as easy to ride as the 125 but compared to the traffic you meet every day, is capable of letting all sorts of hell loose in a mad dash to obviously 69mph on a dual carriageway.
@@MrDickBills i love my cbf. I love its smoothness. It just glides along. All the power you need. It is a litre bike after all. It is what it is. Love it or loath it. I don't even want to put a can on it. It's quietness kind of suits it. I like sexy bikes but i always like to jump back on my cbf! Its a joy.
What did you say?. Hondo is so easy to drive almost as big a scooter ????. seema You never ride a big scooter ... because ..scooter is very difficult to ride well and agile and smootly and fast in corner as Honda can go much better and faster as a big scooter. I think you just talk somthing...to make minutes in this videos...
You always mention like a scooter???do this bike really like a scooter?by the looks alone,you can easily differentiate it will..This is a sports touring bike,the similarity of this bike to a scooter?"the both have to wheels"
The buzz from the engine on the Kawasaki Ninja Z1000SX that travels through every part of the bike and "into" the rider is unbearable for many, myself included. That nasty buzz just ruins the whole experience. It's almost unbelievable that Adam didn't even mention it, as it's so pervasive and impossible not to notice immediately, let alone after riding the bike around for a while.
I've just ridden a SX today and I did not feel any kind of buzz. It's just an amazing bike. Power everywhere, good handling, nice comfort. Maybe I didn't feel a buzz because I am already blunted from my parallel-twin.
I've had my 2014 Z1000SX for 10 months now and have never detected a buzz riding on our Andalucian roads and I don't hang around. This thing is The Best all round road bike I have ever owned.
Mike Ritchie It is a very good bike, but the engine buzz getting through is just too much for some people, and I'm one of them. I'm glad it's working out so well for you.
Like the Channel but every time I look at a UK Video of either a car or bike test it's raining! I pity you guys, really I do! From one biker to all others from Australia.
Yes Kawasaki are awesome, but what is with the new style of end can on the exhaust?? I don't know if i like it, looks like something strange and about the electronics, I agree they are great, while they are working but one little sensor goes down the computer/ ECU is telling you that the bike is fucked, but its not so electronics are great while they are working correctly, sometimes simply is better
I got a gsx 1250 fa ,,, seating is crap after a 100ks radiator to small for a sub tropical climate lazy suspension,,,, cheap finish,,, But it’s a beast.. push it around a corner and you get an adrenaline rush,, like wow slow down,,,,, I have gotten 550 kms on a run still had a litre left,, push it and you will get maybe half.... it’s a gsx 1100 base plant supt up to 1250... change the oil and filter at each 5 or 6000ks intervals keep the carbon out clean oil last for 100,000 easily... oh change the freaking seat... Sargent seat or Corbin.
A simplistic use of the word simplistic! Calling the bike "simplistic" in this context is a huge insult! Adam needs to use a dictionary more oftener so he doesn't make himself sound stupificatious.
Save your money and buy a bandit FFS. Just buy a bandit, get it painted. Wheels too. Nice silencer. He's just said it in not so many words hasn't he. This bike came out best all round tourer by MCN th-cam.com/video/zQCVb7qYp00/w-d-xo.html. You can pick them up soooo reasonably, virtually mint on a newish reg too. Get searching......
I had a new 2012 Z1000SX that I kept for 5 years. It does have great build quality, performance and it was green. Resale value was also good and I only lost £3k on the original price when selling. I found it enjoyable at times, but the lack of comfort from the hard seat, stiff rear suspension and bars that were too flat and without adjustment made it rather a pain the majority of the time. Owing to the powerful engine there weren't that many opportunities to gun it in real world road riding. I now own a 2010 Mk1 CBF1000 I bought second hand. To be honest I wasn't expecting it to be very good, just cheap. It's not as powerful (42bhp less), but it's much more usable, comfortable and fun to ride on roads. Surprisingly it's really grown on me and personally it's my choice (of these two) as a proper road bike rather than needing track days to use the performance.
My pick of that bunch is the Suzuki GSX1250 FA. This bike is a genuine all rounder capable of doing almost everything well. It's low down mid range torque is exactly where you need it in the real world. It's basically a GSF Bandit with full fairing, centre stand and ABS. Best of all it's only £8,000 new which is amazing considering what it can do. It's powerful and fast which isn't surprising when you consider it's muscle bike heritage. With a few mods this bike can do 160 MPH plus in a straight line and the stock OEM bike will push 145 MPH. For high speed comfortable motorway mile munching this beast is superb as it will sit at 100 MPH all day. The engine is over engineered and is bulletproof.
I have just got a bandit 1250s .16 plate. In white and good looking bike. I got a great deal from Bill smith motorcycle. Salesman Ben. Roll on summer.
@@jamesmackinlay2500 what do you think of it now mate? I'm just about to buy a white 16 plate
@@41778055 I bought a 16 plate 1250 in feb 17 and it is as good as the review above states, I paid 6k for it then and was offered £4300 a couple of weeks ago for a trade in.
I was tempted to go down to a smaller more commuter friendly bike, say a 650 versys or vstrom, which tbh would suit my needs better, but each time I go for a demo, I am reminded how great my bike is on the ride home, so I have decided tomkeep hold of it.
You can come off a roundabout at 20mph in second gear, open the throttle and in a few seconds look down and see you are up to 60 lol, great fun. I have had it up to 120 and felt safe on it. It is quite heavy when manouvering around in garage etc, but that goes away as soon as you start moving
I would not argue that the Kawasaki is the best of the three bikes tested.
I am a Honda man but I love all three of these bikes.
But Adam, you were a little harsh on the Honda. "Whats it got beneath it ?" you ask - Well its a fireblade engine actually.
"Not sure where the money has gone", whilst it may be a little expensive it is pretty good quality and, compared to the earlier version of the CBF 1000 it has adjustable, & better quality, suspension front & rear, sorted generator/RegRec, ally frame, clearer speedo, slightly more power etc etc.
I know lots of people who have traded from the Bandit to the CBF to get a lighter bike with better handling. Albeit slightly less torque.
I have not ridden the Kwaker and I would like to - it looks great. But the CBF is better than Adam gives it credit for, and, in my opinion, better than the Bandit.
I had a 2014 Z1000SX for soon 3 years now. Love it. Its sportier then you might think. I've taken it on track but also on long trips.
i've got the kawasaki, just bought it a few weeks ago and it's a great bike, best i've ridden. no buzz saw. perhaps years ago, has a better counterbalancer set up and is just quite smooth. i could ride a thousand miles on it, in fact i have! that said, easily the best out there in this class.
I owned a brand new 2016 model of the Ninja 1000 as it's called here in the states, and a brand new 2016 Bandit 1250S. Kaw has much more horsepower and just a very little bit more torque than the Bandit, and the bike weighs over 50 pounds less, but that 1255 cc Suzuki engine produces the torque lower in the rev range making it more useful. The Kaw has only the one headlight on when on low beam, looks like a bulb has gone out, unbalanced looking.
The Suzuki's engine is MUCH smoother than the buzzy Kawasaki. The Kaw shifts much smoother. The dual (weird looking) exhaust on the Kaw ( to me) isn't as nice as the Suzuki's single sided unit. In the end I sold my Ninja and kept the Bandit.
Kawasaki have one major advantage over all other rivals....ITS GREEN!!
haaaaaaaa haaaaaaaa haaaaaaaa 😅😅😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 haaaaaaaa 😅😂🤣 haaaaaaaa haaaaaaaa haaaaaaaa haaaaaaaa haaaaaaaa haaaaaaaa haaaaaaaa 😅😂🤣🤣
Twist and go, nothing to worry about, even pull from any gear more or less, no rush up top, will do everything well enough. Bland is a good description, as most scooters are, even the pricey ones, it's hard to get the adrenaline flowing on an automatic bike (scooters) regardless of everything else, and there's really just one scooter out there that's really fast (GP800/SRV850).
Owned both the Z1000sx and the Gsx1250FA. I think the review was pretty accurate. I'm getting old & plump and prefer the GSX now.
I was 95% sold on the Kawa for next year, this has sealed it. Can't wait now.
Thanks MCN. Ordered my Z1000 last week.......
We've bought the 2012 Z1000SX. Half a year ago. Its pretty sporty and fast, not just becouse its the first bike for me. You can dive into corners completely but if you are unlucky, you might scratch your exhaust! The only sad thing is, that it is limited to 240-250km/h although it could reach 300 with its 140hp. Another negative thing is or might be its weight but thats usual for tourers. Its a great Funbike, everyday Bike and an OK tourer. Good for sporty people who like to travel
3:35 "In every kind of aspect it's better than the other two" sure, if you ignore an important feature for a so called '...tourer', where's the centre stand? 4:22 "it does everything the other two can do" unless you need to pull the rear wheel off in the middle of nowhere to change a tyre.
You're always riding with a spare tire on your back? Or how do you change a tire on your own "in the middle of nowhere"?
I guess you've never had a flat on a long trip. It's very simple, you place the bike on it's centre stand (if you're lucky enough to have one), remove the wheel, thumb a ride from a good samaritan to the nearest town, have tyre changed/repaired, reverse the steps. The alternative is to trailer the bike or wait for a van/truck, not good options. The obvious additional benefit for chain drives such as this bike is cleaning, lubricating and adjusting the chain. It also helps when loading luggage if you're in touring mode.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a Kawasaki nut and I'd probably buy one of these but, if KHI want to offer a Sports 'Tourer', I just don't see why it doesn't have a centre stand.
techo61
I have roadside for that... They can have me picked up with my bike and taken to the nearest shop
rjwz28 my girlfriend does the same thing!
David Smith
What? Keeps roadside coverage on her motorcycle?
I've owned the Kawasaki Z100SX 2014 for a year now. Absolutley love it!
Did 255km/h on it this weekend, ops.
2015 z1000 sx Sargent heated seat oxford heated grips with panniers... 100% smiles zero problems outstanding motorcycle
This is one of the very few good MCN videos chaps, well done.
I’ve got a black one, cracking bike smooth, very quick and comfortable
Very nice review. Keep it up!
Chad looks like young Stallone lol
I've ridden 14 different motorcycles, but never tried a scooter. What exactly does Adam mean by the CBF being like a 1000cc scooter?
Means you don't need to change gears so often,it pulls in every gear.(owner of a CBF1000)
I bought one of these at 56 as a born again biker. It is just like a scooter. Any old gear at any speed and it goes. It can also be thrashed off the line with nothing happening apart from loads of acceleration, no wheelies or wheel spin. My last bike was an RD350. The first few gears would have the front wheel in the air, and it was impossible to use full power off of the line. All this excitement would go on as everybody else overtook me. My wife has a scooter (SH125), it is brilliant but slow. My CBF is just as easy to ride as the 125 but compared to the traffic you meet every day, is capable of letting all sorts of hell loose in a mad dash to obviously 69mph on a dual carriageway.
@@MrDickBills i love my cbf. I love its smoothness. It just glides along. All the power you need. It is a litre bike after all. It is what it is. Love it or loath it. I don't even want to put a can on it. It's quietness kind of suits it. I like sexy bikes but i always like to jump back on my cbf! Its a joy.
What about the Yamaha fjr 1300? Now that’s a real sports tourer!!!
100 % ..
What did you say?. Hondo is so easy to drive almost as big a scooter ????. seema You never ride a big scooter ... because ..scooter is very difficult to ride well and agile and smootly and fast in corner as Honda can go much better and faster as a big scooter. I think you just talk somthing...to make minutes in this videos...
You always mention like a scooter???do this bike really like a scooter?by the looks alone,you can easily differentiate it will..This is a sports touring bike,the similarity of this bike to a scooter?"the both have to wheels"
I almost died at the end when that guy jumped in the puddle with his camera in his hand....i'm a photographer...respect the cam as well as the bike :)
The buzz from the engine on the Kawasaki Ninja Z1000SX that travels through every part of the bike and "into" the rider is unbearable for many, myself included. That nasty buzz just ruins the whole experience. It's almost unbelievable that Adam didn't even mention it, as it's so pervasive and impossible not to notice immediately, let alone after riding the bike around for a while.
I think Ill get a cruiser instead of one of these.
I've just ridden a SX today and I did not feel any kind of buzz. It's just an amazing bike. Power everywhere, good handling, nice comfort.
Maybe I didn't feel a buzz because I am already blunted from my parallel-twin.
I've had my 2014 Z1000SX for 10 months now and have never detected a buzz riding on our Andalucian roads and I don't hang around. This thing is The Best all round road bike I have ever owned.
Mike Ritchie
It is a very good bike, but the engine buzz getting through is just too much for some people, and I'm one of them. I'm glad it's working out so well for you.
My wife has shared with me many times that "YOU DONT HAVE ANY FEELINGS", could this be the reason I haven't noticed the buzz?
Whats the diff between CBR and CBF ?
cbr is supersports cbf are tourers more upright sitting. different engine tunings too
oh ok
The fairing
Je possède une Honda CBF 1000 et pour avoir essayé une Kawa SX franchement la kawa est largement supérieure ! Tout à fait d'accord avec l'essayeur.
Ymahar1
Like the Channel but every time I look at a UK Video of either a car or bike test it's raining! I pity you guys, really I do! From one biker to all others from Australia.
marky0071 We don't need your pity. Riding in the rain makes me feel alive.
Are you not able to edit the sound? Music is much louder than the speech. How you manage to make videos is beyond me...
Thank heaven the music track can be heared, I didn't know the song and I happened to love it
Why on a rainy wet day...
Kawasaki wins by color alone 😂👍🏼😎. Team Green!!
He tells you how much better the Ninja is than the Suzuki and the Honda, but fails to mention that it can't be fitted with a center stand.
Hey, that's my point exactly, not a great reviewer is he?
That is very by significant for a touring bike.
@@techo61 Yes he is just preaching to the converted.
@Robert Brumley - Yes they do - its the 2015 Ninja 1000 ABS. In the EU they drop the Ninja name.
Well we don't drop it completely, we just reserve it for the supersport models
djwinger2003 Yeah this isn't what i'd call a ninja...this is like the cave troll that the goblins ( ninja bikes ) bring to the fight :)
Yes Kawasaki are awesome, but what is with the new style of end can on the exhaust??
I don't know if i like it, looks like something strange and about the electronics, I agree they are great, while they are working but one little sensor goes down the
computer/ ECU is telling you that the bike is fucked, but its not
so electronics are great while they are working correctly, sometimes simply is better
I got a gsx 1250 fa ,,, seating is crap after a 100ks radiator to small for a sub tropical climate lazy suspension,,,, cheap finish,,, But it’s a beast..
push it around a corner and you get an adrenaline rush,, like wow slow down,,,,, I have gotten 550 kms on a run still had a litre left,, push it and you will get maybe half.... it’s a gsx 1100 base plant supt up to 1250... change the oil and filter at each 5 or 6000ks intervals keep the carbon out clean oil last for 100,000 easily... oh change the freaking seat... Sargent seat or Corbin.
La migliore moto della sua categoria ,semplicemente fantastica.
one bike missed : triumph sprint gt 1050 !!
Funny they don't sell these models in America. Must be European market only.
In the US Kawasaki's model is called the Ninja 1000 in believe. I have one and it looks just like the Kawi here.
Hi thgre, It's really ama~ing undesirable statuesque 1!
Still think the FZ1 is a better bike with a more quality feel......
Honda doesn't need fans. Honda is Honda.
A simplistic use of the word simplistic! Calling the bike "simplistic" in this context is a huge insult! Adam needs to use a dictionary more oftener so he doesn't make himself sound stupificatious.
Honda is some better. Always.
I go the for the green,i already had honda cbr 600rr,.
Save your money and buy a bandit FFS. Just buy a bandit, get it painted. Wheels too. Nice silencer. He's just said it in not so many words hasn't he. This bike came out best all round tourer by MCN th-cam.com/video/zQCVb7qYp00/w-d-xo.html.
You can pick them up soooo reasonably, virtually mint on a newish reg too. Get searching......
apples and oranges.
Worse pillion position on Kwan, Bandit for me
Honda any day
Ninja 1K
A Beautiful
Machine
it,s a knew kawasaki for me..
Fantastic Viieo. Hey. habitual expansion $ 11
I would never buy a bike with "one eye" headlight.
Why not they generally work better.
kawasaki 1000 cc have issue spring valve broken....mostly zx10......
@2:32 the GAYEST moment in Motorcycle Review History 😛🙈😂😂
la 1000cbf j l ait essayer c est un veau