It looks like the Kawasaki Z1000SX may possibly be discontinued, and the gap in the market will be filled by an awesome sports tourer instead. After Ducati recently unveiled their revival of the SuperSport 939 earlier this month, it seems like Kawasaki have also had the same ideas. Thanks to these recently seen patent drawings, Kawasaki will be launching a new liter class Ninja to invigorate the sports-tourer segment. See you later adventure bikes, it looks like the sports-tourer is coming back with a vengeance.
Could A Ninja 1000 Tourer Replace The Z1000SX?
Take a look at these CG images of the patent sketches and tell us what you think. From our point of view, we’re impressed. While we love the Z1000 in its stock form, something with a sportier edge like you can see in these images is definitely a welcome update. This fully faired machined will no doubt be powered by the same engine as the Z1000, although we’re fairly certain that it will be upgraded to fall in line with next year’s Euro4 regulations, but expect the output to remain at around the 140hp marker. As for the chassis, it looks the same as the current Z1000 and Z1000SX. It’s too early to tell whether the Z1000 and SX will get the Euro4 upgrades too, but a change has to happen to them if they’re going to meet the Euro4 regs.
However, these new patents are a definite step in streamlining Kawasaki’s range. As you can see, there’s a clear evolution of thought going on here, bringing this sports tourer more into step with the award winning H2 and H2R hyper bikes. While this model is definitely being bred for road use only, the aggressive fairings, and the addition of aerodynamic winglets really fit in with Kawasaki’s current design process. It’s not supercharged, but it’s from the same stable.
The Z1000SX is still an awesome bike, but there is definitely room for improvement, especially as the market is growing and other manufacturers are putting their efforts into sporty, touring machines. Take the KTM 1290 Super Duke GT as a prime example, or Suzuki’s GSX-S1000F; they’re all incredibly versatile platforms that are capable of long distance touring, as well as being enormously good fun around the twisties. Is a Ninja 1000 tourer what the doctor ordered?
Anyway, let’s look at the patent drawings and see what’s on offer. First off, the Kawasaki has LED lights at the front, complete with an aggressive front end that takes a lot of inspiration from the ZX-10R. Combine that new front end with the sports fairings, and you’ve got something that’s quite special. The sharp front end is pretty fierce, but whether that makes its way to the final design is debatable. We mentioned the aerodynamic winglets too – although banned from 2017 onward in MotoGP, they’re perfectly legal for the road – and they help synergize this sports tourer platform with Kawasaki’s other sports inspired models.
Apart from that, that’s all we have for the time being – but any addition to the Kawasaki line up is a welcome one.
