2025 Kawasaki Ninja 1100SX SE Review | Motorcycle Test TechTricks365

2025 Kawasaki Ninja 1100SX SE Review

Sport bikes are always a compromise. They’re brilliant on track and on your favourite backroad, they look awesome, and they impart a feeling to the rider other bikes simply can’t match. Cruiser riders would never get it.

Conversely, sport bikes don’t make good touring buddies. They’re cramped, uncomfortable, pretty rubbish at carrying luggage and riding one at the posted speed limit feels like neutering a pitbull.

Kawasaki has known this for ages and has been pushing the Ninja 1000 as an alternative to knackered knees since 2011.

Based on the Z1000 naked bike, over time the Ninja 1000 became the Ninja 1000 SX, and, as the Z1000 saw a quiet demise from Kawasaki’s line-up, the SX gained a foothold as one of two machines to use that particular motor, the other being the Versys 1000.

For 2025, the Ninja (and the Versys for that matter), has gained capacity from 1043 cc to 1099 cc. This increase in displacement is achieved through a 3 mm longer stroke, although a heavier flywheel, milder camshaft profiles and intake work has seen peak power reduced from 140 hp to 134 hp.

The good news is these changes have given the SX a stronger low to mid-range torque curve for more sedate-speed riding. You’re not going warp speed all the time, right?

When Kawasaki put new “high lift”, not “higher lift” cams in their ZX-6R back in 2024, the company said was trying to make an engine that was designed to have its nuts revved off more tractable, and offer more useful performance for the street. But in reality, it was also to appease the emissions gods. After all, less air and less fuel means less power, less emissions, and less melting ice caps.

It’s the same thing again in 2025 for the SX. Emissions control the game here, and with “milder” cams you need a larger capacity to make a similar amount of horsepower, otherwise your 1000 SX would be producing truly woeful numbers. This is the reason KTM can’t seem to sit still for even one year as they continually up the capacity of their street bikes.

So, welcome to your new 1100 SX.

As before you’ve got four riding modes in Rain, Street, Sport and Rider, the last being the fully programable mode that lets you fiddle around with traction control (levels 1-3, plus Off) and choose between Full or Low power modes (Low power gives you 75 per cent of the available throttle with a softer response, by the way).

In practice, however, Kawasaki’s delivered a peach of an engine for its given performance realm. It’s supremely smooth at low rpm and punch at high rpm that makes pulling out and passing cars on the freeway way easier than you’d believe.

Sixth gear roll-ons at 100 km/h has you sitting around 4500 rpm, which is right in the sweet spot for some pretty impressive acceleration. There’s oodles of mid-range torque to boot, but, and I’m sorry to say, the motor would benefit from a little more character.   It is undoubtedly a superbly engineered power unit, but perhaps a nice aftermarket can would liberate a little more personality. On the upside, at least the induction roar the original 1000 was so well known for is still there.

Kawasaki’s refined the new quick-shifter to work from 1500 rpm and up, and it’s so damn good at what it does it’s almost robotic.

Get the motor spinning between 4000-7000 rpm and there’s more than enough performance on hand. Torque for days, a good noise to go with it, and you can pull away from the lights in fourth gear easily. What’s not to like? A bit of anger in the personality perhaps? I’ll leave that up to you.

Suspension is conventionally-adjusted in the 41 mm Showa fork, adjustable three ways like any good fork (comp, rebound and pre-load). The 2025 SX model gains an Ohlins S46 shock, the same one that has resided in plenty of past Kawasakis, like my favourite Z900 RS SE, adjustable for rebound and pre-load.

Kawasaki even given you a remote pre-load adjuster for those days when you’re taking the missus on the back—super handy given the suspension doesn’t come with wires and electronic switches like the Versys SE LT does (which we sadly don’t get in Australia).

Road holding is excellent—especially so given the Bridgestone Battlax S23 rubber that comes as standard. Given the claimed wet weight of 234 kg, you’ve got a bit to play with and it is not as nimble as something like a Tracer 9 GT, but the Kawasaki will hustle along your favourite backroad plenty well.

A few turns of pre-load will do most riders the world of good to stop the chassis running wide under power on corner exits, but for the most part, I had zero complaints in the handling department. It’s a sporty prospect, but just because it has a fairing doesn’t mean it corners like a ZX-6R. Remember that and you’ll be just fine.

Given the raised handlebar position (a trademark of the 1000/1100 SX), the mid-level seat height of 817 mm, and a reasonable bend in the knees thanks to the footpeg position, long days are easier on this than many other bikes on the market.

Even the screen, adjustable to three positions, doesn’t buffet your head like some of the bike’s class competitors. Score four for the Kawasaki.

I recently completed a 300 km round trip top meet a mate for lunch, and it struck me as odd halfway home that I couldn’t think of a bike I’d rather be on for the combined task of a few nice backroads, Los Angeles traffic, and boring as batshit freeways.

Kawasaki’s done splendidly well to craft a sport-touring steed that’s happy in each of the aforementioned circumstances, and I got off at the end of the day with hardly an ache—which is really saying something for my broken body.

Back to the performance.

The SE gains Brembo M4.32 radially-mounted four-piston front brake calipers and steel braided brake lines which offer plenty of good stopping power. Feel is a little diluted thanks to the master-cylinder and the fact the power needs to go through an ABS unit before it reaches the caliper. That’s the same for pretty much everyone who sells a bike in 2025, but the Kawasaki’s feel at the lever still leaves a bit to be desired.

One notable change is the increase from 250 mm to 260 mm for the rear brake. The 2024 rear brake disc was already bigger than most other bikes on the market, which usually stay around the 240 mm mark, but Kawasaki decided to up it a little further. It works. The old one worked. I can’t really tell the difference to be totally honest with you.

Unfortunately the 1100 doesn’t come standard with my test bike’s 28 litre hard cases, which is a bummer considering the sticker price of the base bike. You’d be mad not to pick these up at purchase as they hold enough for a weekend away and will fit a full-face helmet no worries, unless you’ve got one of those helmets with a bunch of useless wings on the back.

And you’d also want to pick up the heated handgrips from the accessory catalogue.

Kawasaki’s been pushing their Rideology The App (to give it its full and proper name) smartphone app for years and if you were to pick up a 1100, I’d suggest taking the time to learn the system.

Mission control is still the 4.3-inch TFT display, and allows you to use turn-by-turn navigation, calls, and various ride logs like distance, fuel consumption, and plenty of other techy bits.

The Kawasaki Ninja 1100SX SE may come with less horsepower than the old 1100, but don’t let that fool you.

It’s a very good sport touring steed with more performance in the areas that matter, and if you option the ride up so you’ve got some luggage, this is a bike you’ll be able to cover many, many miles on and never tire of.

The longer I had it, the more I liked it, even if its personality at first glance is a little vanilla. Looks can indeed be deceiving. While a few more trinkets as standard would be nice, this is still a lot of very capable bike for 20 k, or 22 k ride away once the government has taken their cut.

For more information see the Kawasaki Motor Australia website (link).

2025 Kawasaki Ninja 1100SX SE Specifications

2025 Kawasaki Ninja 1100SX SE Images

Images by Kevin Wing Photo