Announced on Tuesday, October 1, the new sports-tourers will arrive in dealers in December and are set to start at £12,249 and climb to £13,999 for the more heavily specced sibling. Despite the differences, both share a claimed seat height of 835mm.
Although both bikes fundamentally look the same as the outgoing 1000SX variant – barring a fresh coat of paint – the engines have been updated, climbing from a 1043cc 16v liquid-cooled inline four to a new 1099cc alternative.
This is fed by a 19-litre fuel tank and held in place via an aluminium twin tube chassis. It’s also no surprise that it’s climbed in capacity, given the fact that Kawasaki had previously announced similar updates to their now Versys 1100 range, which had shared the same 1043cc motor.
Kawasaki claim 134.1bhp at 9000rpm, with 83.4lb.ft of torque arriving at 7600rpm. This is paired with a six-speed gearbox, complete with a longer fifth and sixth gear – plus a quickshifter that’s said to work at as little as 1500rpm.
Also adding to the electronics is a full suite of traction control, cornering ABS, power modes, and cruise control – all installed as standard on the base variant. Both machines can be connected to an updated version of Kawasaki’s Rideology app too, which can now make use of voice activation for a truly hands-free experience. A handlebar-mounted USB-C charging port comes installed, as well.
