VOLUME 62 ISSUE 17 APRIL 29, 2025 P111
ing 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 1100SX.
As before, you've got four riding
modes in Rain, Street, Sport and Rider,
the last being the fully programmable
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 percent of the available throttle
with a softer response, by the way).
In practice, however, Kawasaki deliv
-
ered a peach of an engine for its given
performance
realm. It's supremely
smooth at low rpm and punches at
high rpm, which makes pulling out
and passing cars on the freeway way
easier than you'd believe.
Sixth gear roll-ons at 60 mph have you
sitting around 4500 rpm, which is right in
the sweet spot for some pretty impres
-
sive acceleration. There are oodles of
mid-range
torque to boot, but I'm sorry to
say that the motor lacks a little character
and style. It is undoubtedly a superbly
engineered power unit, but the personal-
ity is a little soft for my liking. I'd have
wanted a bit more
excitement when
opening the gas, although I will say Ka-
wasaki's kept the induction roar that the
original
1000 was so well known for.
Part of the reason for the lack of
charisma comes from just how smooth
that gear shift is. Kawasaki's refined
the new quickshifter to work from 1500
rpm and up, and it's so damn good at
what it does it's almost robotic. I had
the same complaint about the motor
in the Versys (it is the same thing, after
all), but it doesn't make those feelings
any less prevalent. And yes, I can hear
the Kawasaki execs shaking their heads
and asking what they have to do to
appease such a snooty writer. Is it pos
-
sible to do too good of a job?
The 2025 1100's
easy-going sportbike
persona can be
traced back to the
original from 15
years ago. Some
things never change.
