Kawasaki has always built excellent inline four engines. The ZX-10R is a particular standout for its mind-blowing topend. Frankly, the top third of the rev range is scary fast and public road use of this power is adrenaline-filled but legally ill-advised. The ZX- 14, while not lacking top-end by any means, is at the other end of the spectrum, because it is a total grunt fest from idling revs. The first half of the big-motor’ s rev range is all that is required for some very serious propulsion. This brings me nicely to today’ s mount, Kawasaki’ s Z1100SX which is kinda a mix of the two.
THAT MOTOR... The 1100SX’ s engine has grown 3mm in stroke and 56cc in capacity over the 1000SX I tested back in 2017. Interestingly, the 1000 had a little more horsepower, six extra in fact, but the new 1100 motor makes its power earlier in the revs. The specs of the new motor are 1099cc, DOHC, 134hp at 9000rpm and max torque of 113Nm at 7600rpm. So, as I said, the power delivery is a blend of the ZX-10 and the ZX-14. Although it is well shy of the 200-ish hp the other two produce, the 1100 is still very quick with an enhanced flexibility that is a joy to use. It is deceptively fast with an effortlessness
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