First Ride

[Oyabun]

Hi

This is the first lap I've had with the bike last week, when the time improves and the engine is running, I'll try more things

for now this bike is more agile than the ZZR and the more comfortable driving posture

[BoostedOne]

you've had it for over a week. How do you like it?

[ghostwriter78]

My first observations
Good:
- very easy to maneuver (probably because too soft suspension ), after dialing up preload/compr/rebound its has become more stable and still easy to turn.
- Hard to say about engine yet, since im still in break-in period and not allowed to rev over 4000rpm. It does pick up speed nicely
- SX SE got a center stand. as it has one sided swingarm this is very practical
- SX SE has nice dash, lots of features. you can even save presets and restore them with one button press.
- ventilation and heat dissipation is great. left/right behind radiator is basically a huge hole in fairing for air to escape. engine is not covered by fairings almost at all.
- Cornering lights are a very nice feature, specially if you ride in areas without street lights.
- Configurable rev limit lamp (not a hard limit, just blinking lamp). you need it as during break-in you arent allowed to cross 4000rpm.
- It doesnt feel heavy. SX SE is at 260kg but low center of gravity helps to not make it feel top heavy.
- Lots of small storage space under seat (in comparison, ZX14R has only space for a sheet of paper under seat)
- Range with one fill up: so far it points out to be over 280km (if you ride under 4000/6000rpm, break in period)
- Bike is shorter than i thought (easy to fit in parking space)
- Shifting is easy and smooth.
- Reasonably fast warm-up. ca 1 minute at 1500rpm, clearly audible and fast rpm drop to 1000rpm. (zx14R has ca 30sec warmup)
- Linear Acceleration (something i never experienced before on a bike)
- riding in heavy rain: backdraft onto back is minimal, much less than other bikes, no mudguard necessary.
- Power L and KTRC 3 in rain: super stable, no sudden movements

Bad:
- Engine is loud and sounds hollow. There is basically no fairing on this bike apart a bit in front, rest is all exposed.
- headlights, low beam is super annoying, it has a razor sharp top edge which fades into bluish color. driving on highway makes signs flicker from this blue light and low beam upper edge bouncing up/down. pretty annoying for other riders, everyone was moving into first lane, even i was riding at 4000rpm (max 100kph) and couldnt push much ahead.
- suspension is way way way too soft for me. bike was bouncing and had to dial up preload to 70%. Note im 97kg, and bike max load is 195kg, so this seems odd. Even after dialing preload up, and increasing resistance on compression/rebound the bike sways easily on stand.
- only touring display mode is highly configurable. sport mode is limited in what you can adjust.
- considering the bike is meant for touring the exposed engine and parts around it will make it super hard to clean
- side stand lever has short pin so i sometimes engage the gear when trying to push down side stand.
- Bike is shorter than i thought ( hard to tuck in under wind shield unless i move my ass all the way back,... tall people problem, on ZX14R this is easily possible for me)
- no power under 2500 rpm
- Hard to find neutral. (the real neutral )
- riding in rain: backdraft into rear shock / engine area is strong, all dirty

Ugly:
- one of the 'side' channels (ram air) is closed off with plastic and makes it look odd as its not looking symmetric.
- of all the electronic gimmicks safety features (KIBS/KTRC/. you can ONLY adjust: traction control (off/1/2/3), power (L/M/F), engine braking (ON/reduced)
- break-in first 800km at max 4000rpm, then another 800km at max 6000rpm. i guess the supercharger makes this a requirement as its spinning ca 10x faster than crankshaft.
- on my bike the front brake switch is broken and needs to be replaced (cant disengage rear brake light and cant engage cruise control)

Funny:
- someone at kawa thought the bike needs a way to display the current date!

[ghostwriter78]

Images of low beam. see the blue area, bounces ugly up down on uneven road and flashes on any street sign.