Kawasaki Ninja is the trademarked name of several series of Kawasaki sport bikes, that started with the 1984 GPZ900R. In feudal Japan, a "ninja" was a covert agent or mercenary specialized in unorthodox combat.The Kawasaki Ninja 1000 (in some markets the Z1000SX) is a sport touring motorcycle introduced in 2011. Other than its name, it is unrelated to the Ninja 1000R produced from 1986–89, or to other Ninja motorcycles.
It is generally characterized as a fully faired sibling of the Z1000 streetfighter, sharing the same 1,043cc liquid-cooled, electronic fuel-injected, 16-valve four-stroke inline-four engine and aluminum twin-tube backbone frame, but with ergonomics, storage, and other design elements more oriented to the sport touring market. The Ninja 1000 is also fitted with an electronic speed limiter, as its fairing gives it improved aerodynamics over the Z1000.
Kawasaki has positioned the bike as a "sport bike for the real world."As the model will not be homologated for racing purposes, the designers were free to make compromises for street performance. The Ninja 1000 thus has an upright seating position, large fuel tank, and adjustable windscreen among its features, as well a transmission geared for street-riding as opposed to racing Nevertheless, it retains the large engine and aggressive styling of a sport bike, and its performance characteristics remain on the sport end of the spectrum, placing it more in competition with bikes like the Honda VFR1200F or Triumph Sprint GT as opposed to the Kawasaki Concours or Yamaha FJR1300.