EBR 1190SX review

This will be a two-part review: Most people on this site do not need a review about a bike they probably already have...but for those who need a little carrot dangled in their face as they try to decide to buy a NEW EBR, read on. or if you are an EBR owner and like reading about other's EBR's instead of doing what you are supposed to be doing at work, then hopefully I help you pass the time.

First, thanks for those who have answered my questions and all the info on this forum before I actually decided to get my 2017 EBR 1190sx in racing red and lucky number 13. Forums are a great way to research something you are going to buy and I found plenty of info here. Of course, I didn't need any persuasion because I like lots of horsepower, lots of torque and riding something that not to many people.

My first selling point of this bike without even going to a dealership is that you won't see many others and you will not be drowning in a sea of sportbikes identical to yours. I showed my wife that if you look at all Kawasaki's for sale model year 2012 and newer as compared to EBR's for sale the ratio on cycletrader was 45,000 to 9 (please note that one of the 9 available on cycletrader said sold so my numbers are a little off). Feel free to quote me on those figures if you need a selling point to help convince your wife or husband to let you get an EBR.

The first ride...the anticipations, the fears and the impressions...

I will say when I went to pick up my 1190sx yesterday I was nervous...coming off a whale of a Triumph Tiger Explorer 1200 XC ABS and throwing a leg over a piece of machinery that barely existed in size was evoking many thoughts...most importantly LOVE...so nice to get back to something that feels sporty (FYI it is sporty in case you needed to be told). It was so light and easy to manage and then the fear kicked in...lots more HP and Torque and half the size, am I going to kill myself? So on my first ride I did what any reasonable and responsible rider would do...stalled it by not giving it enough gas right in front of the salesperson.

after a restart, I left the dealership and just took it easy. What a different type of ride from what I was used to. I quickly learned that this bike is very easy to turn and loves corners. This feeling is the number one thing I was missing from the Tiger and now I have it back! I had about a 45 minute ride home with a quick stop in the middle at a specialty beer store since I needed a celebratory drink afterward.
At first the bike ran rough. I felt the idle was low, but after reviewing some posts last night it seemed to be idling spot on around 1300-1400. I guess a sleeping bear that hibernates all winter doesn't wake up ready to play, the bear is probably a little grumbly. This is how the bike felt. Showing 2.2 miles on the odometer and we are in the year 2019 and the bike is a 2017, I'm guessing it had its own form of hibernation...maybe not even hibernation...its just a baby that was just born??? The idle, like I said, sounded low to me. A twin sounds different than a triple or an inline 4 and I wasn't used to this new, very lovely sound. But my driving impression still felt like it was low and almost sounded like it would stall at the red lights. I would try to give it a little gas but it didn't really like that either. Later into the ride it didn't feel as bad. Maybe it needed a good ride to break everything in??? That being said, when I took the wife out later for her first ride, it sounded like it idled better, but it stalled twice while I had the clutch pulled in at several stop signs.

a side note on the clutch....or should I say the clutch lever. If you are new to EBR you may have read lots of people's comments about how heavy the clutch lever is. On my 2017 this is definitely not the case. Pulling in and holding in the clutch lever was definitely easy and definitely easier than my Tiger was. That being said, someone on here said the issue was addressed at some point in the production line so I would say this is not an issue on newer bikes. I would never have noticed the clutch lever as an issue...I do feel I need to adjust the clutch lever positioning by turning the adjustment dial to fit my hand and my likes better. If anyone knows, is there anything I should look into with the stalling issue? I'm just chalking it up to the bike needing to be used and taken for trips as much as possible...Doctor's orders??? I'll see how it goes and have it addressed at the 600 mile check up if need be. However..if it were to stall while driving in gear then I would have it looked at immediately but I don't see that ever being the case.

continued...

Two up riding impressions are very favorable! My wife said she was just as comfortable as on the Tiger. I am sure not everyone will feel the same way about that, but she is only 5 feet tall. Maybe its just she loves just having her arms around me and she is happier than a pig in sh@t...I'm sure that's the reason. Actually, if anyone here does ride two up, I use this riding belt that I put on that has two handles that the wife can hold onto. A great buy! As the driver, I wasn't as comfortable as compared to the Triumph as she was more apt to slide into me or put some extra pressure onto my body. But there is something else I need to emphasize. It was easier having her as a passenger (the added weight...hey I am not saying anything bad about her weight, I'm just saying she adds a little more than just having me on the bike) on the EBR vs the Tiger. The EBR handled two up riding like a champ and was just as enjoyable going through corners. We also use a SENA communication device so I can tell her about breaking and acceleration points that she might want to know about. We also are not a weekend long distance touring couple. We are a max of two hours and if it is any longer it is because we stopped and ate dinner somewhere. So, in my opinion, and since I am married, I am never right, so take it for what it is...if you have a 5 foot tall wife who likes to ride on back and is actually a great passenger, then the EBR 1190sx is a great option for two up riding. If you are a single guy (or girl) and want to pick up a passenger at some point...just tell them to put their arms around you and hold on. The other recommendation would be either a grippier passenger seat fabric or make sure that the jeans, spandex or what ever fabric they might be wearing isn't too slippery for the seat. Actually, just skin might be the best for grip....so just chaps?? I am sure you can figure something out. One more note...the wife said she felt like she was sitting in a position like she was on a couch and was way more comfortable than the Triumph Speed Triple R that I once had. Two Up riding...another reason to get this bike.

The driving experience is amazing. The bike is perfectly set up for me...I'm 6 feet tall. I don't have a bike like this to log thousand upon thousands of miles on a highway so the lack of windscreen is not an issue. I think I hit 60 miles an hour on the back roads and never thought about a screen up front. The engine sound with a stock exhaust is amazing in itself. I can't imagine what any aftermarket exhaust does. I'm in no rush for aftermarket sounds. I kept it easy on the throttle but I can definitely tell there is more than enough power. The amazing thing with motorcycles is that if you feel you need more top end or more low end grunt, there are things to do to help dial it in the way you want. (as long as the bike is a capable machine) I will have to get through the break in period to see how I feel it should be tweaked. But I'll take 0-60 faster than the speed of light over the ability to do 110 mph any day...but I also don't want the front end to actually be in the back of me all the time while I look up at it. The bike has to be manageable...Can't wait to see how that will play out. Braking is perfect. I'm not a person that comes to a stop sign and uses the brake the last two feet. I use it just like a normal any day person and there is more than plenty of stopping power. I've never done a track day so I can't speak on the brakes or any other aspect of this or any bike as to how it would be used in that type of application.

Picky things...the rear brake lever could stick out a little further. I did notice my toes (maybe I wouldn't notice as much if I had shoes on and not in bare feet. Just kidding, I had proper footwear on...socks) hitting a part of the bike while going for the brake lever. But this is just a really picky thing that you will forget about down the road. I don't think I saw a gas gauge which those are always nice. But you can just use the tripmeter once you learn the mileage and refill times. The thing I miss the most is auto-cancel directionals which I had on the Tiger. I noticed that I kept on leaving the blinker on. Again something I will get used to.
Vibration...some have said they don't like it. I noticed it but didn't really think anything of it. It just felt like this is how the bike is. It is not annoying, it just feels like a characteristic this bike has...I didn't get numb hands, feet or ass. So any vibration was not an issue to me. My wife felt the vibration on the back seat and brought it up on her own without me ever telling her anything about it but she didn't really say she was bothered or could care less...I'll leave it at that.

What I hate the most and I know everyone here will agree. I really hate that the temporary plate stuck on back of the bike takes up more space in my garage than the actual bike does. How many more years does this need to go on before some genius level politician can put some law in place about wasting cardboard on motorcycles, never mind the years of embarrassment and PTSD we are all hurt by while riding during this grace period. ugggggh Off to the DMV as soon as I can get there.

Some things that everyone needs to consider when reading or watching reviews about a specific motorcycle...Where is the author coming from, what is their background on motorcycles. When a professional racer throws out opinions of various race bikes we can buy and talks about things that the general public will never achieve on the streets or the lack of skill on a track (or plain old lack of skill anywhere) and solely bases opinions on things unobtainable for us...then who cares. Those guys can smoke all of us on a track while riding a Vespa...ok, maybe not but you get what I'm saying. I came from a big adventure bike, so of course an EBR 1190sx will feel sporty, light and look very eye catchy. I like the riding position so that is something that is my opinion but should be noted that I came off of two years of riding a couch on two wheels and to still be comfortable says a lot.

So to summarize....The EBR 1190sx is an amazing machine. Highly recommended as a great sport bike, for tooling around town (oh I forgot to mention earlier that stop and go traffic that goes on forever is not this bikes thing. Not sure if there are various tunes etc that help this if you are forced to commute in traffic that makes molasses look fast...I don't have this issue so it is not a concern for me. Just something to consider. If you get to demo this bike or ride a friends, try going through traffic down main street and not just high speed runs at your local salt flat or empty airstrip). Do you want the ability to use 20 levels of traction control...then get an EBR (but you probably won't use it much after you set your level). There are many bikes that fit many needs and the 1190sx for me fits exactly and perfectly to what I want and expect from a bike. You can ride two up and be comfy but probably not great as a two up touring machine due to a lack of storage space. If you want to "fly casual" then fly casual, if you want to go fast, then put on the racing leathers. If you want to look cool...you will be icy hot! If you want something different than the other 99% of people at your local bike night, then this is the ride you want. If you want to be stuck in city traffic for an hour or two...get a bicycle. Did I mention great gas mileage??? yet another plus. I had a Yamaha FZ1 that I had to plan rides based on where gas stations are located. Do you want a flickable twisty turny beast of a machine that eats corners for lunch...well here is your ride. Do you want to spend $16,000 on something that does all these things that you will love forever....if so, go buy a Tuono or SuperDuke. You want possibly the best deal on a new bike....seriously, this has to be the best deal in the history of motorcycling. The EBR is legit. It is on par with any other amazing ride out there, maybe it doesn't have wheelie control or cruise control like a new Aprilia but is that worth the extra $10K? Not for me. My brand spanking new 2017 bike came in at $8999. Ten years ago a Ninja 600 was probably more than that. There is no justification for spending a bizzilion more dollars on anything else....unless you are rich then you should buy both. In short, it is killing me that I have to wait two more days before I get to ride again.

Great review!!! your love will grow even more with the miles, thx for posting !!!!

Put a 44 tooth rear sprocket on, and which ever exhaust change you like, and get the appropriate ECM, and you will LOVE it even more.
I also had Stich @ www.customcycleseats.com re-do the seats, and you and your wife will love that too.








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