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.