Kawasaki Er6-f

[Ithailian]

Woo Hoo... Just picked up my Lime Green 650R here in BKK. A quick 25km around town.

My first impressions...

Love the new Green color. Changed my mind from Blue when I saw the two bikes side by side.

The Ninja 650 is very easy bike to ride ... immediate power from low RPM .. with a very linear power delivery ... the bike does not feel heavy at all.

Riding position is PERFECT (IMHO)... it's more comfortable to ride than the Ninja 250 and it's very easy to maneuver through tight traffic.

All the lights (dash console, headlights, taillights, turn-signals, flashers) are beautifully integrated and very bright. A+++

The bike puts off quite a bit of heat, especially if stopped in traffic ... seems to have quite an effective cooling fan ... cool engine = hot legs. The heat is much more noticeable than the Ninja 250.

The brakes feel really soft ... I suspect (hope) it has to do with the needed break-in of the pads/rotors.

Looking forward to a more serious ride tomorrow.

[BigBikeBKK]

Woo Hoo... Just picked up my Lime Green 650R here in BKK. A quick 25km around town.

My first impressions...

Love the new Green color. Changed my mind from Blue when I saw the two bikes side by side.

The Ninja 650 is very easy bike to ride ... immediate power from low RPM .. with a very linear power delivery ... the bike does not feel heavy at all.

Riding position is PERFECT (IMHO)... it's more comfortable to ride than the Ninja 250 and it's very easy to maneuver through tight traffic.

All the lights (dash console, headlights, taillights, turn-signals, flashers) are beautifully integrated and very bright. A+++

The bike puts off quite a bit of heat, especially if stopped in traffic ... seems to have quite an effective cooling fan ... cool engine = hot legs. The heat is much more noticeable than the Ninja 250.

The brakes feel really soft ... I suspect (hope) it has to do with the needed break-in of the pads/rotors.

Looking forward to a more serious ride tomorrow.

Congratulations on the new bike Ithailian!

You just had to get green didn't ya Should we go out and get matching helmets too?

See you tomorrow for a blast to Khai Yai.

(And I agree- the brakes are very soft... Hopefully it's just a matter of getting the pads worn in, otherwise I'm going to get some different brake pads.)

Happy Trails!

Tony

[BigBikeBKK]

^ To clarify about the brakes- the brake lever is not "soft" actually- but you have to apply more pressure than you'd expect to get the brakes to bite... I didn't experience this with my ER6n... Anyway- we'll put several hundred km on the bikes tomorrow and hopefully the brakes will perform better once the pads have some wear on them.

Anyone tried out the ABS yet?

Ride On!

Tony

[Cekoia]

Woo Hoo... Just picked up my Lime Green 650R here in BKK. A quick 25km around town.

My first impressions...

Love the new Green color. Changed my mind from Blue when I saw the two bikes side by side.

The Ninja 650 is very easy bike to ride ... immediate power from low RPM .. with a very linear power delivery ... the bike does not feel heavy at all.

Riding position is PERFECT (IMHO)... it's more comfortable to ride than the Ninja 250 and it's very easy to maneuver through tight traffic.

All the lights (dash console, headlights, taillights, turn-signals, flashers) are beautifully integrated and very bright. A+++

The bike puts off quite a bit of heat, especially if stopped in traffic ... seems to have quite an effective cooling fan ... cool engine = hot legs. The heat is much more noticeable than the Ninja 250.

The brakes feel really soft ... I suspect (hope) it has to do with the needed break-in of the pads/rotors.

Looking forward to a more serious ride tomorrow.

Hi,

When did you put your purchase request for this bike? I am trying to get a feel for when mine is supposed to arrive.

Since you changed color and left the plasma blue bike, maybe there is now a blue one available waiting for me ...

Enjoy your green ride.

[Rickster]

I experienced soft brakes on my ER6n and it was brought up in discussion on the ER6n forum. They just need bedding in time, after about 300km's should feel much better. They never will be the sharpest brakes in the world but do a job for that particular bike.

I've place my deposit on a green 650R and will pick up on Monday. I have to admit the green colour is really cool and looks better in the flesh. I was, however, not so impressed with the blue. Looked great in pics but not my choice of the three colours. The black isn't too bad but doesn't do the bike justice IMO.

Kwak Phuket also have the new ER6n ABS in stock and the green is what i would call kawasaki lime green, none metallic. Again Tony had posted a pic on the other forum and it looked awesome but very disappointed seeing it today close up. The new black looks the same as the old except for a red spring and red "n" decal on the boomerang plastic trim.

[ScubaBuddha]

Got my blue today. Katabeachbum and I spent quite a while discussing the pros and cons of the 3 colors. I think either one of use could have switched as I think there was still at least one black and green available. After much consternation, both of us decided to stay with the blue, but agreed all 3 colors were nice. Especially the lime green, Definitely different that the aged Kawasaki green. I think what sold the blue for me was the matching rear spring. The black was nice but it didn't have enough contrast with the rest of the bike IMO. My blue still has lots of black on it so it's a win win. I love the low end torque. Like Ithalian said, very easy to maneuver around traffic. The fan turns on quickly and often. I will probably add the lower race bars as it does feel a bit too upright for me, but maybe I will get used to it. They really should have come with a bit more aggressive bars than those on the n. The insurance was 7,500 baht through Falcon.

Edited August 15, 2009 by Scubabuddha

[SMEEERE]

Woo Hoo... Just picked up my Lime Green 650R here in BKK. A quick 25km around town.

My first impressions...

Love the new Green color. Changed my mind from Blue when I saw the two bikes side by side.

The Ninja 650 is very easy bike to ride ... immediate power from low RPM .. with a very linear power delivery ... the bike does not feel heavy at all.

Riding position is PERFECT (IMHO)... it's more comfortable to ride than the Ninja 250 and it's very easy to maneuver through tight traffic.

All the lights (dash console, headlights, taillights, turn-signals, flashers) are beautifully integrated and very bright. A+++

The bike puts off quite a bit of heat, especially if stopped in traffic ... seems to have quite an effective cooling fan ... cool engine = hot legs. The heat is much more noticeable than the Ninja 250.

The brakes feel really soft ... I suspect (hope) it has to do with the needed break-in of the pads/rotors.

Looking forward to a more serious ride tomorrow.

Didnt think i wanted one til i saw the green, now gotta have it,

[BigBikeBKK]

Wow boys- Christmas in August!

Party On!

[ScubaBuddha]

Wow boys- Christmas in August!

Party On!

Wow, what happened? Did you win the Thai lottery or something? Are ALL those yours?

[katabeachbum]

Got my blue today. Katabeachbum and I spent quite a while discussing the pros and cons of the 3 colors. I think either one of use could have switched as I think there was still at least one black and green available. After much consternation, both of us decided to stay with the blue, but agreed all 3 colors were nice. Especially the lime green, Definitely different that the aged Kawasaki green. I think what sold the blue for me was the matching rear spring. The black was nice but it didn't have enough contrast with the rest of the bike IMO. My blue still has lots of black on it so it's a win win. I love the low end torque. Like Ithalian said, very easy to maneuver around traffic. The fan turns on quickly and often. I will probably add the lower race bars as it does feel a bit too upright for me, but maybe I will get used to it. They really should have come with a bit more aggressive bars than those on the n. The insurance was 7,500 baht through Falcon.

Love the blue, but dislike the white kawa/ninja/abs stickers so they will come off

For my 180cm and 100+ kg driving position is excellent. Seat comfy. Low end power impressive for a 650. Only covered 80 km so far , so time to ride tonight.

[BigBikeBKK]

Wow boys- Christmas in August!

Party On!

Wow, what happened? Did you win the Thai lottery or something? Are ALL those yours?

LOL- no- only the cheap Kawasakis are mine- the Fizzer and ZX10R belong to my roommate. Ride On!

[husskydog]

First free mods today, not really mods but adjustments really....rear spring up two clicks and dropped the triple clamps down 10mm (as recomended in the kawasaki 650r manuals from earlier), not so jumpy now and stops a bit of helmet bashishing until my new bars come...it turns in quicker as you can imagine

Oh, and a bit disapointed that you cant change the readout to mph...unless i`m missing something..

BTW, korat manager has english manuals on order for us that cant read thai.....yet

"A cost effective way of slightly lowering the seat height is to drop the front forks through the triple clamps so that the forks sits approximately 10mm above the top of the Steering Stem Head, this will decrease the seat height by about 5mm. This setup is actually detailed in the Kawasaki Service Manual as the correct setting for the forks even though all bikes are delivered with the forks flush with the Steering Stem Head. Another benefit of this setup is that some owners report improved handling."

Edited August 15, 2009 by husskydog

[Rickster]

Love the blue, but dislike the white kawa/ninja/abs stickers so they will come off

Don't know how you intend on taking off the Kawasaki decal on the tank as its laquered over so you'll have to respray the whole tank. So glad you guys, having pondered over the colours, stuck with the blue. I could have turned up with no green ones in sight and would have been very disappointed. I had a blue zx9r C1 in blue but it was a darker metallic blue whereas this one is more of a powder blue metallic and its not my choice. Good everyone is different though or we would all be after the same colour. The green blew my mind it was totally not what i was suspecting and my mrs loved it immediately.

So Kwak Phuket sold 4 in one afternoon with a black and green left. Yet the 6 ER6n's ABS were untouched, for the moment anyway. I think the 2 Ninja's will be sold first then ER6n's. Didn't really understand why they bought in a sales team for the new promotion as the small guy there is more than capable of selling and most farang have made up their mind before hitting the shop. So this new bloke is taking all the credit for the sales when we has already decided to buy!!!

Anyway give us a shout if you guys are heading off out and i'll join you, even if it is on the ER6n till Monday!!!

Was going to keep my ER6n but because i'm so stoked with the green ninja i don't see the point in keeping both. Will probably put in gazette and see what happens, only 1300km's and like new.

Enjoy your new bikes guys and keep those revs down..........well for now anyway !!!

[Rickster]

To the guys who have owned the ER6n with the Dunlop RoadSmarts and now owners of the Ninja with the Bridgestone Battlax, how do the 2 compare and is there a noticeable difference.

I had Battlax's on my ZX9r and they were very impressive. Hard compound through the centre of the tyre and soft and sticky on the edge. However i did notice on the Ninja's Battlax it does saying touring on it so maybe not so soft as the sports version.

I really don't like the RoadSmarts as they seem very temperamental sometimes stick and sometimes traction seems minimal so confidence on cornering can be suspect due to the tyre. I can only imagine the Battlax's are a huge improvement to the bike handling characteristics, or should i say HOPE !!!

Appreciate any feedback...

Edited August 16, 2009 by Rickster

[Big Guns]

I think that 'R' could stand for racing or it could stand for realistically priced. As opposed to paying twice the UK price for a Triumph which most likely isn't going to have the real world realibility of a Japanese bike. Thailand is a completely different market to developed countries and is likely to remain so. Until things change I'll keep on buying Isuzu, Honda and Kawasaki and keep my money working for me elsewhere

[monkeyofdoom]

I agree. I have to say, even though I really would like to upgrade my Ninja 250 to a four cylinder bike, the prices are so different that it's impossible for me to justify ignoring the 650R even though it only has two cylinders.

Kawasaki Ninja 650R, 257,000, 71 HP

Triumph Daytona 675, 670,000, 126 HP

Yamaha R6, 680,000, 100 HP

Are there any second hand models out there with fairings and four cylinders that would be worth looking at? They would need to be 100% legal, I can't be bothered being nervous about getting nabbed by the police...

[LivinLOS]

I agree. I have to say, even though I really would like to upgrade my Ninja 250 to a four cylinder bike, the prices are so different that it's impossible for me to justify ignoring the 650R even though it only has two cylinders.

Kawasaki Ninja 650R, 257,000, 71 HP

Triumph Daytona 675, 670,000, 126 HP

Yamaha R6, 680,000, 100 HP

Are there any second hand models out there with fairings and four cylinders that would be worth looking at? They would need to be 100% legal, I can't be bothered being nervous about getting nabbed by the police...

Saw a CBR900 blade with book and plate for 120 asking recently.. Also was a 1100 gixer streetfighter on baht sold for 95ish..

CBR600 asking 195 plated.. Etc etc

Thing is your never truly safe with the 100% legal.. Always a bit of a crap shoot.

[BigBikeBKK]

To the guys who have owned the ER6n with the Dunlop RoadSmarts and now owners of the Ninja with the Bridgestone Battlax, how do the 2 compare and is there a noticeable difference.

I had Battlax's on my ZX9r and they were very impressive. Hard compound through the centre of the tyre and soft and sticky on the edge. However i did notice on the Ninja's Battlax it does saying touring on it so maybe not so soft as the sports version.

I really don't like the RoadSmarts as they seem very temperamental sometimes stick and sometimes traction seems minimal so confidence on cornering can be suspect due to the tyre. I can only imagine the Battlax's are a huge improvement to the bike handling characteristics, or should i say HOPE !!!

Appreciate any feedback...

Personally I didn't like the Dunlop Roadsmarts that came with the ER6n. Like you noted- very unpredictable dual compound tires. The grip varied a lot depending on the road conditions and did not inspire much confidence in the corners.

I've always been a fan of Bridgestone Battlax and can say after today's ~300km ride through Khao Yai National Park that the BT021's that come with the Ninja 650R perform a lot better than the Dunlop Roadsmarts that were on the 2009 ER6n. (Should be noted that the 2010 ER6n ABS comes with the Bridgestones)

Even better are the Pirelli Dragon Supercorsa Pros that I've got on the ER6n now-

Happy Trails!

Tony

[BigBikeBKK]

I agree. I have to say, even though I really would like to upgrade my Ninja 250 to a four cylinder bike, the prices are so different that it's impossible for me to justify ignoring the 650R even though it only has two cylinders.

Kawasaki Ninja 650R, 257,000, 71 HP

Triumph Daytona 675, 670,000, 126 HP

Yamaha R6, 680,000, 100 HP

Are there any second hand models out there with fairings and four cylinders that would be worth looking at? They would need to be 100% legal, I can't be bothered being nervous about getting nabbed by the police...

Saw a CBR900 blade with book and plate for 120 asking recently.. Also was a 1100 gixer streetfighter on baht sold for 95ish..

CBR600 asking 195 plated.. Etc etc

Thing is your never truly safe with the 100% legal.. Always a bit of a crap shoot.

Caveat emptor! If it sounds too good to be true- it usually is

[Rickster]

Well i was in Kawa Phuket at 8.30am this morning to pick up the new Green Ninja 650R (no this time really did....no joke!!!!). Back to spongy brakes and engine flat as a witches tit just like the ER6n was. Really makes you realise how quick these engines loosen up and brakes sharpen. My ER6n has only got 1300km's on but feels a lot quicker and sharper. Oh well will just have to get my head down and clock up some K's and would help if the weather would make its <deleted> mind up !!!

Only 1 black Ninja left in Phuket and of the 6 ER6n ABS they have sold 2 black only....seems the green isn't so popular after all..... which is good as it just puts the price up on my Orange one !!! 55555

Finally speedo heads on both bikes so very different and think i prefer the layout of the ER6n better as the Ninja's does seem a little congested and busy but the digital speedo is cool...... reminds me of my old Vauxhall Astra GTE display !!!! Only 19 years ago

[ScubaBuddha]

Got my blue today. Katabeachbum and I spent quite a while discussing the pros and cons of the 3 colors. I think either one of use could have switched as I think there was still at least one black and green available. After much consternation, both of us decided to stay with the blue, but agreed all 3 colors were nice. Especially the lime green, Definitely different that the aged Kawasaki green. I think what sold the blue for me was the matching rear spring. The black was nice but it didn't have enough contrast with the rest of the bike IMO. My blue still has lots of black on it so it's a win win. I love the low end torque. Like Ithalian said, very easy to maneuver around traffic. The fan turns on quickly and often. I will probably add the lower race bars as it does feel a bit too upright for me, but maybe I will get used to it. They really should have come with a bit more aggressive bars than those on the n. The insurance was 7,500 baht through Falcon.

Love the blue, but dislike the white kawa/ninja/abs stickers so they will come off

For my 180cm and 100+ kg driving position is excellent. Seat comfy. Low end power impressive for a 650. Only covered 80 km so far , so time to ride tonight.

KBB did I see your 650R at the airport today?

[Rickster]

Clocked up just under a 100km's today and some feedback to share.

Firstly the Bridgestone Battlax tyres are supremely better than the Dunlop Roadsmarts so thats a huge plus.

Secondly and i'd really like some feedback from you Ninja 650R owners, when riding the bike my right lower leg gets really hot. Now i've got the ER6n and i cant remember feeling this heat. So i took out the ER6n and no-where near the temperature of the Ninja. Has anyone else experienced this, especially previous ER6n owners like Tony???? Its got me baffled and somewhat worried/curious.

In general the bike is great and the brakes have sharpened up even after 100k's but obviously the engine still tight. The fairing makes a huge difference and the overall feel seems very different to the ER6n. Its hard to believe that 2 bikes almost identical can give totally different feel, so much so that i've decided to keep the ER6n for now. Everyone inc Thais love the green colour and after a good lick of black magic looked even better.

I'm looking forward to a long trip out as i think its going to be very easy going and enjoyable.

Finally if anyone has the time and would like to do me a big favour, i cant find a ProGrip carbon tank pad/protector here in Phuket. The one i have on my ER6n was kindly offered by LivinLos and i want exactly the same one for the Ninja. If anyone can source one from their province, please PM me cost inc package and i'll do an ATM transfer inclusive of a coupla beers!! then forward you my Phuket address.

Cheers guys

Attached is the ProGrip carbon tank pad in question.

[LivinLOS]

One of the Thai mail order shops I have used has em..

Hang on..

[LivinLOS]

http://www.k-speed.net/product.detail_368512_th_1581217

Get two and I will beer you up.. I never replaced the one you got from me.

[Rickster]

http://www.k-speed.net/product.detail_368512_th_1581217

Get two and I will beer you up.. I never replaced the one you got from me.

Will look into that tomorrow mate, seem cheap compared to the one i bought from you, you think original or copies ???

[thaicbr]

copy, copy, copy

[withnail]

http://www.pandarider.com/GDR/products_par...kProtection.asp

[Rickster]

http://www.pandarider.com/GDR/products_par...kProtection.asp

Great link, cheers mate

[LivinLOS]

http://www.k-speed.net/product.detail_368512_th_1581217

Get two and I will beer you up.. I never replaced the one you got from me.

Will look into that tomorrow mate, seem cheap compared to the one i bought from you, you think original or copies ???

Copy is my guess..

But mine came sans packaging from a hong kong ebay seller.. So I never presumed that was legit either..

[katabeachbum]

Got my blue today. Katabeachbum and I spent quite a while discussing the pros and cons of the 3 colors. I think either one of use could have switched as I think there was still at least one black and green available. After much consternation, both of us decided to stay with the blue, but agreed all 3 colors were nice. Especially the lime green, Definitely different that the aged Kawasaki green. I think what sold the blue for me was the matching rear spring. The black was nice but it didn't have enough contrast with the rest of the bike IMO. My blue still has lots of black on it so it's a win win. I love the low end torque. Like Ithalian said, very easy to maneuver around traffic. The fan turns on quickly and often. I will probably add the lower race bars as it does feel a bit too upright for me, but maybe I will get used to it. They really should have come with a bit more aggressive bars than those on the n. The insurance was 7,500 baht through Falcon.

Love the blue, but dislike the white kawa/ninja/abs stickers so they will come off

For my 180cm and 100+ kg driving position is excellent. Seat comfy. Low end power impressive for a 650. Only covered 80 km so far , so time to ride tonight.

KBB did I see your 650R at the airport today?

yepp, just couldnt leave it home in the garage, when I could ride to airport sunday and return tonight. Still find the Bridgestones slippery, brakes softish and engine like a v-rgin, so trying to put more miles on it.

Edited August 18, 2009 by katabeachbum