2010 Kawasaki
ER-6n
MSRP $6,699
Some riders like a fully faired sportbike, some don’t. But nearly all riders agree Kawasaki’s Ninja 650R is a great, fun-to-ride middleweight motorcycle. The ER-6n simply leaves a little more of that torquey, rev-happy 650 twin’s innovative inner beauty out where you can see it, revealing this soulful machine’s mechanical purity of purpose. The ER-6n gets a vestigial flyscreen around its headlight / instrument pod, but for the most part the fairing of this “naked” style bike has gone bye-bye. This one’s for riders who love the feel of being in the wind — a particularly good thing if you mostly ride where the weather’s hot. Otherwise, the ER-6n packs all the hardware and handling that’s made it and its Ninja 650R brother such media darlings. And did we mention deleting the fairing also brings the price down substantially?
Scoresheet
5
4
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5
Great value for the dollar, 2 up riding is good. Shifting down is a little vague, brakes are average at best same with suspension. But when you realize the cost you will not find a better buy. Engine is very fun with a nice strong pull from bottom to top. And it is a looker as well even HD riders will be caught looking :)
Scoresheet
4
5
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5
I have been riding this bike for about a week now, and it is absolutely incredible. With that said I want to address the “bad” first, although I am a new rider, six feet tall and this is my fist bike, I do feel that at high speeds (80 and up) the wind is fairly strong on your torso. It’s not so much as to ruin the ride but you will know that you are going faster than you should, if you are a newbie like me. And the other thing is that it can be a little difficult at first to see how fast your are going on the analog speedometer but after 2 or 3 days you will memorize were the numbers are.
I use this bike for commute mainly from my house to my job about a 60 mile ride daily. The suspension in my opinion are great although I don’t really have anything to compare it to since its my first bike but I made the mistake of riding in the middle of the lane and I encountered a huge lump on the road and I went over it doing 60mph and although I did feel it my behind stood comfortably on the nice seat. The ER-6n has a long one piece double seat that gets wider for the rear driver, this is great for my girlfriend because she loves riding with me everywhere and thus far not one complaint on that. My side of the seat its also comfortable and inviting, you wont need to lift your legs too high to mount it since its low making the rider seat straight up (also good for long rides)
Engine.
The engine feels and sound great except for a little vibration at the end of first gear other than that for a new rider this is perfect. You will love going under over passes ? sounds awesome.
Suspension.
I have nothing to compare it with. But I feel confident cornering at highway speeds and going thru surprise bumps.
Handling.
Have you ever ridden a mountain bike? This is as nimble as that you do as much as think were you want to go and the bike will follow. Again perfect for me I love it.
Transmission.
I tried my friends R6 and comparing it to that (sorry) the transmission is much more responsive. As soon as you start letting go of the clutch you will feel the bike moving like it should and the clutch is very close to the handle which I found more comfortable and quicker to shift gears.
Ergonomics.
The bike is all eye candy but I would have like a digital speedometer instead of the analog which at first is hard to read. Other than that you’ll feel like your driving a high end sports car with all the looks you will draw.
Value.
I paid 5,500 for this bike but I would gladly pay for it full price. This bike its worth what it does.
Breaks.
Riding in NY is tough with drivers who don’t care about others so when I tell you I have had to use this breaks to stop quick and safe, I do not b.s. you. The breaks on this bike can save lives.
Components.
The bike has a digital dial that tells you the revs and the mileage, you can switch it to show “Trip A, Trip B” it also has a clock and the everything there is clear in the day as it is in the night. Also I have polarized Oakley’s and unlike most digital screens the motorcycle screen will still show just as if you weren’t wearing any.
Reliability.
The bike has 400 miles. And my longest trip was about 130 miles. So far is too early to decide if the bike is going to be reliable. But I rely on it 100% to get me to work and back to my house and on the weekends to long beach and really really far away places.
The motorcycle itself is gorgeous and edgy almost everywhere you look there is an eye candy to look at for about a minute or two, everywhere I go drivers just want to look at you. The other day in traffic I stopped by the side of a school bus and almost all the kids were taking pictures with their cell phone. I am not used to the attention you get on a motorcycle yet but it does feel good when you stroll by and turn heads.
