[naveenroy]

Originally Posted by Oreen

Hey, the windscreen is actually pretty good. The windblast starts at 130 and above. My helmet has to be changed asap because although it feels snug, it needs to be even tighter. I can hear the eerie whoooouiieeeeeee whistling of the wind coming in, which can be quite scary while riding on absolutely empty roads, if you believe in spirits.

And also, use earplugs when riding - really helps. And IMHO, no helmet prevents the wind-noise.

[Endless....]

Nice Writeup Oreen. Do you get any gel foam type of seat for the Kwasaki ?

[Oreen]

There are a lot of gel seats available. I have to ask the Ninja group for recommendations before I say something here. A friend of ours uses a Channapatna bead seat on his Triumph Scrambler. He swears by it. There are people who suggest using padded cycling shorts too. I haven't tried anything, so won't be able to tell which works best.

[viper_711]

Oreen, check out redlineplus.in
Aditya, the guy who runs it is a KNOG. They have a gel seat. I am using it and put it to good use on the Goa ibw ride. Also padded cycling shorts help. Btwin is a good option. I am using a level 5 shorts and quite happy with it. Safe riding!

[Haroon]

Originally Posted by Oreen

There are a lot of gel seats available. I have to ask the Ninja group for recommendations before I say something here. A friend of ours uses a Channapatna bead seat on his Triumph Scrambler. He swears by it. There are people who suggest using padded cycling shorts too. I haven't tried anything, so won't be able to tell which works best.

From research (and experience) I must tell you each of us has a different size, shape & composition at out bottom. So there is really no universal one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to touring saddles. Therefore, you will have to do some experimenting before finding your best fit.

Also please do have a look at my below thread on a good underwear for bike touring.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...e-touring.html

[hell yeah]

Dear Oreen,

Firstly congratulations and thank you for sharing your experience.

With no intentions of hijacking the thread here, I seek your advice and that of fellow comrades here.

Am a newbie and hence forgive my ignorance - am aspiring to buy a street bike and did visit KTM showroom in Ahmedabad and checked out the Kawasaki ER-6N and it was love at first sight. However the unfortunate part is that they do not have test rides being offered. Hence one just cannot take a call based on the looks as sometimes appearance is deceptive. To add to my woes, there are none in Ahmedabad owning an ER-6N from whom I could have got a first-hand experience.

Later I also visited Triumph and checked their Street Triple. Barring the ABS, I personally felt ER-6N is definitely a looker. I might be test riding the Triple in this week.

But since you own one already and have been riding it for some time, what would you advice? As I said this is my first time, hence the bike will be used for city commutation and rides over the weekends.

Also are there any Kawasaki groups here in Ahmedabad as I have recently moved here.

Cheers,
Rup

[Oreen]

Originally Posted by hell yeah

I am aspiring to buy a street bike and did visit KTM showroom in Ahmedabad and checked out the Kawasaki ER-6N and it was love at first sight. However the unfortunate part is that they do not have test rides being offered. Hence one just cannot take a call based on the looks as sometimes appearance is deceptive. To add to my woes, there are none in Ahmedabad owning an ER-6N from whom I could have got a first-hand experience.

But since you own one already and have been riding it for some time, what would you advice? As I said this is my first time, hence the bike will be used for city commutation and rides over the weekends.

Hi Rup,

Sorry for not checking this thread earlier. I have had to keep the bike in the garage because I had a fall and broke three parts, which took about a month to arrive from Thailand.

Just got the bike back a couple of days ago.

Two things:

What is your height? If you are less than 5'8", which is my case, I would say go for something lower.

Would you ride with a pillion? Which I think you won't, given you are also looking at the triumph . If yes, and if you are short, like me, don't go for this bike.

The er6n is just like the N650, only lighter and easier to maneuver because of the lack of a fairing.
The er6n potters around at slow speeds and high gears very comfortably because it has a lot of low-end torque. So, it is a perfect bike to ride inside the city. And I use it to commute to work daily.

On the highways it can beat the shit out of most cars. But you have to learn to lean very carefully. There are a lot of youtube videos on how to lean on a race bike. Taking a long curve on the highway at triple digit speeds is a breeze if you know how to lean, but if you don't, it can be a very unnerving experience. The bike is very stable at high speeds, but I wouldn't recommend it owing to our traffic and roads.

Maintenance is apparently cheaper than other superbikes, because it is by Bajaj, and can be serviced anywhere in the country. Apart from the normal service, you have to lube the chain every 500 kms. You can buy small cans of 3M chain cleaner and lube.

Ground clearance is only 130 mm, though. If you are heavyweight, it can pose an issue over speedbreakers.

Overall, am very happy. There's one group called KNOG on FB. You can try contacting them for peeps in Ahmedabad.

Note from Support - Post edited to remove high speed figures. Please avoid mention of high speeds. Kindly also avoid quoting an entire post in your replies as it inconveniences our mobile users.

[hell yeah]

Dear @Oreen,

Thank you very much!

I am 6'1'' and yes will have a pillion ocassionally.

The good news is I already brought myself one last week! Apparently it is the first ER6N is Ahmedabad and second in Gujarat.

Went for my first ride yesterday with KNOG Ahmedabad and it was fun. It exactly is what you had mentioned it to be like! AWESOME...

Have done 222 kms yet, yes its difficult to keep my hands off it! But for the heat that has engulfed the country including Ahmedabad and hence have taken out the bike only twice after delivery.

May bother you and my fellow riders with more questions

Cheers,
Rup

[BlackPearl]

Dont know how I had missed this thread before, but anyways better late than never. Congratulations on the ER6N. I did not know that you were on tbhp. Will surely meet next time I am in Bangalore. The ER6N is a lovely bike and as you have mentioned, it can be ridden all day long without any problem. I had a N650 in US and rode it for 15000 miles in a year, loved it. Wish you many miles of happiness.
For me just one point against the bike would be the sound. I wish the sound from 2 cylinder parallel twin could be a bit sweeter. I liked the sound of the newly launched Benelli TNT300 which is also a twin cyclinder bike.
PS: I went to the Kawasaki showroom in Calcutta to test ride the Z800 and ZX10R (insane bike). I did not find any mention of the ER6N or the ER6F on the price list.

[loki]

How much does changing the stock exhaust help? Eg: an Akrapovic or Yoshi slip on.

Is it possible to make the N650/ ER6N sound better? I'm not too convinced by the few videos I've seen on youtube...

[udainxs]

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

I liked the sound of the newly launched Benelli TNT300 which is also a twin cyclinder bike.
PS: I went to the Kawasaki showroom in Calcutta to test ride the Z800 and ZX10R (insane bike). I did not find any mention of the ER6N or the ER6F on the price list.

The TNT300 definitely sounds great! Test rode that and the ER-6n this weekend! ER disappoints in the sound department.

The ER is sold in KTM outlets along with the Z250. The Kawasaki showrooms, like the one you visited, only sell the CBUs

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by loki

Is it possible to make the N650/ ER6N sound better?

Now that is a relative term! A slip on will obviously make the 650 sound more throaty and loud but still will sound more or less like a single cylinder. And it will never sound anything like the Benelli 300!

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by loki

How much does changing the stock exhaust help? Eg: an Akrapovic or Yoshi slip on. Is it possible to make the N650/ ER6N sound better? I'm not too convinced by the few videos I've seen on Youtube...

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

Now that is a relative term! A slip on will obviously make the 650 sound more throaty and loud but still will sound more or less like a single cylinder. And it will never sound anything like the Benelli 300!

. As man_of_steel has posted, there is barely anything you can do to make this tractorish note sound like music.

A couple of weekends ago, I was at Auto Service (Kawasaki service center in Blore) and noticed a 650 with an aftermarket pipe. IIRC, it was an Akrapovic slip on. The pipe looked great on the bike but when the bike was brought to life, I had to lunge for the keys to kill the engine. The bike was loud and it didn't sound nice.

No offence to the owner of this bike but same case with another 650 that belonged to a friend.

It had a megaphone exhaust and when we were on the track at Coimbatore, he was basically scaring away others even if he was at the other end of the track. Loud and you'd never want to be close to the bike or anywhere behind it.

Other than that, the 650 is a brilliant bike. Feels more like a normal commuter bike with a big engine. So easy to ride and no nonsense, practical ride which can take a pillion comfortably around too.

I almost bought one a year or so back and still have it on my mind but upgrading from a twin to another twin just doesn't cut it for me.

[Oreen]

Hahaha, about the heat that engulfed the country, move to Bangalore, bro. It is 21 deg C here and we are happily riding in the slight drizzle.

By the way, my bike was at the service center for more than a month and now that I got it back, it is not idling properly. Earlier it started at 2K rpm and then gradually came down to 1K in about a minute or two. Now it is below 1K rpm, and it stalls every now and then if I don't rev. Today's ride in traffic was a little bit of a pain because it kept stalling like my bullet.

[shan_ned]

Originally Posted by Oreen

Hahaha, about the heat that engulfed the country, move to Bangalore, bro. It is 21 deg C here and we are happily riding in the slight drizzle.

By the way, my bike was at the service center for more than a month and now that I got it back, it is not idling properly. Earlier it started at 2K rpm and then gradually came down to 1K in about a minute or two. Now it is below 1K rpm, and it stalls every now and then if I don't rev. Today's ride in traffic was a little bit of a pain because it kept stalling like my bullet.

When you say that the engine started with 2K rpm and later settling down to 1K, are you referring to the engine behavior during the cold engine start and the subsequent behavior after the engine warm up ?

Did you try adjusting the engine idle and still see the problem ? Try setting it to 1300 RPM once the engine is sufficiently warmed up.