New Kawasaki Bikes for 2011

 Okay, I am a bit of a Kawasaki fan boy at the moment. They have presented their 2011 bike offerings and there are a couple that I am interested in.

The main one has to be the new ZX10R. From the initial artist concept drawings to the race version to the road, I have loved the look of it. Now to be fair, I doubt I will every ride one, let alone own one (however I wouldn't mind a test ride Kawasaki!). It gets close to 200bhp with a weight of around 200kg (depending on ABS). The most powerful bike I have ridden is my ER-6F, a mere tiddler compared to this behemoth. I now wait to see it in the metal at the NEC show later this year, assuming I will be able to get to it through the crowds it is sure to draw in. I also hope that the race version will help Kawasaki on the track.

The other new bike that I am more interested in is the Z1000SX, which is a Sports Tourer. Unlike the ZX10R it has a much more upright riding position which, in turn, provides a better long distance riding ability. With an adjustable windscreen and larger fuel tank there has obviously been thought into its touring capability (listening Honda?). Not too sure on the exhausts though, or some of the styling. Maybe it'll look better with my own eyes and not through a camera.

Either way I like both bikes. If I were in the position I would look at getting one of them to go alongside my ER-6F. The ER for my commute and the other for my weekend/summer blats. Following are a couple of videos I found for both.

Hein Gericke Streetline GPS Bag

Satellite Navigation is a great tool to help you get to a place you haven't been to before. Unfortunately the selection of sat-navs for bikes is rather limited and expensive. It is somewhat annoying given that you can pick up car versions for around £99 (although quality at that price can be suspect!).

Enter the Streetline GPS bag from Hein Gericke. This is a waterproof bag that can attach to the central section of your handle bars with Velcro ties. Of course if you have clip on bars then this won't be of much use, although it will attach to HG's line of compatible tank bags. Lets get down to the essentials. It is waterproof, has a small port to allow power/audio connections, easily removable and cheap. Taking that last point first, the bag retails at £14.99. An amazingly low price that offsets some of the lesser points. As said, it attaches to the handle bars via a pair of Velcro strips. On my ER-6F they just about reach around the connector and provide a sturdy support. It is a little tight and does take some fiddling to get it right. A problem is that it slightly obscures the key switch and makes it awkward to get the key in a turn. Previously mentioned that it will not fit onto clip-on bars as standard, so not a universal attachment.

To get your device into the bag you undo the zip, with its weather proof seal, and insert your GPS between the window and two crossed over elastic strips. The strips help to keep the sat-nav in place and against the clear plastic.

In use the clear window can be a little too reflective and it is sometimes hard to see the screen underneath. However it does allow a resistive type touch screen to be used without problem, although my HTC Desire's capacitive screen will respond even with my gloved hand.

GPS normally takes a lot of power, generally because the screen is always on. There is an opening to allow power and audio leads into the bag without compromising the weather seal. Obviously the assumes you have some way to connect to your bikes battery and that the GPS has a headphone output. If it does have the latter, then you will need some way to pump that into your ears. In-ear headphones are a start but something like an Autocom is ideal, allowing you to listen to music at the same time.

Good

• Very, very cheap,
• Easy to fit,
• Provides access for power/audio.

Bad

• Not suitable for clip on bars,
• Window a little too reflective.

ER6F Long Term Review

Having now owned my Kawasaki ER-6F for a year now I feel it is time to give a bit of a review having used it over the longer term. So what is my overall view? Excellent, but with room for improvement.


Engine

The little parallel twin gives out plenty of poke, especially low down. Having done much riding around town this is of great benefit, making it easy to filter and pull away from the lights without having to rev the engine. When you want to be a bit more spirited you can be, although you do need to keep it revving a little higher. Once above 9000rpm you start to lose it and really should change gear. The biggest problem with the bike being a parallel twin is the amount of vibration. On this 2009 model not much of it comes through to the rider, but some does and on longer motorway trips I have found my left hand getting partly numbed by it. Perhaps the worst aspect of the vibration is that the mirrors tend to show mainly blur. Shame that they haven't been isolated as the pegs and handle bars have been.

Fuel economy on this bike can be great, I have had nearly 60mpg on one run, although averaging around 50. However it drops when you are just doing short trips around town and even more when you want to use the poke of the engine. 38mpg was my worst. Still it is a cheap bike to run fuel wise.


Body

Beauty is in the eye of... well you know. Anyhow I think the bike looks great, certainly compared to the pre-09 model. Sharp angles and lines make it look much more like its Ninja sibling, but without the sporty riding position. Ahh the riding position; I haven't ridden a supersports bike so I can't comment too much, but while the more upright sitting position is great for around town and cruising, it isn't much cop when you want to ride that little more aggressively. I found that I can improve that by moving my feet up on the pegs and that in-turn moves my body forward, putting that little more weight over the front and makes me more confident in faster corners. However I am unsure if that is the right thing to do!

Another thing with the body of the bike are the mirrors. Considering it seems to be aimed at newer riders and commuters, you can't see directly behind you. People will know if an ER rider is looking behind as they have to move their arm in to get past their elbow (or elbow out). Annoying when you do a manoeuvre; either you look like you are doing a chicken impression or have to physically look over your shoulder. One day I may look at getting the mirror extensions and see if they 'fix' the problem. However this shouldn't be a problem to be fixed it should be right out of the box. That is, however, a minor thing really and takes nothing away from the rideability of the bike.

There are some very nice touches to the bike, the side mounted rear shock being one. It gives the bike some distinctive character without looking like it is trying. As I understand it is there to even up weight and allows the battery to be moved to a better location. Along with the rear hugger, stops it being caked by the back wheel throwing up road dirt. Oh yes, it also has a rear hugger. Again this is something I am led to believe is not what you would expect to see on a budget bike.


Suspension

Basic is the work of the day, budget may be another. This is a budget bike and as such all you get is pre-loading on the rear side mounted shock otherwise nadda. Not that I would expect to see much more, this isn't the sort of bike that would have all the adjustments, at least not at what it was sold at. Possibly do to its low cost there are times the bike feels a little on edge, especially on bumpy B-roads. The rear end feels as if it isn't always in good contact with the road. Maybe more expensive suspension would improve that, but at the moment I have little idea of how to adjust it for the best setup.

I love this bike, it has enough poke to get you going to the wrong side of motorway speeds, feels confident pootling around town, but is also a lot of fun around the B-roads. Having taken it on a trip to Land's End it was commented at how well it pulled out of corners, this was by someone who used to race bikes. I have no doubt that his GSXR750 would run circles around me most of the time though!

If you are looking for a first 'big bike' or something to run around town on with the occasional weekend blast, you can't go too wrong with an ER6F. Yes it has its faults, the mirrors are vibey and not long enough and the rear suspension can sometimes feel a little hard. However this is overshadowed by just how fun it is to ride, and how cheap too. It is in the group 10 for insurance, costs £70 in road tax (I am sure that will go up), and does around 8.7p/mile on fuel (again that will go up if only as fuel goes up!).

Musings

My first bike, Suzuki GS500

There is an old saying "time flies when you are having fun". It don't seem that it has been 3 years since I learnt to ride. I have owned two bikes in that time, still do in fact. What an eventful time it has been. Owning my first bike, the little Suzuki GS500. I still don't see why it gets berated so much. It is a great first bike and an ideal commuter. Having said that when I first had it it never seemed to run right and then there was the first winter where it wouldn't start at all and was left in the garage until the spring. The little GS is now waiting patiently to be sold at my parents house.

ER6F - Great bike!

Then I went on to my brand new Kawasaki ER6F. That had a turbulent first few months too. Got it in September and then ran it in for the first 500 miles. Never had to do that before even in a car. Being stuck at 55mph (4000rpm) made for some interesting trips. I tried my hardest to avoid motorways and dual carriageways, and I almost succeeded. Once ending up on a dual carriageway and being overtaken by a lorry, that wasn't fun at all. Running in for me is a time to get to know your bike. You can try out the handling without the worry of extra speed and it is surprising what fun you can have a low speed on a few country lanes! Then December came. It was a wet day and I pulled into my local Morrison's to get some milk for work. Just as I pulled into the car park a car pulled across the parking area straight into my line to travel. Nothing I could do but dump the bike. There was a sickening crunching sound, thankfully not from me but the bike as the fairing trashed itself (not that I walked away unscathed either). Fortunately it was all low speed so the damage to me was only to my knee and shoulder.

Land's End Carpark

It ended up taking close to 2 or so months before I had the bike back but when I did I was so glad to have it back. Thankfully I was given a Suzuki Bandit 600 while mine was convalescing. Didn't really like it, much to heavy for a naked plus none of the protection that I get from my ER's fairing.

After two summers that were rained out, finally got to go on a biking trip. Five of use down to Land's End over the Easter break. It was an absolute hoot and the weather was very kind to us. Compared to the congested south I live in, the wide open roads down there are wonderful to ride round. I envy the people who have it as their 'backyard' so to speak.

I have been to the NEC and ExCeL shows which are both great fun to go too. Just waiting now to see what the new styled NEC show will be like this year. I attended the Westminster M25 parking charge protest, amazing to see the M25 clear of traffic just before hundreds of bikes go past.

ER-6F Recall

Apparently there is a problem with some 2009-on bikes where the riders boot can foul on the rear brake lever. Have to wait and see if I get a letter, although may call the dealer just to be sure. Once I know more I will put it up here.

Thanks to "Canary Wundaboy" on GB Bikers for letting owners aware of this (not even on Kawasaki's website). More details can be found on AutoTraders website.

Have it back!

Been down and picked up the bike this eve. Have to say that it is looking really good to. Felt like I did when l first went to pick the bike up, getting all excited. Aside from having the repairs done, I have also had a couple of crash bobbins installed. They aren't cheap but hopefully will reduce the extent of damage should I be the victim of another RTI.

On the way home I decided to take the A33. Turned out that was a big mistake as the road was closed just after Hartley Whitley, I assume from an accident given the amount of Police presence.

So, thought to myself, I remember a back route home on an old B road, I'll take that home. Bad idea. Forgot which side turning I wanted and ended up at the wrong end of the A30. What should have been a 20 minute trip home now was going to take at least twice that. In the end it was about 45 minutes to get home. I suppose that it did mean I could get reacquainted with my bike again!

More good news

Just had a phone call that my bike is now repaired and hopefully will be dropped off today. So looking forward to seeing it again!

Good News!

Two things today; firstly I had a call from the Insurance and it seems the repairers have all the parts now and I should be able to get my bike back by next week, just in time to go to the MCN show at ExCeL! Secondly a small achievment for my blog, this is the 100th post! Out of the countless blogs I have started this has to be the longest I have been going for.

Insurance claim

Having spoken to my solicitor earlier in the week, it seems as if the 3rd party insurers have admitted liability. Still waiting for confirmation from my insurers but this is great news. Hopefully I will be able to get my bike back (still waiting on parts) and kit replaced then get on with my life.

On back order

Bike is being repaired but the parts are now on back order, so currently no idea when I will get the bike back. I am hopeful that I will have it in a few weeks. Looking on the bright side, I haven't had to use the bike over winter, so no salt problems! Still, desperately want it back!

ER-6F Long Term Review (MCN)

Here is a review from MCN reporter Laura Kennerley on her experience with the ER-6F. For the most part I agree with everything said, especially the part with the mirrors.

Getting Repaired

Contacted the repairer for my bike and it seems the insurers have approved the damage, parts have been ordered to get the bike back on its wheels. I really am hoping to have the bike back before the end of January.

New theme and update

Have update to what I hope is a more pleasing theme for the blog.

Last Monday I was involved in an RTI (Road Traffic Incident) as the police would say, my first one too. I don't what to go into details yet, but suffice to say the bike has suffered damage as have I. Bike is currently off getting fixed so have a hire bike, a Suzuki GSF650. Its an okay bike, but can't wait to have mine back again. I'll write a review on the bike soon.

Hoping to get my old GS500 apart to do some maintenance on that as well, getting it ready for sale next year.

500 Miles!

Bike is booked in this Wednesday for its first service. So looking forward to being able to have a few more RPM's. Hopefully this means that I will be able to accelerate a bit more to be able to get out of some of the tight spots car drivers cause!

Half way there

Well, I am now half way through the run-in period of my ER6F standing at 270 in a week, most I have ever done I think! So far the bike is going well, the only issues thus far have been the mirrors, where you can't see behind you easily, and being stuck at 55mph! It is so embarrassing being on dual carriageways that I have taken to completely avoiding them. Not really a bad thing as such, there are some great roads out there, but sometimes I just want to get home via the quickest route possible.

Still hoping to cover about 100 miles over the weekend, maybe more then I hope to have it ready for first service by Wednesday.

Got it!

After a tension filled two weeks I have finally taken receipt of my ER6F from ADT Kawasaki. Big thanks to the guys there, everything has been great. The only annoying thing is the 4000rpm limit I have on the bike, which gives me a whopping top speed of about 55mph, good for the engine and probably fuel economy, bad for my right hand ;)

Some pictures:


And a little movie of the start up sequence, the noise you hear is apparently the fuel pump priming:

Oops

On Tuesday I got the call from ADT about the registration plate of my bike. I wrote it down and later that evening I went online to get the insurance. The problem came when I had got the documents. as requested I emailed a copy of the insurance to ADT it wasn't until I got home I noticed that the reg-plate had a wrong letter. Thankfully I was able to phone the insurance the next day and get it changed. Sent the new one off to ADT. Hopefully the bike should turn up today and I'll get it on Saturday. Fingers crossed, I'm not sure I'll be able to put up with the broken nights sleep much longer!

Test ride of ER6F

I'll admit that I have lusting after the ER-6F ever since I saw its refreshed looks back at the 2008 NEC show. Today I finally got my chance to ride one. I arrived at ADT Kawasaki after having got a little lost and stuck in roadworks in Southampton. Before being allowed to take the bike out I had to sign a disclaimer saying I'd pay the excess of the insurance should I damage the bike. After that given the once over with the controls and the "if this light comes on don't got any further" talk. Finally I was able to get out onto the road.

The first thing that should be said is that I do not know Southampton at all well, in fact I don't know it at all other then the roads I came in on. After heading out I just went where the roads took me. Initial thoughts on the bike were really good, the acceleration was excellent and most importantly the brakes worked so much better then the GS'. The problem was the traffic, it was a nice sunny day and everyone was out. However as my confidence grew with the bike I started to do a little filtering. One of the comments that I remember reading about the ER6F is that the mirrors show nothing other then your elbows. Not something the I noticed, yes there was a large view of mine, but once adjusted wasn't any more of a problem then I have with my GS.

Bimbling along at 30mph one thing I did notice is the vibration from the engine. My GS being air-cooled has tons of vibration due to the lack of water to dampen it, but I was surprised how much there is on the ER6F. Considering that this new '09 model has the rubber mounted engine etc. I expected much less then I got. The riding position did make up for some of that vibes that I got, it was an excellent posture for riding around town in all the weight of my body feeling shared across the pressure points (bum, shoulders and wrists).

Eventually I somehow ended up on the M27, not sure how but I did. This was the first opportunity that I had to really open her up. Pulling onto the motorway I was stuck behind a car doing 60mph, as soon as I could I checked and pulled out into the middle lane and opened the throttle. The grin that was plastered to my face was immense. I am the first to admit that I have not been on many powerful bikes, I haven't ridden any. My most powerful bike to-date has been my little GS500. If this is what 70 odd BHP feels like, I am glad I have yet to ride a superbike. I was doing a large amount of speed before I realised what I had done! Quickly I backed off the throttle, got the bike into sixth gear and cruised at 70mph. You notice when you are doing 70mph on my GS, even with the little fly screen which takes a brunt of the force, you know you are at speed. The ER6F's fairing done its job at keeping most of the wind away from me, to the point where the speed was creeping up and I hadn't noticed because I wasn't being hit by the wind. Again the vibrations were becoming noticeable again at certain speeds. It is almost as if there is a number of revolutions the engine has to do and it sets up a minor resonance though the bike.

Eventually I managed to find my way off of the M27 and back onto the streets of Southampton. Another item that I soon realised compared to the GS is how stable it is at lower speeds, walking pace. I find with the GS I am having to make constant corrections if I am doing anything less then about 10mph, but the ER6 was letting me go along at almost walking pace with no problems. Due to its narrow frame and seat gripping the tank was easy and provided a surprising amount of grip. Seeing as I was back to low speeds, the engine has a great purr to it and a double thump noise from the exhaust, most importantly the engine has tons of low end grunt. With that it made getting away at lights a simple matter, not something to be worked at as with the GS.

I am sure I am going to find flaws with the ER6 eventually as I did with my GS. I love my GS, it is my first bike, let along my first big bike. It has done the unenviable job of taking a very green rider, and all the problems what go with that, in its stride. It has been restricted, dropped, knocked over and come away saying "is that all you've got?". For the most part it has been a dependable workhorse that I will be sad to see go. Still I don't have enough room for two bikes so it will have to go!

All that is left to do know is wait for the call on Monday to say that the finance has gone through and then wait for the bike to turn up. This may be the longest ten days of my life!

On to ADT Kawasaki

So after calling George White to find out what was happening and not getting the promised return phone call, I am now going to be going to ADT Kawasaki in Southampton on Saturday for a test ride. Hopefully a report and pictures tomorrow.

Booking in for test ride

Just a quick one today, pending a phone call tomorrow from George White Swindon, I hope to be going for a test ride on an ER-6F this comming Saturday. I really hope that they still have the bike available to ride!