Happy New Year!

A Happy New Year to everyone. Here is hoping that this year will improve on last year and allow me to get out more for trips on the bike! As a new year surprise for those wanting the new Kawasaki ZX10R, Kawasaki UK have released a news item on their site which explains why the bike was 'recalled' before it was even released in many countries. It turns out the intake valve spring was surging under certain conditions. In this instance if you were running under high RPM on a race track.

Full story

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!).

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.

Yet more mirrors

Back in September I had to change the mirrors on the bike as the factory ones had stopped being able to hold its position. So I brought some (very) cheap mirrors from Busters. To be honest they are pants. The picture on the right shows what has happened to the arms, the chrome has died and allowed the metal underneath to rust out. This has left it looking rather, well rubbish. Mind you for only £12 they have done better then I really expected, although I wasn't expecting them to fail like this!

So looking at "intobikes" website I found some new ones by Motrax. A little under £15 each, however I was a little confused as to how to order them. The order from Busters to the old ones was simple, it included both mirrors. However intobikes have it listed as "left or right". As I wasn't sure is this meant that I had to specify a left or right mirror I emailed them. To be honest I wasn't impressed with the reply, it came across as slightly terse. As it turns out the mirrors are literally left or right and by spinning the mirror around on the arm, it can be swapped over.

A few days after ordering they turned up and I installed them very quickly and they look great. Much better then the round mirrors it came with as standard.

Mirror mirror on my bike...

Last September I installed some new mirrors as my old ones weren't staying in the correct positions. Well now the new ones, while operating fine, have started to rust and pit on the stalks! I have now ordered some new, and more expensive, ones from 'intobikes.co.uk' and hope that they will not go the same way. More when I have them!

Bike is back

At last I have my GS500 back in my grubby mitts. Finally it is running nicely, hats off to the guys at Nick Robinson. Although I have to go to work tomorrow I am hoping to go for a little ride out at lunch time.

Almost ready

Well I hope anyway! Parts turned up on Saturday and it is going to be installed tomorrow so fingers crossed I should be able to pick the bike up by the end of day.

Don't get me started and woohoo!

So had a call from NR again today. Thanks to their dedicated work the problem with my bike is now known; a sticky valve due to its shim(?) being too tight. I'll admit my knowledge on the components of engines is limited! Anyhow, the bike has been a pain in the proverbial as to gain access to the valve the engine needed to come out. The exhaust bolts are fused to the engine and would need to be drilled out, so to save money they have removed the engine with exhaust attached. Next while gaining access to the innards of the engine one of the engine bolts was badly corroded and snapped, again this will need to be drilled out by the looks of it.

Aside from that problems with corroded and snapping bolts at least the problem is now known and should be fixable. Although not given a time, I am hopeful I will be able to pick the bike up this Friday.

Engine update

Had a call from NR yesterday and it seems there is no compression in cylinder two when cold. The current thought is that it is the exhaust valve so hopefully it is a "simple" as a valve replacment and I am back on the road again.

Fingers crossed and touching wood!!

Broken again

It seems I have nothing but bad luck with this bike. It has gone back in to have its engine checked out as it is only starting on one cylinder, yet when warm runs on both. So far the guys at Nick Robinsons haven't found the cause of it. Here is hoping that when they do find out what it is, it is a cheap fix, though I have a funny feeling it won't be. Just my luck really. If anyone who may read this has any ideas let me know.

Valve cover gasket

I have had a persistent leak on the no.2 cylinder valve cover. Spent the morning replacing it, surprisingly it went really well. The biggest problem was getting the cover to come off, but a bit of timber and a hammer soon got that off. One thing that I found out about it was that the Haynes Manual suggests that this can be done without removing the engine. Now this is technically true, however it fails to mention that you need to also remove the breather cap to be able to get it out from under the frame. Other then that it was reasonably easy to change.

Now comes the time to see if it really does stop this annoying leak.

Oh and my tickets for the NEC Motorbike show turned up this week, really looking forward to it now!

New Mirrors

I have always had problems with my right side mirror with it not holding its position. This didn't use to be a major problem, just and inconvenience of having to adjust it regularly. However recently it became harder and harder to get it to keep in place, and now refuses to give me any view other then the floor. Had it been the left side I wouldn't have worried so much, but as it was the right it makes overtaking much harder as I am unable to see what traffic is coming up behind me. So I brought some new ones from Busters. As the bike is merely to get me through my restricted period on my license I didn't want to have to spend a fortune replacing them. Hunting through Busters website turned up a pair for a mere £12. I was worried that they may be really poor quality but decided to give them a go.

As always with Busters the item was in my hands a short two days later (well with my neighbor two days later, I wasn't in when it was delivered!). Once I had them I got them installed on the bike. Unlike the ones that I have taken off, the new ones have a slight reduction in the reflected image. I guess, should they have been factory fitted, it would have the little sticker saying; "Warning, objects may appear smaller then they actually are!". This seems to be a good thing in reality as it shows less of my shoulder and more of the road around me. Have yet to take them out on a good old road trip but hopefully they will be as good, if not better, then the last pair!

New Helmet II

Typical for me, the helmet is on backorder! Ahh-well, not totally urgent that I have it now, just would have been really nice. Still will update as I know more!

Adjusted idle speed

Got home from work on Monday and the engine was idling at almost 1.8k, although not the same problem as the 3k+ idle issue I still have. This was just the bike being warm and running too fast. So tweaked the idle speed adjuster down to the more appropriate speed of 1.2k rpm. Only problem was that I forgot and as it now idles slower the bike stalled because it wasn't up to running temperature. Oops!

Idle over-reving

Not sure what the problem is, but on certain occasions the bike seems to like to over run while it is idling. If I have been going for a while then come to a stop sometimes, at the moment it is rarely, the engine will idle circa 3k rpm.

I am going to be changing the accelerator, decelerator and choke cables in case one of them is sticking or damaged. Cheap enough to do and I don't know when they were last done either so good for maintaining anyway.

Screen and Tyre

After having spent all week looking forward to the weekend when I am going for a nice ride to visit friends, I went to work on my bike yesterday and as I wheeled it out of the garage I saw a dreaded screw stuck in my rear tyre. Not what I want two days before I am due to do a 160mile trip! Thankfully the guys a Just Motorcycles have been able to fit me in to replace the rear tyre. I have also brought from them a cargo net costing a mear £1.50, bargin!

The screen turned up yesterday, considering that it was posted at 7:55pm it is impressive that it turned up this quickly, top marks for speed to Busters. Overall it was very easy to fit. Simply removing the bolts that secure the headlamp, fitting the two brackets supplied with the pack then connecting the screen to the brackets. Personally I think it finishes off the front of the bike, will find out tomorrow if it is actually any good. For £30 can't complain though!

Still no sign of life

Well, it has been almost two weeks since the bike went in for fixing, however I still don't have it back. From the last communication the guys say the diagnostics are "inconclusive" at the moment. I really do hope they are able to get her running this week as I have it off work and gives me a chance to really get out and ride, building up experience that I have, as yet, not been able to get. That said it is giving me time to look at routes that I can take! If anyone knows of a good road/route around Basingstoke (don't say the Alton road, know that one :D) leave a comment!

Well until next week, unless I have it back earlier. Fingers crossed!

To the professionals!

I have now run out of steam to get the old girl working (well she isn't that old!), to that end I have given her over to Just Motorcycles in Basingstoke to get her fixed and working again! I'll put up when she is back with me, I plan to be doing lots of riding week after next when I am off of work!

ARGHHHH!! Bloody malfunctions!

The carbs got fitted and after getting the bike back together and whole again I went to start her up. Reconnected the battery and the alarm goes off. 'Not a problem.' I think as I hit the disarm button on my remote, but nothing happens. Long story short, the alarm seems to be nackard so I need to pull it out to be able to start the bike. I am hoping to have a evening or two to work on the bike but it doesn't look like I will be able to look at it for another two weekends.

I am working on the theory that the alarm has died as the carbs now work and it is the only way to stop me getting on the bike!!

Time to refit carbs!

After one hell of a job getting the screws off of the float chamber bowls on my carbs (thanks Dad!) it seems like someone had actually Loctited the screws in place! Anyhow an inspection showed nothing too wrong with them and a check of the diaphragms shows no problems, so the refit will happen today!

Fingers crossed that the bike will fire up into life again!