Kawasaki ER-6n Ownership Review By Zohair Ahmed

• Aug 16, 2015
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The Pursuit Begins

Throwback to May 2012, when I got my first bike the CBR250R. It was a gift to me from my father, and my first bike. It kept me happy for 2-years, I learnt stunting on it, modified it in impossible ways. But after a while I felt the need for more power, and also I had decided to start Moto Vlogging with the concept of how practical is a so called superbike in our country. I initially was keen on picking up the Ninja 650. The practicality, power, efficiency and all had me going for it. But it lacked something, sheer character and road presence! I switched my eyes over to the Harley Street 750, took a test ride, and was about to book the bike in a week's time.

This was a hard gamble, as this would be the last bike my father would buy for me, any next upgrade would be on my own expense, which would take a while as I was still completing my graduation. The street triple seemed overpriced to me, and as I would be replacing my CBR250, whatever I buy would be my daily driver, and a triple seemed impractical for my usage, even the spares being so expensive than the Japanese counterparts. The Z800 had to be gotten from Bangalore, and then again service issues plagued me. November 2014, a friend had told me that the Begumpet KTM/Kawasaki showroom had an ER-6N on display, and I should go check it out once. I had seen the launch alerts, but initially wasn't so keen on it. Few days later I went to see the bike, and boy o boy I fell in love at first sight! She was sitting there, all black. Like a predator! Everything from the seat height to ergonomics seemed perfect, and I had some experience on the Ninja 650 so I knew it would be the bomb. I went home to convince my father, but he was still keen on the Harley Davidson, as according to him a Harley is a Harley!(LOL).

3 Days later on the 1st of December 2014, I went to the market and sold my baby-blade, took the amount and rushed straight to the showroom at 7pm and booked the bike! I was told I would be the first person to own an ER6N in Hyderabad, as well as the whole of south zone!! Happiest moment of my life. Now I had to wait 10 days for the delivery. My father wasnt so happy with my choice though... The wait seemed endless, I had even gone gear shopping and picked up a new jacket and helmet! And finally, on 10th December I got a call from the showroom saying the bike was here, and they where waiting for me to come and see the unboxing, as I had specially requested that I want to see the bike unboxed and shoot a video of it. It was my sister's birthday that day, I made an excuse to go get the cake, and rushed straight to the showroom.

I was told the bike would be delivered to me the next day, after the PDI was done. It was a huge box, also a Ninja 300 was being unboxed when I reached. Later he became one of my close friend too. Unboxing began, and my first glimpse... INSTANT ORGASM! All black, with a predator like head! Shining! I was jumping with excitement! I went home and enjoyed the party, and here came the most sleepless night of my life...

The Day Of Delivery

I woke up earlier than usual, my father would join me at the showroom directly after withdrawing the cash. I called up a friend and headed straight to the showroom, saw the PDI was going on, and then I realised, I forgot the booking slip at home!WTF! I sent a friend who went home and got it in flat 30mins (LOL). Everyone was excited as it was my first 'BIG BIKE'! It took almost 4 hours for all the formalities to be done, my father arrived, saw the bike for the first time in flesh and he too loved the way it looked! Finally, everything was done around 4pm and I rode the bike for the first time... Boy o boy I was in love. The ride back home was crazy, not much traffic, adrenaline rush and the power delivery seemed explosive! It felt faster than the Ninja 650 and even more agile! Just before my house there is a highway, an empty stretch..I knew what to do! Up came my first wheelie, and damn she went with the wind! I couldn't even realise how fast I was going and it instantly scared the living hell out of me! Back home, I was trembling with excitement ! My mom did all the religious formalities, and now it was time to go out partying with friends! I rode all evening and came home late, my father took a small ride on the bike. I had done 120kms on the first day itself!(LOL). I knew, life was just gonna get that much more exciting! Next day morning me and a friend on my RC390 went for a short ride and I clicked some pictures. I was in love! The wheelies seemed never ending!

Aftermarket Accessories

With the help of my friend and the person who guided me into buying the ER6N, Mr.Arun Singh Thakur, I made a list of all the accesories I want to install on the bike and made these modifications over time... The Journey So Far

She is more than a bike to me! She is my stress buster and in literal terms, my BAE ;). I have a lot of experience on litre class bikes, even before I got this bike I used to ride my friend's RSV4 and R1 on many occasions, but never once have I felt that the bike is under-powered. The torque is amazing, available right from 2-3k rpm! Adding the exhaust and the air-filter made the bike a lot more smoother and engine braking was significantly reduced, and the bottom end power too got a boost. I had wrapped the bike in an orangish shade, just for the heck of it as black had become too boring over time. The bike gave me a platform to meet new people, we formed a small group of superbikes where everyone rides in a controlled yet fun manner. The bike makes every city commute that much pleasurable, it doesn't heat up much in traffic, torque and gear ratios are great to go along in traffic, it is a light handler, it is a BIG head turner! Brakes could have been a bit better, but they aren't as bad as of the Ninja 650. I don't miss ABS at all, as I personally dislike ABS. Even the rear seat is really comfortable, And it makes filtering through traffic feel like a joke. No tiredness even if you ride it all day in traffic.

I look forward to the weekends to hit the highway with my friends, do a bit of wheelies on open roads. Windblast does bother you after 130Kmph, but that is okay with me. It easily keeps up with the likes of the BMW S1000RR on our Indian highways. Fuel efficiency is a good 20Kmpl in the city and roughly 26kmpl on the highways. It is one of the most practical bike for sale in India right now, for a price of 5.61 lacs on road Hyderabad, I doubt any other manufacturer offers as much practicality. Incidents/Close Calls

I've had many close calls with the bike, one being emergency braking from 170 to 20kmph as there was a truck and water all over the highway near Medchal, sigh! In the city the usual douchebags try racing with you. One instance when a car guy cut me off wantedly to the left, I had to punch the poor bloke's mirror and unfortunately it broke(HE DESERVED THAT).

Cops stop me to ask about the bike. One particular instance when I was stopped while going home from the showroom when the bike was new and the cop asks me, Kya ye Bajaj ka naya model hai?(Is this bajaj's latest model). Facepalm! Later I realised the TR stickers have Bajaj written on them ! In another instance an auto guy decided to stop in the middle of the road, thankfully I swerved and kicked his ass later on!;) The easy handling of the bike makes it very maneuverable and controllable. Girls hate the sound it makes FYI, as it is just too loud ! :p Wheelies

Now this is the most important criteria for me, I'm a wheelie freak. I do wheelies on litre class bikes as well. Initially I started doing it in first gear like I used to on my CBR250, but I just had to be really careful on the throttle modulation. It can power wheelie easily in first gear, but mostly I do clutch wheelies. 20 days after getting the bike, I started gearshifts while wheelieing. Lifting in first and shifting to second mid wheelie, a risky business but hell lotta fun and epic long wheelies.

Couple months later, I started doing standup wheelies on the rear footpegs in first gear. But the real milestone came when I started doing them in second gear. Damn she lifts! And once she is up at about 30kmph, you just gotta balance it and smoothen the throttle out and off she goes till 120kmph and even long stretches of tarmac seem small and not enough... It is the perfect wheelie monster! Even with one hand up, you can handle the bike ;) Vlogging

I do lots of bike reviews and other funny, informative vlogs. youtube.com/c/zohairahmed777 is my channel. Photoshoots are done almost every other weekend, and as of now I have tons of pictures with the bike! I made alot of videos with this bike, but the wheelie tutorial is yet to come. Also planning a long ride to Goa and Bangalore to make a huge vLOG and also see how the bike performs on long rides, as the longest I've done is 300kms in a day. There was one time I made a video of a night city ride on Telangana formation day, it happens every year that local galli riders gather in crowds of hundreds and spread mayhem on the streets. Nobody stops them, so if something is going on anyways, you might as well make a video of it, at least people would be aware, right?;) Maintenance

It's an easy to maintain bike really, even with my wheelies and somewhat rash usage, I've covered 14,335kms in a matter of 9-Months, which is a lot. Each service costs roughly Rs 3,500 including the oil and oil filter. Chain sprocket will easily last me another 10,000kms, brake pads another 5,000kms. Tyres need replacement though, and I'll be going for the Pirelli Angel GT instead of the Dunlops that come with the bike. I clean the filter every 4000kms. No other complains and service related issues or breakdowns. Ground clearance was an issue initially but after getting the exhaust, that problem is eliminated. A lot of dirt flies up on wet roads with the tail tidy, and cleaning that is a pain!

Future Mods

I have plan to change the wrap to Black Chrome, like the one on the Kawasaki H2. A tall visor for long trips. Also a power commander is on it's way, to tune the bike for the Amby Valley Drag-race in 2016 January! Later on when I pickup a supersport litre class, I will change this bike into a total stunt-bike with engine cages and all the stunt-bike parts! Verdict

After 9-months and 14,000kms of smiles all along, never once was I let down by the bike. Comparing that to my CBR250R which gave me a lot of maintenance related issues and even had blown valves at 30,000kms! If you're looking for a daily use bike, or an agile yet stable at high speeds kind of streetfighter,this bike is for you. It's really value for money, keeps you happy, has relatively low maintenance, and even the efficiency is good. You can commute on it, tour on it, race on it, stunt on it, get groceries on it and what not! The Indian biker community is full of people who always find complaints in every bike. The ER6N has no sound, Street triple is detuned, Z800 is too heavy, KTM 390 is not refined bla bla bla. But the truth is, every bike has it's pros and cons. Yes, windblast above 130kmph is a problem, it doesn't sound like an inline 4 which Indians are obsessed with, it needs better brakes, but these are things you have to live with, or improve after you get the bike.

You got to make a start somewhere! The twin engine has an amazing torque spread and trust me, no inline 4 600 can catch it on Indian roads! So all in all, if you are looking for an upgrade to your first big bike, which looks mean, has the power and sheer practicality, then look no further. Go ahead, book it, and pick it up! This is one bike you will always want to keep! Cheers and happy biking ;)
- Zohair