This motorcycle has excellent performance, good dynamics and quality is top notch too, says Faisal Ali Khan of MotorBeam.com
Kawasaki has been on a naked bike onslaught. The company has launched four street-fighter motorcycles in India in the past 14 months. One among these launches is the ER-6n and although the name is new to us, we are still quite familiar with the motorcycle.
That is because the ER-6n is the naked version of the Ninja 650, a bike which went on sale in India in 2011.
The ER-6n costs less than the Ninja 650 by Rs 50,000 but how does it perform is the crucial question.
The Kawasaki ER-6n is an attractive looking motorcycle but the single-piece headlight isn't as aggressive as the one seen on the Z250 and Z800. The front aside, the rest of the bike is very similar to the Ninja 650, sans a full fairing of course.
The design highlights include an offset red coloured rear monoshock, underbelly exhaust and LED tail light. The ER-6n is offered in a single colour which is black.
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The Kawasaki ER-N sports an easy to read instrument cluster with an analogue-digital layout. On top is an analogue tachometer which has a white background while below it is a digital display that showcases fuel meter, tripmeters, odometer, speedometer, clock and range.
There is also a shift light present on the bike.
The 649cc, parallel-twin engine powering the ER-6n is liquid-cooled and generates 72.1 PS of power, with torque output being 64 Nm.
0-100 km/hr takes less than 4.5 seconds while top speed is 210 km/hr.
The motor is extremely refined and has oodles of low-end grunt, making riding in the city a breeze. Redline comes in at 11,000 RPM which is less compared to newer generation Kawasaki bikes which redline all the way to 13,000 RPM.
The Kawasaki ER-6n's motor has impressive torque spread that one can easily ride in higher gears at low speeds, there is no knocking from the motor whatsoever.
The motorcycle weighs 7 kgs less than its faired sibling but that isn't much apparent as performance is almost identical.
The 6-speed gearbox is smooth shifting and supports clutch-less shifts. The bike will return a mileage of 20-25 km/l.
Underpinned by a perimeter frame, the ER-6n has a good balance of ride and handling. While it isn't a corner craver, it certainly is eager to handle.
The only issue is the windblast which gets too much at high speeds, something most street-fighter bikes suffer from.
Ride quality is compliant and brakes perform well but ABS isn't offered on this performance bike. The motorcycle remains stable at speed.
The Kawasaki ER-6n is priced at Rs 5.72 lakh (on-road, Mumbai) which is good value for what it offers.
If Kawasaki would have offered ABS, it would have become the perfect package. This motorcycle has excellent performance, good dynamics and quality is top notch too.
It also sounds very pleasing to the ears and all that makes it a great buy for a motorcycle enthusiast.
