Woohoo!
Picked up my new ER-6n yesterday and am loving it! Showed up a bit late on account of a flat tire on the truck this morning so one guy got ahead of me but no worries- the folks at Kawasaki are always a pleasure to deal and joke with and my missus went across the street to get food for everyone and we all had a good time.
Here's the guy who camped out (kidding!) to get his ER-6n first today:
He hasn't ridden in 10 years but the ER-6n has lured him back to biking. How cool is that? 8)
Since I already bought a bike from Kawasaki before it was easier this time as they had most of the paperwork already filled out ahead of time, which was a nice touch.
Despite the tough economy it seems Kawasaki Thailand is struggling with more sales than they know what to do with - when I arrived they were in the process of setting up a KLX, a D-Tracker and another ER6n for customers who got there before me. They had many more bikes to set up later in the day as well and their service area is PACKED and the techs are very busy.
Kawasaki Rama 9 used to be pretty quiet but now it's crazy busy and bustling all day long. They have 6 bike lifts in the service area and tons of mechanics but it's no longer enough so they're using the elevator to send bikes upstairs where they've installed additional work space. They're also sending staff from the factory in Rayong to assist the service department in Bangkok!
The nice thing about upstairs is the air conditioning!
Getting the bike serviced in the afternoon. How many techs does it take to change an oil filter? Three apparently! - Pardon the terrible pic- I snapped it with my phone...
I didn't mind waiting in the morning though- I enjoyed checking out the new Ninja ZX10R (SEXY!) which they plan to start selling in March and my wife is still trying to talk me into buying a Vulcan (NO THANKS!) and enjoyed getting those big cruisers between her legs :wink:
Put nearly 200km on the ER-6n yesterday and it's a wicked fun bike. I've never ridden anything quite like it and it does take a little getting used to. Been a while since I've been on a proper "Big Bike". As much as I loved (and still love) the Ninja 250R, there's really no way the Ninjette can mess you up no matter how hard you crank on the throttle. The ER-6n requires a little more "respect" :wink:
The handlebars on the ER-6n are relatively high compared to all of the sport bikes I've owned in the past, and having the mirrors on the handlebars again is something I've only experienced on dirt bikes and need to get used to.
Wicked torque- very easy to pop wheelies with just a twist of the wrist. I got a little sideways :shock: on one of Bangkok's greasy roads, partially from giving too much gas, and probably also because the new Dunlop SportMaxs weren't scrubbed in yet.
I'm pleasantly surprised at the volume of the stock exhaust- whenever I split lanes or come to a traffic light the ER-6n is easy to hear and if I give the throttle a little twist people tend to get out of the way.
The Ninja 250R stock exhaust in contrast is incredibly quiet (and hurts the performance of the bike) and I think in Thailand it's quite helpful and safe to have a bike that people can hear.
Not many decent pics yet, but I'll work on that over the days to come.
Fun fun bike! Hooligan is the word that keeps popping into my head... :wink: That's really the way the ER-6n is meant to be ridden- balls out and in your face!
Everyone should run down to the dealership and take one for a spin- guaranteed to put a smile on your face and a hole in your wallet!
Put about 200km on my new ER-6n so far and I'm loving it! Looking forward to riding to the Lopburi Bike Rally this weekend and Udon Thani Bike Week after that and hope to see you there!
Happy Trails!
Tony
