All Tests – The new Green is ripe! – Easy, cute and playful!

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The new Green is ripe !

All Tests - The new Green is ripe! - Easy, cute and playful!

If the old model was unfairly served by a shy stroke of the pencil, the new 2009 Kawasaki ER-6f takes full advantage of its improvements to gain in charisma. And now, the Green is as attractive as it is effective! Test.

Easy, cute and playful !

As on the Kawasaki ER-6n, the gas tank is taller and its lines tighter, while an elegant plastic cover runs from its base to the rider seat. Rather qualitative to the touch, this plastic happily surrounds the new onboard console of the ER-6f.

This one is directly inspired by the MotoGP ZX RR, the one that Marco Melandri will finally drive in 2009 (read!) And clearly displays the time, a new fuel gauge, a speedometer in the central position, a watch, a totalizer, a tachometer and two trips.

Clearer and more complete but above all less austere than the previous needle model, the instrumentation also plays a major role in the overall impression, which is more opulent and better finished. Perfectly integrated into the front fairing, the unit easily distills its information (only the tachometer figures prove to be too small) and has a very nice orange backlight during night trips. A case where the double optics are up to the task, as demonstrated by a short passage in a tunnel: in low beam, the beam is wide and deep enough not to have to fear the sunset !

Same story for the new LED taillight, as successful as it is visible and which reinforces a "chic and sporty" side already cleverly cultivated by the presence of white indicator cabochons, new aluminum passenger handles (mounted on silent–blocks to attenuate vibrations), the small wheel washer hidden above the new swingarm with semi-round section and the fairings alternating black and colored panels.

Thin and slender, the new Kawasaki ER-6f retains its characteristic "punchy" look. But the Greens have been able to change the line while responding to recurring criticisms concerning the finish. The welds are thus more neat, the electrical harness well camouflaged handlebar in hand – some sheaths are however visible under the saddle – and the appearance of rubber on the footrests benefits both aesthetics and driving comfort..

Conspired for its propensity to vibrate (a characteristic of parallel twin), the ER-6 receives silent-blocks at the rear of its 83×60 mm block (bore x stroke) and at the handlebar which receives a graceful openwork fixing. Modifications which have proved their worth on the new version of the Naked and which also bear fruit on the F: very slight tingling is well felt in the feet between 4,500 and 6,000 rpm, but without excessive discomfort.

Well installed on a saddle perhaps lacking a thick zest to consider long journeys without stopovers, the pilot finds a position common to the ER-6 series: the arms are slightly bent on the wide handlebars, the levers easily easy to handle – especially since they are adjustable in five different positions – and the legs well placed, but too folded for adults (over 1.80m). The higher tank provides a good fit with the bike and the boots are easily placed on the ground thanks to a reasonable saddle height (790 mm), which Kawasaki offers to raise or lower as an option..

Ergonomics are undoubtedly a strong point of the ER-6f. The addition of a fairing logically generated an overweight of four kilos (204 kg all full, 208 kg with ABS), but the few modifications of the chassis values ​​(+ 5 mm wheelbase, ground and saddle height) and suspension setting allow the Verte to remain lively and easy to handle when stationary or during the first maneuvers.

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