All Tests – Kawasaki ER-6f 2012 test: and for a few euros more … – Normandy in ER-6f 2012

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Kawasaki ER-6f 2012 test: and for a few euros more…

All Tests - Kawasaki ER-6f 2012 test: and for a few euros more ... - Normandy in ER-6f 2012

Four months after discovering the new ER-6n 2012 on sublime roads in Portugal, Site is testing the streamlined version of the little Kawasaki roadster on the more picturesque departmental roads of Normandy. For 500 € more, what the ER-6f offers ?

Normandy in ER-6f 2012

After having swallowed a very hot and very sweet – and very comforting – chocolate at Kawasaki France HQ, Site takes control of the ER-6f of a fully equipped W800 SE: fork crown, single-seater seat, golden rims and exhausts conical, nothing is missing !

"We only have three ER-6f but we will all shoot with the W800 and the two Versys", warns us the staff. Thus, the first kilometers cut heading towards the West in the cold are softened by the generous soundtrack of the neo-retro:"the jars have been released a bit", we admit half-word…

Admittedly, the W800 SE has charm, but its bubble – which weighs down the front axle quite a bit – does not protect the masses. The colleagues benefiting from the Er-6f seem to be better protected and this impression is confirmed when changing mount !

As high saddle as the ER-6n 2012 (805 mm), the new "f" is barely heavier: 209 kg all full, or 5 kg more (placed high, of course, but that we feel barely stopped). Compared to the old ER-6f this time, "the leg spacing reduced by 50 mm on each side"actually allows them to be placed more easily on the ground, despite the additional 20 mm of saddle height.

We find the practical adjustments of the levers that allow everyone – whether we are the kind Papa Bear or Goldilocks – to properly seize the clutch and front brake controls. The handlebars widened by 10 mm on each side compared to the old model still fit well under the hands: we can go !

The finesse of the tank still accommodates the big thighs as well, while the new cutout of the fairing shelters the legs a little better from the elements (a fine mist, in this case). The bust and shoulders also benefit from good protection, impeccable even when the bubble is raised to the maximum.

To isolate your head from the wind, you just have to lean forward: 20 mm higher than the old one, the 2012 ER-6f’s tank allows you to settle down comfortably. The saddle, which has gained in comfort compared to 2009, also allows you to scroll the kilometers.

In sixth gear at 6000 rpm, the ER-6f gallops at 130 km / h. Despite its more road vocation, the gear ratio is identical to that of the ER-6n. However, it must be recognized that the box is originally well staged. The selection, a hint of dryness, remains fast and docile enough to shift gears on the fly.

We thus take full advantage of the engine’s great acceleration. If, unlike a 4-cylinder of equivalent displacement, the small parallel twin does not accept to start again under 2000 rpm, it does not wait for 6000 revolutions to wake up either. !

The twin therefore requires to drop two reports to cross the nice towns of the Eure. Alert and punchy, it is then ready to sound the charge as soon as the small departmental cars carefully selected by Kawasaki France emerge … and badly banged up by the harsh month of February !

Agile and very manoeuvrable, the ER-6f makes it possible to play with the traps that the small Normandy roads deploy: you slalom effortlessly between the piles of frozen leaves, the very fresh cow dung and the crevices of the asphalt..

Compared to the Versys that come with it, the new ER-6f is a little dry in suspension on some bumpy passages. "The fork is a little harder on the "f" than on the "n" in order to compensate for the weight of the fairing", explains a mechanic from Kawasaki France.

Too bad, because the setting on the roadster – which cannot be modified, neither on the "n" nor on the "f" – seemed more pleasant to us … Unless it was the Portuguese billiards which lured us? Still, by going directly from the Versys to the ER-6f, the difference in terms of general approval is noticeable.

The ER-6f 2012 saddle – although more welcoming than that of the 2009 – does not stand comparison with that of the trail. Likewise, the vibrations of the engine, in the feet at 3500 rpm and in the buttocks 500 rpm higher, are much more sensitive on the road but fortunately not embarrassing..

Once again (read the end of our), Site invites the undecided to try the two 650 cousins ​​in order to choose, beyond the look, which road or trail best meets their expectations. After all, the Kawasaki Tour is here for that !

On our side, we will have to go back up – not without pleasure! – on the ER-6f 2012 during a next comparative test, because the driving conditions were not at best to test the road…

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