Kawasaki ER6F (EX650A8) 648

more than fast enough, comfortable even over long journeys (250m) running in at 4000rpm gave 85mpg and now sticking to national speed limits returns 75mpg. 200miles before warning light comes on.Only mods are heated grips and after market brake pads, plus a rear hugger. 40-90 top gear roll on more than adequate for dealing with overtaking.

I bought this Kawasaki ER6F bike because I wanted an all-rounder that I could use to get to work , have a ride at weekends and go a bit further afield when I felt like it. To that end I needed a bike with a fairing , I wanted it to handle and ( if at all possible ) look good as well.

The Kawasaki seemed to tick a lot of the boxes with the down-side being that it was a twin with considerably less power than my previous bike ( a Honda CBR600RR5) or any of the other bikes of similar type.However , as the new for '09 model was on the horizon the dealer was offering an excellent price ( £3999) for a non-ABS bike so I thought I would give it a go. (I've always liked Kawasakis anyway)

I'm really glad I did , after 5,500 miles the bike is just what the doctor ordered. Performance is as good as you could expect. It churns out a respectable 70 HP or so and has a brilliantly 'torquey' feel to the power delivery which is ideal for overtaking. The fairing does a really good job , the riding position is great and it has a genuine go anywhere do anything feel to it. This has included a morning spent at Cadwell Park where the little Kwack , far from being out of it's depth , proved itself to have excellent handling and brakes and was just about impossible to catch for much bigger and more powerful bikes.

On the road you do get caught though and the overall performance ( 130mph) means that there are more than a few cars that will give you a hard time as well but a few bends will usually see them off. Not really a motorway cruiser.The handling is very good indeed.

The suspension is well sorted which is just as well as there is only pre-load adjustment at the rear and none at the front. The front forks are really good although I don't see why as they are to a fairly antiquated damper-rod design and virtually identical to those on a GPZ550 I owned in 1982 !

Having said all that , things can get a bit 'flustered' if you over-do it. I don't know how long the rear shock will last but an after-market alternative with adjustable damping might well be an option , it's hardly a priority until the old one dies though. Because the bike is so popular in the states ( where they call it the Z650R Ninja or something like that ...) there are quite a lot of after-market bits to choose from , including shocks from Hyperpro , Hagon , White-power and Ohlins.

This bike will do a lot for you. The best word I could use to describe it's character is ' willing ' . Its a lot of fun. Looks smart as well ,in black and Kawasaki lime-green.I really like the tucked-away stainless exhaust.

There are down-sides however. The smart fairing buzzes at certain speeds even with the factory-fitted anti-vibration tape. I'm looking into beefing the anti-vibe tape up with some thicker stuff to see if that stops it. Some of the paintwork on the frame , notably behind the footpegs , wears off a bit quickly. Overall the finish leaves a little bit to be desired. The electrical wiring appears to be a bit exposed in places and I needed to get a hugger to protect some of the more vulnerable looking areas. The tucked away exhaust looks nice but means that you can never have a centre stand. At this price and with this level of over-all utility these are not big problems and all pretty easy to get around.

Just as a cherry on the top you can get a good 53mpg average as well. Much higher mileage is possible if you are on an economy drive. I got nearly 70mpg while running it in , well ,once ! The tank is a bit small though , at 15.5 litres so you can't really take advantage of the bike's frugal habits. Pity.

I nearly forgot. The bike's one , glaring , most annoying thing. The mirrors. If you look at the design of the fairing you can see that , where the mirrors would normally be attached there is nothing there to attach them to.This means the mountings are a lot lower down , however , instead of designing and fitting some mirrors with longer stems to compensate ( they would probably wobble like mad anyway ) Kawasaki have fitted the same mirrors as all the other ZXR's etc. So all you get to see are your fists on the bars. You have to duck your head and lower your elbows to see anything.Not good. Kawasaki haven't fixed this on the '09 model either and offer mirror extensions ( a small casting that extends the mounting by a few millimeters) for a head spinning £35. Guess I'll just duck me head then.