Ok chaps ... Gtr in for 8000 mile service... loan bike ? ZZR ? ZX10R ? No ... An ER6- N .... Rode it out of the dealer at half 9 and just got in the door ! ( it's now midday ).... and the dealer is about 2 miles away.
Well, what a good little bit of kit that bike is .. no wonder it is one of K's biggest sellers. In white, and from the front it looks like one of those Storm Troopers from Star Wars, chain drive and basic I took it out up on to the A27 and quickly remembered why I had chosen a big bike with a big fairing ... a bit chilly in the wind, I headed north across country up the A283 to Steyning, Storrington Arundel and then across to Slindon, down through more little roads and out to Littlehampton and home ... stopped for a cup of tea and a bit of fuel.
This bike whistles along, so long as you work it hard, and turns nicely into bends and into roundabouts with ease ... it's like riding a mountain bike with an engine .. so easy ! One has to say that overall, with my commuting distances clearly a bike not for me but if you were only going to work, maybe half an hour ride, or could just use it in the summer months for pottering about then just ideal ... almost along the lines of having your Gtr for serious stuff and a smaller bike like this for " going into town " or "popping over to Brighton for the day ", you know what I mean, where you could dodge the traffic jams and park the other end for free and enjoy every moment as I would think running costs would be cheapish and so long as you get used to a chain all would be dandy.
There, ... just wanted to let you know ;D
Sounds good, potentially a second bike for you then? The dealership will have a fit when it goes back with lots of extra miles on it though. Just tell them you took a wrong turning on the way home. ;D
To be fair I told him I would put some miles on it but not THAT many ..... I have to take it back later, about 5 ish, so I'll be leaving in a minute ;D
Have you ever ridden a Versys? I recommend...
I'm hoping to get a go at an ER6 when I next put mine in for a service. I was chatting to my dealer and he said they were replacing the current loan bikes (ER5s - horrible things) with a couple of second hand ER6s he's had as part-ex. Always wondered how they compared to the Versys, which is immense fun down the back roads.
Not tried the Versys but similar one imagines .... a bit bigger with a bit more " ummmphhh " ... Quite like the look of it ;D One of the chaps I went to France with recently has one, now 3 years old from new, and he loves it .. strapped a big roll bag on the back and he was off ... hasn't missed a beat he says.