Kawasaki er f6 v Suzuki Bandit 650SA

Xaime

Any ideas which one of the two bikes would be better? The price is very similar. The Suzuki is heavier and has 4 cylinders while the Kawa has 2. Leaning towards the Kawa for the fun. I have a Honda CBF 250 cc now so any bike would be more fun anyway.

BrokenArrows

I assume you mean er6f.

I have a 2009 er6f. Done about 6k miles on it.

They are nice. Low down the bike sounds like a tractor but i love the sound in high revs. A very throaty sound.

Its reasonably quick. Max speed about 125mph but ive heard some people get it to 130mph.

Nimble enough. Im 6 ft 1. I find the stock windshield is a bit lacking but not the worst.

Stock seat is comfortable but if you like getting your chest down on the tank sort of riding position its not great.

Minor annoyance is the headlights. The Right light is the dips and the left is the main. Looking at the front of the bike it always looks like one of the bulbs is out when the dips are on. People are constantly telling me one of my bulbs is gone.

Fiskar

Xaime wrote: »

Any ideas which one of the two bikes would be better? The price is very similar. The Suzuki is heavier and has 4 cylinders while the Kawa has 2. Leaning towards the Kawa for the fun. I have a Honda CBF 250 cc now so any bike would be more fun anyway.

Kwak is a pure fun beast, have a 2007 in blue, with 55K miles under its belt. Has been better than the Honda xl125 I had previously in terms of reliability and maintanance.
biggest plus is >67 MPG or 210 miles before refilling the tank with <15 litres.

ER6F is full faired for long commutes, Bandit is more a naked bike suited to city folk.

BrokenArrows

Fiskar wrote: »

210 miles before refilling the tank with <15 litres.

210 Miles. WTF. How do you drive.

I barely get to 120 and that leaves 1 litre in the tank.

Fiskar

BrokenArrows wrote: »

210 Miles. WTF. How do you drive.

I barely get to 120 and that leaves 1 litre in the tank.

Have a 62 mile work commute, last 5 miles in city traffic, I don't hang around, pedestrians are vermin, able to get it up 80 MPH outside the city so the revs never fall below 4500. range 4500 to 6000 RPM on my commute.

Have 55K miles on it now so need to look at upgrading.

prunudo

The most I've ever got is about 250km to a tank although it is a er6n so maybe the lack of fairing makes a difference.

@ OP The er is a great bike with a nice riding position. After coming from a sv I was initially a bit disappointed but now I really enjoy it.

Xaime

I think the Kawa sounds good. I only ride for fun and do not use it for commuting as I work locally so I am not concerned about fuel consumption too much. Somebody suggested the Honda Deauville as a good second bike and it would enable me to travel farther as it seems to be more comfortable but the price is like 2K higher. I think I will pass on the Bandit anyhow. Any thoughts on the Deauville? Thanks everyone!

Fiskar

Xaime wrote: »

I think the Kawa sounds good. I only ride for fun and do not use it for commuting as I work locally so I am not concerned about fuel consumption too much. Somebody suggested the Honda Deauville as a good second bike and it would enable me to travel farther as it seems to be more comfortable but the price is like 2K higher. I think I will pass on the Bandit anyhow. Any thoughts on the Deauville? Thanks everyone!

Kwaker is great to work on, front pads changed in a jiffy over the Honda I had. Designed like a racing bike with quick fit part changes.

As for the Deauville, lets just say that a bike mechanic who worked on the garda bikes told me it takes a day to get the bits off to get at the engine to service it and get those bits back on. He reckoned they are costly to maintain.
I have a scott oiler on my Kwaker and it is 7 k miles into its 3 chain and sprockets.
If I buy another bike, it will be an ER6f again, never a honda.

Xaime

Ok Kawa ER6f it it is then. I rode my brother's er6n in Spain and he said he is very happy with it and I believe it is the same engine with fairings so I have my mind made up. Gracias a todos, amigos.

terrydel

Xaime wrote: »

Any ideas which one of the two bikes would be better? The price is very similar. The Suzuki is heavier and has 4 cylinders while the Kawa has 2. Leaning towards the Kawa for the fun. I have a Honda CBF 250 cc now so any bike would be more fun anyway.

Ive an er6n, I love it, its the perfect bike for around the city. Plenty of acceleration and low centre of gravity for nipping in and out of traffic.
Only my personal opinion, but I'd have it over the bandit any day, which is a dull and boring bike for me.

terrydel

BrokenArrows wrote: »

I assume you mean er6f.

I have a 2009 er6f. Done about 6k miles on it.

They are nice. Low down the bike sounds like a tractor but i love the sound in high revs. A very throaty sound.

Its reasonably quick. Max speed about 125mph but ive heard some people get it to 130mph.

Nimble enough. Im 6 ft 1. I find the stock windshield is a bit lacking but not the worst.

Stock seat is comfortable but if you like getting your chest down on the tank sort of riding position its not great.

Minor annoyance is the headlights. The Right light is the dips and the left is the main. Looking at the front of the bike it always looks like one of the bulbs is out when the dips are on. People are constantly telling me one of my bulbs is gone.

Ive a laser extreme exhaust on mine, sound difference is night and day to the stock exhaust. Plus it backfires which sounds great!
It also looks superb, you wouldnt believe the amount of compliments it gets, even from people on far superior bikes,

terrydel

BrokenArrows wrote: »

210 Miles. WTF. How do you drive.

I barely get to 120 and that leaves 1 litre in the tank.

Haha, I hope he means km, cos thats what I get more or less! He must freewheeel everywhere!!

BrokenArrows

terrydel wrote: »

Haha, I hope he means km, cos thats what I get more or less! Me must freewheeel everywhere!!

I hope so too otherwise there is something seriousy wrong with my fuel economy!!

terrydel

Xaime wrote: »

Ok Kawa ER6f it it is then. I rode my brother's er6n in Spain and he said he is very happy with it and I believe it is the same engine with fairings so I have my mind made up. Gracias a todos, amigos.

Ive had mine 5 years, it hasnt really given any trouble to speak of, I couldnt recommend them enough. er6f is the exact same bike aside from styling.
Any questions, feel free to pm me.

terrydel

BrokenArrows wrote: »

I hope so too otherwise there is something seriousy wrong with my fuel economy!!

And in this day and age thats not good at all!

terrydel

Mines on here at the bottom by the way....
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055639627&page=63

Agent_47

BrokenArrows wrote: »

I hope so too otherwise there is something seriousy wrong with my fuel economy!!

UK Import and mine is in miles, most I ever squezzed out of it was 247miles and it was on air getting into the garage.

Xaime

Looks nice. I am definetly getting the Kawa ER6f but I might ask them to fit a bigger screen. Irish weather. Cheers

Cuddlesworth

06 Er6n. I've had it for nearly four years now and put 60k kilometers on it.

The low down torque is great when your riding restricted. The bike is easy to maneuver in traffic. And it does decent mpg. I generally got 250km out of 12 litres, which is roughly 60mpg to you oldies. I found the mileage doesn't vary much going from urban to extra-urban unless I keep it below 3 figures. So its a great city bike for economy.

Insurance is cheap as well for a 650cc.

In the early models(06-08) the bracket at the bottom of the tank holding the exhaust and pipes snaps. Happened twice to me. Forums on the net are full of it. Got it welded properly so it shouldn't happen again. Not sure if it followed onto the new models.

Loads of info on the bikes on this forum.

terrydel

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

06 Er6n. I've had it for nearly four years now and put 60k kilometers on it.

The low down torque is great when your riding restricted. The bike is easy to maneuver in traffic. And it does decent mpg. I generally got 250km out of 12 litres, which is roughly 60mpg to you oldies. I found the mileage doesn't vary much going from urban to extra-urban unless I keep it below 3 figures. So its a great city bike for economy.

Insurance is cheap as well for a 650cc.

In the early models(06-08) the bracket at the bottom of the tank holding the exhaust and pipes snaps. Happened twice to me. Forums on the net are full of it. Got it welded properly so it shouldn't happen again. Not sure if it followed onto the new models.

Loads of info on the bikes on this forum.

Hasnt happened to me!
Mines an 06, reged Jan 07. Ive done just over half your mileage, but I am out every day in all weather, so it seems sturdy enough, maybe Ive just been lucky.
Agree with all your points, tho I dunno how you get 250 from 12 litres, my lights comes on about 180 with a full tank, I doubt theres 70km left and thats with 15 litres.

RosieJoe

terrydel wrote: »

Hasnt happened to me!
Mines an 06, reged Jan 07. Ive done just over half your mileage, but I am out every day in all weather, so it seems sturdy enough, maybe Ive just been lucky.
Agree with all your points, tho I dunno how you get 250 from 12 litres, my lights comes on about 180 with a full tank, I doubt theres 70km left and thats with 15 litres.

I'm getting roughly 310 km out of a full tank for the Bandit. Takes somewhere between 17 & 18 litres to fill her back up.

soccerbreaker

Suzuki on my opinion......

Xaime

Ok why Suzuki?

Wossack

er6 is a great bike. They're raced too, so handy to get parts for (:P)
bandit has a good following here, but I wouldnt be a fan of them personally

arybvtcw0eolkf

Wossack wrote: »

er6 is a great bike. They're raced too, so handy to get parts for (:P)
bandit has a good following here, but I wouldnt be a fan of them personally

I've never rode the 650 but I detest the 600.

Wonda-Boy

Not a huge fan of the bandits either, but they are a fine bike. Would love to get a track bike, so maybe in the new year it will be a go'er.

spiggotpaddy

The bandit is a great starter bike for anybody on a budget. Cheap to buy easy to insure, comfortable to ride with good ergonomics. Used parts are plentiful and home maintenance is as basic as it gets. Also there's a huge array of aftermarket parts available to personalize your trusty steed.