Would I be crazy ??

KTRIC

I'm on my way to look at a Kawasaki ER6F this evening in a certain bike shop on the Long Mile Road. I'm thinking of trading in my 18 month old W650 for it.

Would I be mad getting a new bike this time of year or should I wait until Jan ?

The sensible option would be to wait , but I know when i see it in the flesh the kid in me will make me get it.

Also, anyone riden one of these ?

Pigeon Reaper

It's supposed to be a nice communter. I prefer V twins but the ER6 is supposed to be good. for the price of a new ER6 I'd buy sometinhg a year or two old but a little fancier. Wait another month or two and try bargaining for some extras when sales are slow.

Krusty_Clown

You'd be mad to buy anything in that certain bike shop on the Long Mile Road!
Nah just kidding.. I've no experience of that place so I won't comment.

I don't think there's any reason not to buy, coming into winter.. You might even get a better deal, as business is slower.. They might be glad of a sale, during the slow period (but less interested in taking a trade-in). The only negatives, are that if you buy your bike late in the year, it looks (on paper) as if it's a year older than it actually is (nobody bothers to look at what month a bike was registered in). Also, that 'new' feeling wont last as long, when you hit that first shower, and ride through that building site with all of the road works..

I was going to suggest waiting for the Bike and scooter show in the RDS, but that's not until March. Looks like a nice bike..

KTRIC

The shop has reduced the price by €1000 to €7650, which is probably a seasonal thing.

They're offering me good price for my W650 which is a bit of an insentive to go back to them.

The whole year older on the plate thing doesn't bother me, real bikers can see past that anyway.

Idleater

If if's any good, the ER6 has gotten good reviews that I have read in the press. Handling etc is supposed to be good.

Not overly fond of the "styling" myself, but anyway, it is has made the commuter er5 into a "proper" bike.

The benifits of trading in the bike are that you are rid of it "quickly" - i.e. you are paying for the service of them selling it on. I did that with the BROS - I could have gotten more money privately, but it could possibly still be sitting outside the house now.

L.

demosuzki

i'm in the same boat.

I like the look of a something I test drove but not sure if its worth it this time of year and with the trade in price I'm offered for my exisiting bike.

I can understand the lower trade in price but
how keen are dealers this time of year to get rid of stock ?
is there a watershed point like end of the month or quarter ?

the dealer has bent a little (not enough!) but i'm wondering what kind of discount can I push for on a price on an '05 second hand bike.

Odysseus

Just my own two cents, two years ago this month I was asking myself the same question, at the same bike shop. It worked out well for me, I was moving house and starting to commute a large distance, so I wanted a new bike, that I hoped wouldn't give me any probs. There was a deal on the bike, the reason being there was a newer version coming out in the new year, so I don't know if this is happening with the ER6F, but maybe worth checking out. At the end of the day the year on the plate did'nt bother me either.

KTRIC

I'm heading up there later to sign the papers

Hopefully have the bike for early next week.

Odysseus

Nice one, enjoy:)

Dr4gul4

KTRIC wrote:

I'm heading up there later to sign the papers

Hopefully have the bike for early next week.

Needless to say lets hope this 1 is more "upright" than the other 1 ehh

KTRIC

Dr4gul4 wrote:

Needless to say lets hope this 1 is more "upright" than the other 1 ehh

Look mate, you've been warned :mad: Less of the vertical jokes !!!

Like no-one's bike every fell on them before


God I wish I was a real moderator and not just a pretend one.

sutty

Nice bike there Al, must take a look at it when you get it. I like the Under bellly exaust system. Looks Cool. What BHP is it/ group?

Pigeon Reaper

Must get a look at it when you pick it up. Best of luck with it.

KTRIC

Its a group 10 (CN) and it has just over 73bhp with fuel injection.

As sporty as it might look it has a strange seating postion, its very upright like a tourer. I'm not complaining though, my wrists couldn't take a hammering. (no jokes please !!)

I always had a thing about the old GPZ500 and I think this thing is the closest I will get to buying a new one these days.

Specs are here : http://www.kawasaki.co.uk/product.asp?Id=3400D4C6FF9&Sub=4

saobh_ie

Love the shock/swing arm layout on them. Tis class.

Wear well hos.

Also, it is definitally the season to be buying, especially in Private Sale if you don't need to sell something first as you can rescue bikes from being locked in sheds all winter.

Dr4gul4

have to say al she really does look nice man.. would have prefered her in red n black me self .... umm sexual


now ure kinda makn me get a bit jumpy 4 a new set also .... if only i could find a nice bike :rolleyes:

KTRIC

Dr4gul4 wrote:

would have prefered her in red n black me self .... umm sexual

Tell me about it, the black and red one is the sh!t and uber sexy :cool: .


Only thing that turned me off it is the fact its €1000 dearer (my one was reduced to clear) and there's less chance of being seen on a black bike.

sutty

Well thats not true at all... plus black bikes are sexeh


Oh and Dave, if your wanting a new bike, there is a Waterford Try a Ducati day going on the 21st. I'm sorting out a ride out to it. You can try a Multistrada, a 749 and a 999 for 25 euro you get about 20min on each bike

KTRIC

sutty wrote:

Well thats not true at all... plus black bikes are sexeh


Oh and Dave, if your wanting a new bike, there is a Waterford Try a Ducati day going on the 21st. I'm sorting out a ride out to it. You can try a Multistrada, a 749 and a 999 for 25 euro you get about 20min on each bike

Stop trying to tempt Dave onto one of those horrible dirty badly made Italian bikes :rolleyes:

Rice Cookers all the way






Oh, and you can put me down for the 21st.

sutty

Hehe... Will do, I'll put a post up, just trying to get some contacvt details sorted for it. As I think you have to book for the 999

Dr4gul4

omfg a 999 jaysus sure even if i was killed of it i'd die happy and quite sexy also


not sure yet what im gonna change to, if i coudl get a 650 drag i would

maybe an ER5 or a bandit 6 hmmm

sudjestions please people

Krusty_Clown

KTRIC wrote:

The whole year older on the plate thing doesn't bother me, real bikers can see past that anyway.

Even real bikers don't like to lose wads of cash on the resale value of their bikes. But at the end of the day, you're probably saving a grand because you're buying the bike at the end of the year.. I reckon you should buy what you want to ride anyway..

Congrats and well wear..

madrab

sutty wrote:

Well thats not true at all... plus black bikes are sexeh


Oh and Dave, if your wanting a new bike, there is a Waterford Try a Ducati day going on the 21st. I'm sorting out a ride out to it. You can try a Multistrada, a 749 and a 999 for 25 euro you get about 20min on each bike

mmmm count me in

galwaytt

KTRIC wrote:

The whole year older on the plate thing doesn't bother me, real bikers can see past that anyway.

...jeez, I'm glad you think so ! Callers for my car/bike seem to think of nothing else!

And yes, it's definately a buyers market. Buyers market all this year in fact, and the winter will make it better. I personally always buy bikes in winter for that reason, mind you, usually secondhand....

I haven't seen any numbers yet from CSO, but I believe this year has been awful, so the world is your oyster. The fact they want, let alone offer a good trade-in value on your W650 means you're doing the right thing.

So, genteelmen, what sort of difference would you generally expect to see in the price of a private vs. shop price for a bike? e.g., shops asking 12k, what would be a reasonable private price....Just wondering, mine is getting attached to my garage floor..........

KTRIC

Just picked it up today

The riding position takes some getting used to and the build quality is better than I was let on to believe.

Unfortunatly I have to keep it below 4000rpm, which is a bit of a bummer as I can't open her up yet.

sutty

Thats all lies. Of corse you can


ps... Yes I am that little voice in your head too :cool:

Idleater

KTRIC wrote:

Just picked it up today

The riding position takes some getting used to and the build quality is better than I was let on to believe.

Unfortunatly I have to keep it below 4000rpm, which is a bit of a bummer as I can't open her up yet.

I'd also recommend taking it easy for the first while too. If only so you scrub in the tyres...

Well may she run, and post a few pics before she gets dirty....

L.

KTRIC

Here's some nice pics's.

Nothing like a bit of bike porn for a Monday morning to get you going

Idleater

KTRIC wrote:

Here's some nice pics's.

Nothing like a bit of bike porn for a Monday morning to get you going

Nice machine. Looks like a narrow ZX - sort of. I like where the exhaust is. Does an aftermarket can fit under there?

Is she a single seat or did you have a seat cowel fitted? And did it come with the shrooms already attached?

Well may she go. Enjoy it and take it handy for a bit.


Oh, and perhaps the BikeWorld number plate could be "replaced". (Well after the first service anyway)...

L.

KTRIC

nereid wrote:

I like where the exhaust is. Does an aftermarket can fit under there?

There's a good few after market exhausts available, I might get the Lazer one and a Power Commander for it after the break in period

nereid wrote:

Is she a single seat or did you have a seat cowel fitted?

Believe it or not it's not a seat cowl !! The back seat is that colour to give the impression of a seat cowl. I will be fitting a real one soon though.

nereid wrote:

And did it come with the shrooms already attached?

I got the shop to fit them along with some tank pads.

neried wrote:

Oh, and perhaps the BikeWorld number plate could be "replaced". (Well after the first service anyway)...

F*cking right, bloody cheap metal piece of advertising sh!t with sticky on numbers.:mad:

madrab

nice work al, how fast does she go

KTRIC

Bike Magazine did a road test of it in this months issue and brought it up to a nice crusing speed of 129mph and a 0-60 time of 4.96 seconds.

Not that I'll be driving at those speeds

madrab

sure...i hear you

BigCon

Nice bike. Keep her between the ditches.
Have a read of these about breaking her in:
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/NewBike.html

Dr4gul4

feck al thats nice man, and with her running @ 130 on the roads u'll be way out ahead of us

KTRIC

I'm going to stick with the manufacturer's recommendations when it comes to breaking it in.

I read some of those articals alreay Big Con and although they sound very tempting, can you really trust everything you read online :rolleyes: .

Dr4gul4, my top speed is about 60 mph at the moment, at least until I put some milage on it. I could nearly break it in properly with the drive to Waterford at the weekend.

madrab

interesting read alright, though i dont think i will ever buy a bike new

Pigeon Reaper

good luck with it. I think you're right following the manufactorers guidelines.

KTRIC

I just posted this on the "consumer issue's" forum:

"Problem with new motorbike.
I recently purchased a new motorbike from a large dealer in the Dublin area. After collecting the bike and getting it home I realised that the receipt is for €250 less than what I paid.

Can anyone think of any reason why this is ? The receipt displays the VRT and tax and when I bought a new bike from them last year it didn't have this discrepency.

Also there is a fault with some of the body work that the workshop would have been aware of (manufacturer fault) but yet they didn't bother fixing it. When I rang them today I was told they would call me when the parts were in to fix it and thats all and they left it at that. Where do I stand on this matter ?"


I picked this bike up just last Thursday and It now sounds like my old 16 year old GSX1100F with rattling fairings.

I spoke to Kawasaki UK about it and they said it should have been repiared before it left the shop. Bikeworld knew about the problem yet still sold me the bike and let me drive it off.

sutty

EAK..

She looks sweet al... But WTF like. Dont think I will ever by a part for/or a bike from Bikeworld. You just wayyyyyy to many horror stories. I got a pair of gloves there the other week. I'm pretty sure thats the only thing I'll ever buy from them.

KTRIC

sutty wrote:

EAK..

She looks sweet al... But WTF like. Dont think I will ever by a part for/or a bike from Bikeworld. You just wayyyyyy to many horror stories. I got a pair of gloves there the other week. I'm pretty sure thats the only thing I'll ever buy from them.

Any idea's about what I can do regarding getting this sorted ? At the moment I am at their mercy as regards to getting it fixed.

madrab

go down there & kick up murder until its fixed

dont take any crap from them

KTRIC

In true Sh!teworld fashion they tell me that the dampner kit is being fitted as a preference for individual riders rather than an across the board refit. I don't know how not having your bike buzz at 3000rpm is a preference.

I wasn't asked when I was buying it if I wanted it with or without the buzzing !!

I'm going to get the kit fitted when the bike is in for its first service as I use it every day. Only 650 more kilometers of buzzing left. :mad:

madrab

thats a major kisk in the ass, especially with a brand new bike (but at least my brake woes arent as bad now )

sutty

emmm... I hope thats being fitted free of charge for parts and labor?
If the bike requires it then it doesn't say much for Kawasaki's build standurd.

KTRIC

OOoops :mad:




Hit some oil at the weekend

Pigeon Reaper

sh*t! Hope your ok. Did you do much damage? I thought you had crash bungs, did they not help at all?

Just looked at the photo again. Crash bungs wouldn't do much to protect it. hope you're alright as it looks like a bit of a bang.

Krusty_Clown

Sh1t. Sorry to see that KTric. Hope you're ok...

saobh_ie

FFS! That's ****e. Best of luck getting sorted.

Idleater

KTRIC wrote:

Hit some oil at the weekend

Oh man!

Jeez. I hope you are all right, were you hurt at all? What happened?

That looks like it could have been quite nasty!

At the NEC there was a motorcycle safety stand that had a "bike" left over after an accident where some guy left braking a fraction late and got caught on gravel on a very shallow bend.

It was a real eye opener. Tis horriffic stuff, just glad that you are ok and live to tell the tale.


L.

KTRIC

nereid wrote:

Oh man!

Jeez. I hope you are all right, were you hurt at all? What happened?

I was doing about 160 on the M1 and went to slow down and caught some oil, flipped the bike a couple of times and then I ended up in the grass. :eek: