Bought an ER-6f… and saved money!

[Bob]

Now this shows the advantage of the internet...

I took a look at the Kawasaki UK site - and it has a dealer finder utility. So I looked up the London ones, then Googled to find if they had websites.

Found one in Watford (about 25 miles from me) that is selling the ER-6f for £500 off (£4,399) - contacted them with an honest discussion about condition of SV and they gave me a "marker" price, subject to seeing the bike. Watford is about 30 miles away, so no real hardship. However, my closest Kwak dealer is 5 miles away...

... so I called them up and asked their price. RRP of £4,899. So pointed out that the Watford dealer is selling for £500 off list. They've said they'll match (yes, I have printed off evidence of deal at Watford). Got them to give a "marker" price for SV - same as Watford.

Went to local dealer and thankfully spoke to the older, decent salesman rather than the cocky little oik I agreed price with. So he just went along with it.

Picking up silver ER-6f next Saturday.

I've also affected their prices! It seems that after I called up, they've revised their Kawasaki prices. And reduced the ER-6f to £4,499 (from £4,899). I got it for that, with Datatag (though I did reduce to 6 months tax, which suits me as it means I can spread out tax and insurance to two very separate dates now. And of course no MOT for the next three years).

So I think the moral here is: Do shop around, make use of the internet to get prices and then use them as bargaining tools. It saved me a few hundred quid.

Once I’ve picked up the bike, done the boring “500 miles at 4,500 revs” bit and start to ride the bike properly, I’ll do a review for the Motobke.co.uk site and post a link in the reviews page.

[stevedee]

Excellent choice Bob, congratulations and happy trails. Oh and thanks for keeping us posted on the latest news as well.

spd:-)

[Nutter34]

Cool dude, it'd be nice to know the difference between the SV and ER from an owners perspective....

[Bob]

Cool dude, it'd be nice to know the difference between the SV and ER from an owners perspective....

I'll do my best to let you know! I think I'm qualified to give an opinion... after all, I've done something like 23,000 miles (37,000kms?) on the two SVs I owned (combined total) - so I reckon I should have an idea how they differ!

From just sitting on one, the riding position is far more upright, so it'll make for more comfortable distance riding. Without even turning a wheel, I'd also think the ER will have lighter handling (less weight on the bars and less weight over the front) and be more comfortable doing the commuter run, but I think the SV will have the edge when it comes to cracking on a bit (more weight over the front, should be able to tip over easier). Long as it has the standard light Kwak clutch, that'll be a blessing as well...

... but let's wait until I actually get to RIDE the thing! I think I've just started prepping the article... :-)