A Winning Twin?

A WINNING TWIN?

You might think this is just another computer illustration meant to predict some wild future motorcycle that may or may not ever reach production. Well, it's not. This Kawasaki is an actual 2006 production bike built for the European market. Called the ER-6n, it features a fuel-injected, liquid-cooled 649cc parallel-Twin and is meant to take a bite out of sales of the much-loved Suzuki SV650. Note the conventional fork, tubular-steel chassis and no-link rear suspension, which all help to keep cost down, coupled with nice features such as the braced swingarm, bikini/mid-fairing and a cable-actuated clutch with adjustable lever like that found on the Z750S. And while many entrylevel bikes seem deliberately styled to keep them in the showroom forever, the striking ER-6n bucks this trend. Sadly, Kawasaki says there are no plans to bring the naked Twin stateside.

Mark Hoyer