180/55 5.5 wheel upgrade update

Still feels damn solid after aprox 105km done on the bike. Had to lay off 2 clicks from the Ohlins Shock Rebound & Compression Damping adjustments probably because the BT016 has a softer compound compared to the OE tires.

180/55 tires on the ER6N

Decided to convert the rear from a 4.5 to a 5.5 wheel. This is made possible with the TWF Racing ZX6R conversion kit. The kit consists of 3 spacers and some milling job done on the sprocket carrier. A new Wheel from a ZX6R/636 (Mine is of a 05-06 636) is also needed for this mod. Tires look nice and fat now so far improved ride handling can be felt with improved corner entry & exit speed probably due to the bigger contact patch between the tire and the road. Definitely not a placebo effect.

RED LCD for your ER6N Speedo anyone?

Getting tired of the yellow LCD and decided to change it to RED following the Red & black theme of the bike using Oracal 8300 film. Just cut a piece of the film and slap it on the LCD panel and you are good to go....

Before shot---yellow LCD

After Shot..RED LCD

Remember to remove the cover of the Speedo first.....as seen below

Took it out for a ride and the minus point is the glare that is introduced by the film because its a glossy surface. Maybe difficult to see clearly in direct sunlight. Need to look for a matte surface film next maybe in blue.

New Decal Graphics

Started fooling around with some decals for the bike's graphics. Used the ORACAL 951 Premium Cast Film- Light Red 032 decal. The ORACAL 951 is a premium cast vinyl film which is outdoor rated for 10 Years durability. Dabbled with some designs for the rear, side & tank graphics. Pictures below

Front End Clean Up

After moving the speedo up to the handle bar, there was a big gap previously taken by the speedo where the cables can now be seen. I have fashioned a piece of the CF panel that was used for the heel guard as a kind of 'Head tidy' as a opposite from 'Tail tidy'. Pictures can be seen below

Rizoma Tomok Mirrors

Added the Tomok Mirrors and the Gold colored adjustable clutch & brake levers from BIKERZ. Tomok mirrors has a good rear view angle and does not wobble when the bike is revved to high RPMs.


















Latest Picture of the bike...

LED lights

Added a wedge connector 6 Blue colored LED bulb to the headlight. The brightness of the compound LED is just amazing adding safety to the bike when its seen on the rear view mirror of cars.

Handle Bar Mounting The Speedo Meter

Long Weekend in Malaysia was spend with Family and spare time fabricating a Handle Bar mount for the ER6n Speedo. Idea was conceptualized after the launch of the 2012 ER6n where the newly launched ER6n has the speedo mounted on the handle bar. Mounting a speedo on the handlebar is nothing new, bicycles speedos have been handlebar mounted since 80s (Cateye) but a motorcycle speedo is significantly bigger and heavier. Hence a beefier mount is needed, so the journey to rummage through the internet to find a mount that will do the job commenced. Eventually found a mount from Kuryakyn that looks sturdy enough for the role. Next was finding a method to adapt Kuryakyn mount to the ER6n Speedo. A Carbon Fiber adapter was finally fabricated from the leftover material used for the Heel Guard project that was completed 2 weeks ago. Quite happy with the end result of the Mod as the bike cockpit now looks neater with the entire frontal area 'opened up' , bike stance looks meaner as well.

Next ...I was thinkin of fabricating a windshield from a left over ZX7R double bubble unit that i have in the store room. This is to close up the 'Gap' previously taken by the frontal mounted speedo.

Öhlins H0115 in a ER6N Part 2 - Its finally installed

Finally after 3 weeks in the shop for complete refurbishment which include replacement of all seals, oil & steel braided hose.The H0115 shock meant for CBR 600 from Öhlins is finally installed on the ER6N, appeared that the 140 Spring rate meant for the F4 is suitable with my weight (70kg) configuration. Amongst the modifications needed to mount the H0115 on the ER6n is as follows:
- Mounting holes needs to be enlarged from an M10 to M12
- Öhlins Spacers needs to be milled thinner to fit the Versys swingarm mount.
- Standard Spacer M12 (2 X 1mm) needs to be added for the frame mount.

Now the rear of the bike is 5mm taller giving the bike a steeper Rake and a shorter Trail. Bike now feels sharper and faster when entering corners.


Comparison between the 2 Öhlins shock absorber kit
KA 602 for Kawasaki ER-6 AND the Öhlins shock absorber kit
HO 115 for Honda CBR 600

Set-up data for KA602 (ER6n)
Shock absorber length 290.5 mm
Shock absorber stroke 56.5 mm
Spring Pre-load 8 mm
Rebound damping 16 clicks


Setup data for H0115 (CBR600)
Shock absorber length 290 (+12/-0) mm
Shock absorber stroke 51 mm
Spring Pre-load 10 mm
Rebound damping adjuster 8 clicks
Compression damping adj. 10 clicks

As you can see the H0115 has a variable length (+12/-0) mm meaning it could be lengthen another 12mm longer and it has an additional Compression Damping capabilities.

The damping capability of the bike feels amazing, immediately noticeable the moment you ride the bike. Bumps and potholes gets soaked up by this amazing shock. From the pictures you could see that shock mounted right way up instead of the upside down config of the KA602 (Öhlins shock for the ER6n) this orientation is chosen to compensate the routing of the steel braided hose of the Compression Damping Canister which is mounted on the left side of the bike with a rubber base and a stainless steel clamp.