Middleweight super twins tested - MOTOR GERR

Going by the sales figures, new supersport 600s today are about as appealing as an ‘internal inspection’ at Terminal 5 – a far, far cry from the sales topping stats of bikes like the CBR600F in the 1990s.

The quest for track and race success has resulted, so the theory goes, in bikes which are too extreme as road bikes for modern, maturing tastes.

Which is where bikes like Kawasaki’s ER-6f come in. We already knew the funky 650 twin was practical, easy to ride and versatile. But with an updated version for 2012 on top of its recent success in the lightweight class at the TT its image has improved, too.

TT-winner Ryan Farquhar managed a 115mph lap average aboard his, albeit heavily modified, version, going through the speed trap at 150mph, which is impressive by any measure. While at the preceding North West 200 ex-GP god Jeremy McWilliams hit 154mph aboard a similar machine.

So, to find out how much fun, but also how versatile and affordable bikes like the new ER, Honda’s new NC700S and Suzuki’s steadfast SV650S really are, we decided to put all three to the test.

A few months ago I was chasing MCN road tester Bruce Dunn around the North West 200 in the new lightweight class, Bruce aboard his JHS Suzuki SV650, I on my race Kawasaki ER-6.

Today reminds me very much of that race. This time Bruce is on a standard SV, I’m on a stock, new ER-6f, and we’re having a ball dicing down a familiar B-road.

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