What to Choose : Kawasaki ER-6f/Ninja 650R or Naza Blade 650R/Hyosung GT650R

A reader posted the above question to me. He's keen to get a first bike- and thinks that a 650cc bike would be a good way to start off his bike passion. He went to Naza and had seen the Blade 650R and liked the aggressive stance of the Naza/Hyosung; but chanced upon this blog from Google Malaysia. Now, he's at a dilemma whether to go with a 2012 Blade 650R @ RM22k (CBU Korea) or to get a pre-owned 2010 ER-6f/Ninja 650R @ RM30k (CBU Japan) or 2012 ER-6f/Ninja 650R @ RM36k (CKD Malaysia). He's looking at a cash purchase so the interest rates for bikes would not affect him.

 

Throttle Quest


Hyosung GT650R
Well, the 2010-11 Hyosung GT650R, is your daily use pocket Super Sports bike (and mind you, it's NOT a Super Sports or a Super Bike, so please don't get the pain of jumping around thinking it to be one). The fully faired motorcycle is very aggressively styled and looks big and mean at the same time. The Liquid cooled, four stroke, 90° V twin, DOHC, 4 valve, has enough punch and torque high up in the rev range to keep your adrenaline pumping both in the city on the highway.

The GT650R might not be a throttle monster, but it aint naive either. The brisk engine revs up pretty quick, but gives you enough time to adjust at the same time. It's not gonna through you off the saddle until and unless you are actually the weakest link connecting the saddle and the handle bars.

The ergos of the GT650R is aggressive and would need getting used to for a person trying to graduate from his regular Pulsars or R15s. For 5'8" guy like me, the forward lean angle comes out to be at 41°, which by any standards is aggressive.



So, if you want to go for the GT650R, be sure that you want to go for a sports bike, which is fast and aggressive. Please don't back complaining that your back and wrist ache after a ride on the highway

Kawasaki Ninja 650R
In one sentence, the Kawasaki Ninja 650R, is your own friendly Karizma which more punch and mile munching capabilities. Expect a Japanese quality and Inline twin cylinder experience, which would make you long hauls on the highways just that more fun. The fully faired Ninja 650R (or the ER 6f as it's called in Europe) looks more on the lines of the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R, and gives you the feels of a full blown Super Sports, but in reality, it's far from it.

The Liquid cooled, four stroke, parallel twin, DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder, produces it's max punch and torque bit high on the rev range which goes to suggest that you would need to twist your right wrist to keep you interested on a motorcycles, which is more of a Sports Tourer and one would expect it make it's max power and torque outputs at lower rev range than what it's currently making.

The ergos of the Kawasaki Ninja 650R is more relaxed and with forward lean angle of 21° for a guy of my size, it's definitely quite back and wrist friendly. So, on the Ninja 650R you are getting a somewhat sporty stance, but very merciful on you back and wrist.



Anybody going for the Kawasaki Ninja 650R should be absolutely clear about the fact that it's not a sport machine, but more of Sports Tourer and it would be criminal to expect blasting performance from the machine.

So, now that we have seen what the two motorcycles are in themselves, the next step forward is the specs, because at the end of it, that's what makes the picture clear.

Technical Comparison

Kawasaki ER-6f Hyosung GT650R
Engine
Liquid cooled, four stroke, parallel twin, DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder.
Liquid cooled, four stroke, 90° V twin, DOHC, 4 valve

Capacity
650 647

Bore x Stroke 83 X 60mm 81.5 x 62 mm

Compression Ratio 11.3:1 11.6:1
Induction
2x 38mm Electronic Fuel Injection Keihin Fuel Injection (include immobilizer)

Ignition / Starting
Digital TCBI / electric - / electric

Max Power
72.1 PS 53 kW @ 8500 rpm 72.68 Bhp 58.9 KW @ 9000 rpm

Max Torque
66 Nm @ 7000 rpm 68 Nm @ 7500 rpm

Transmission/Drive
6 Speed / chain 6 Speed / chain

Frame Diamond, high-tensile steel Steel, double pipe

Front Suspension
41 mm telescopic fork, 120mm wheel travel.
41mm Oil upside down forks, 120mm wheel travel

Rear Suspension
Offset laydown single-shock with adjustable preload, 130mm wheel travel. Swinging arm, 100mm wheel travel.

Front Brakes
2x 300mm discs 2 piston calipers 2x 300mm discs 4 piston caliper

Rear Brakes
Single 220mm disc 1 piston caliper Single 230mm disc

Front Tyre
120/70ZR17 120/60 -17

Rear Tyre
160/60ZR17 160/60 -17

Seat Height
790 mm / 31 in 780 mm / 30.7 in

Dry-Weight
178 kg 215 kg

Fuel Capacity
15.5 Litres
17 Litres

So, as can be seen, both the Kawasaki Ninja 650R and the Hyosung GT650R, are very much evenly speced, but the Hyosung GT650R is just a feather high at some places. So, one would definitely not loose or gain any performance by choosing either two.

The whole point now boils down to the price bracket and the personal taste of the end user as to what the user expects from a motorcycle which has an engine of 650cc and produces 72-73 odd Bhps. Both the motorcycles, though belong to the same engine segment, but belong to completely different genres, and both are good in their own respect as you don't have much options in this engine capacity range. Both can be termed as budget bikes to graduate to, before you make that big jump to the liter class, and both can keep your performance craving satiated for quite some time.