COULD Kawasaki be upping the capacity of its ER-6f and ER-6n to create a new 700cc parallel-twin ER-7 range?
Of course it could, and it’s among the latest rumours to be grinding through the mill in France, where mid-sized naked bikes like the ER-6n are massively popular.
The recipe sounds good enough. After all, the ER-6 has been a winner in every guise since its launch, and while its chassis and styling have been comprehensively overhauled over the years the 71hp parallel-twin motor hasn’t had such attention lavished on it. Perhaps another 50cc and a bit of latest-generation electrickery are just what it needs to soldier on for a few more generations.
With Euro4 emissions regulations set to be enforced on all European bikes in the near future (2016 for new models, 2017 for existing machines), there’s a fair chance that the ER-6 engine, originally designed to meet Euro3 rules, will need a tweak. And what better way to ensure performance isn’t harmed than to add a little more capacity?
But we’ll add a word of caution here, because the French press has predicted an ER-7 before, as long ago as 2008, and as we know now, that didn’t happen.
The argument this time is plausible, though, and provided the price remains as tempting as ever it’s hard to imagine that restyled, reengineered ER-7n and ER-7f would be anything less than runaway successes.
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