Kawasaki ER-6n Maintenance Schedule and Service Intervals

This is the maintenance schedule with associated service intervals for the Kawasaki ER-6n.

The Kawasaki ER-6n is the naked sibling of the Ninja 650, a.k.a. the ER-6F (the “n” in ER-6n is for “naked”). It’s very much the same bike, just sans fairing!

Kawasaki has made the ER-6n since 2006, but only sold it in the US since 2009. It was retired in 2017 in favour of the Kawasaki Z650, which was updated at the same time as the Ninja 650.

The ER-6n is powered by a torquey 649cc liquid-cooled, DOHC, four-valve-per-cylinder parallel-twin engine. It’s the same engine that powers other similar motorcycles, like the Versys 650. It doesn’t set your hair on fire, but it’s an engine that most people can’t kill before they crash their bikes.

2016 Kawasaki ER-6n with Akrapovic exhaust

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Maintenance Schedule for Kawasaki ER-6n

Below is the maintenance schedule for the Kawasaki ER-6n.

The following is the list of maintenance operations and to be done on this motorcycle with a time or distance interval — whichever comes earlier.

The maintenance for the Kawasaki ER-6n is broken into three sections: Change/Replacement Items, Engine Related Items, and Chassis-Related Items.

Legend

I = Inspect
L = Lubricate
R = Replace
C = Change

Notes:

For higher odometer readings, repeat at the frequency interval established below.
The break in schedule is no longer shown (as the time has passed)

Items to replace on a Kawasaki ER-6n

km x 1000	12	24	36	48
mi x 1000	7.5	15	22.5	30	Every
Air cleaner element	I	I	I	I	Every 2 years, or more often when riding in rain / dust
Engine oil #	C	C	C	C	Every year, or more often when riding aggressively (dust, traffic, high speed)
Oil filter	R	R	R	R	Every year
Fuel hoses				R	4 years
Coolant			R		3 years
Radiator hoses and O-rings			R		3 years
Brake hoses and pipe				R	4 years
Brake fluid (front and rear)		R		R	2 years
Rubber parts of master cylinder and caliper				R	4 years
Spark plug	C	C	C	C

Kawasaki ER-6n — items to change/replace

Periodic Maintenance — Engine

km x 1000	6	12	18	24	30	36
mi x 1000	3.75	7.5	11.25	15	18.75	22.5
Valve clearance				I
Throttle control system (play, smooth return, no drag)		I		I		I	year
Engine vacuum synchronization		I		I		I
Idle speed		I		I		I
Fuel leak (fuel hose and pipe)		I		I		I	year
Fuel hoses damage		I		I		I	year
Fuel hoses installation condition		I		I		I	year
Coolant level		I		I		I
Coolant leak		I		I		I	year
Radiator hose damage		I		I		I	year
Radiator hoses installation condition		I		I		I	year
Evaporative emission control system (California)	I	I	I	I	I	I
Air suction system damage		I		I		I

Periodic Maintenance – Engine of Kawasaki ER-6n

Maintenance of the Chassis of a Kawasaki ER-6n

km x 1000	6	12	18	24	30	36
mi x 1000	3.75	7.5	11.25	15	18.75	22.5	Every
Clutch and drive train:
Clutch operation (play, engagement, disengagement)		I		I		I
Drive chain wear #		I		I		I
Drive chain guide wear		I		I		I
Wheels and tires:
Tire air pressure		I		I		I	year
Wheels/tires damage		I		I		I
Tire tread wear, abnormal wear		I		I		I
Wheel bearings damage		I		I		I	year
Brake system:
Brake fluid leak	I	I	I	I	I	I	year
Brake hoses damage	I	I	I	I	I	I	year
Brake pad wear #	I	I	I	I	I	I
Brake hose installation condition	I	I	I	I	I	I	year
Brake fluid level	I	I	I	I	I	I	6 months
Brake operation (effectiveness, play, drag)	I	I	I	I	I	I	year
Brake light switch operation	I	I	I	I	I	I
Suspension:
Front forks/rear shock absorber operation (damping and smooth stroke)		I		I		I
Front forks/rear shock absorber oil leak		I		I		I	year
Steering System:
Steering play		I		I		I	year
Steering stem bearings				L			2 years
Electrical System:
Lights and switches operation		I		I		I	year
Headlight aiming		I		I		I	year
Side stand switch operation		I		I		I	year
Engine stop switch operation		I		I		I	year
Chassis:
Chassis parts		L		L		L	year
Bolts and nuts tightness		I		I		I

Maintaining the Chassis of a Kawasaki ER-6n

Maintaining Your Chain on the Kawasaki ER-6n

It’s important to maintain your chain on the ER-6n, particularly as these get used as commuters, which can be surprisingly high-stress. Use a good-quality chain lubricant like Motul chain paste, or a Motul chain care kit which comes with a couple of handy tools to maintain the chain.

Kawasaki recommends you follow the following chain maintenance schedule:

Chain maintenance item	Every
Check drive chain lubrication condition, lubricating if necessary (Motul chain paste)	400 mi / 600 km
Check drive chain slack, adjusting if necessary	600 mi / 1000 km

Chain maintenance — Kawasaki ER-6n

Notes:

Do these items (checking/adjusting slack, and checking/applying lubrication) more often if you ride your ER-6n in dusty or rainy conditions.
Always lubricate the chain after washing the motorcycle.

Tyre size and tyre pressure for the Kawasaki ER-6n

The Kawasaki ER-6n has the following tyres and tyre sizes standard, as well as the following recommended tyre pressures.

Wheel	Tyre size	Tyre pressure (cold)	Shipped tyre brands
Front	120/70 ZR17 M/C (58W)	225 kPa/32psi	DUNLOP SPORTMAX ROADSMART CQG
Rear	160/60 ZR17 M/C (69W)	250 kPa/36psi	DUNLOP SPORTMAX ROADSMART G

Kawasaki ER-6n tyre sizes and pressures

General information about the Kawasaki ER-6n

The Kawasaki ER-6n is an affordable bike that’s easy to ride and which outperforms considering how cheap and simple it is.

The ER-6n is a member of Kawasaki’s parallel twin-powered family of middleweights. It’s powered by the same 649cc 180-degree parallel-twin water-cooled engine that powers the Ninja 650, Versys 650, and Vulcan S.

It’s not a terribly inspiring engine, but it makes torque everywhere you need it, and easily takes riders to speeds north of 180 km/h where a naked bike starts to feel like maybe it doesn’t belong (probably far below that for most mortals).

The Kawasaki ER-6n’s beauty is in its versatility. It’s near perfect as a commuter motorcycle — lightweight, simple, difficult to stall, easy to steer, and very, very reliable. In fact, I’ve never seen a ER-6n ruined through anything other than neglect or a crash.

The engine in the ER-6n will, if serviced, regularly go past 100,000 km (60,000 miles) without even sounding different. Many owners even forego valve inspections (but they really shouldn’t).

A few things that make the ER-6n easy to ride are the lightweight clutch, neutral finder in the transmission, and very clear display.

While the ER-6n only makes modest power, it’s still a popular choice for a track day bike as it’s so cheap to service, change tyres for, and (if necessary) replace if it’s totalled. It’s tempting for new owners to replace the exhaust, but the reality is that the first modifications you should make to the ER-6n, if you planning on pushing it hard, are to the suspension and brakes.