Kawasaki Versys
 

Hi all, anybody done any serious mileage on a Versys.
Went to the local dealer and the frame looked strong, as far as i am aware the motor has been taken to 30k with little trouble.
The bike looks to have a strong frame, to much tacky plastic for my liking, hopefully touratech can supply some tough stuff.
Looks pleasing on the eye, but thats no good on the all manner of roads.
Will have a demo when the weather breaks
atb

Never ridden one, but they do appeal to me also for their relative lightness and adequate power.

I have one. A 2008 model that I bought from new, to replace my bavarian piece of crap (Commonly known as bmw).

I have been round europe few times since (around France, and 2 weeks spin from London to Tallin loop trip last year).
I have done about 10,000 with it in 2 years. Not huge but I do not use as commuter.

It is nicely comfortable on long rides, has a fuel range of at least 220 miles (I never pushed my luck, also my husband has a 15l tank on his Shiver so need to stop every 5 minutes to refuel).
It is responsive, very easy to ride, very forgiving, and unlike my F650 you don't feel she wants to go down. I have had the back wheel skidding and sliding all over the place on few occasions (gravel, emergency brake on paving stones or simply very slippery surfaces) and never felt I was about to go down.
It turns on very tight corners, you can push as much as you like and beyond... I just can't fault it. I love it and bring a smile on my face. I will be devastated when I have to sell it (when we go travelling again).

Note however this is not adapted to offroad (what with the exhaust under the belly!) but can handle a bit of rough.

Overall, you should go for a test ride and find by yourself. But I am sure you will love it.

Ho and also, even if I leave it outside for weeks on end in the winter, without using, It will start immediately when I try!

Maria, what do you get to the gallon? Is it heavy on tyres and chain and sprockets?. Why a new steed before your next adventure atb

Maria, what do you get to the gallon? Is it heavy on tyres and chain and sprockets?. Why a new steed before your next adventure atb

The Bavarian can't be that bad if you are going on a long trip for a year:scooter:.
Whats the story with it anyway!!! How long have you had it and what probs on the way?

The Versy looks fairly tough apart from some tacky plastic ad ons.
Could do with some tasty spoked wheels.

Cripes a DRZ, you must have some good padding on the/your rear lol:oops2:

To be honest i have a nice Bavarian bike on offer to buy at a good price!!!!

Also a tatty 05 Suzuki DL650 WHICH COULD CUT THE MUSTARD.

Anyway you live in the good ole UK now so you need to use the modern imperial measurement. Better than those flouncy Euro rubbish thingamebobs:thumbup1:Cool

The Beemer electrics melted basically. All list of what was wrong with it is on my website. sold it 2 years ago. But to be fair my husband's Dakar was fine.... maybe I was just VERY unlucky! :)

We'll see about the DRZ... all our plans could go out of the window as the opportunity to move to Rio on a permanent basis (for work) may come our way! We should know in next couple of weeks... :D

I bought an 08 new and loved it. got around 45mpg, but I had a heavy hand. I traded it in on a 1200gs. Wish I'd kept the V. There are some nice accessories out for them now, and I saw one with heindau knobbies that looked like it would do well on gravel.

Just want to add, the Versys subframe is not great.

Kawasaki won't sell you a back box and side boxes together because with a pillion, it could break !!

One up, it should be fine though...

Versys
 

Completed a 3600 mile trip through Europe in June 2011, two up with panniers and top box on '09 Versys. 180 kgs is Kawasakis advised total load limit. 10 kgs each side and 8 for top box, total including luggage. I'm 90 kgs, pillion 60 so we were pretty much maximum loaded :innocent:

Quick stats run down....Total Average 58.77 MPG. Best 79 worst 46.9
17L max refuell 220 miles on that tankfull.
Tensioned chain once, lubed every 1,000 miles negligible engine oil used.

All round capable tourer, excellent solo sporty ride. Accessories to add will be Rear Hugger, Handguards, bigger screen. The only added accessories from standard for this trip were, aux socket, Givi pannier and top box frame with Kawasaki branded (Givi) luggage and a fender extender.

Interesting statistics roadruns. How was the bike two-up? I mean the room per person/comfort factor. I have more or less given up looking at this size of bike for riding with a pillion for any distance, especially with a pile of luggage; any thoughts about that? Did you have the pillions' helmet banging against the back of yours each time you brake?:D
Incidentally, the F650GS produces very similar MPG/litre, range between fill ups etc figures with a tank of the same size as the Versys. Not too surprising for modern, fuel injected engine design.

My usual bike for pleasure riding and touring is a Hayabusa. The Versys was bought as a complete change, and a build up to a tour I hope to do solo next year.
So, Once we got used to sitting upright, helmets at the same level, helmet clashing wasnt an issue at all. Without the Top box the pillion feels exposed as the seat almost ends at rear of body. I'm 5'11'' 90 Kgs and had no problems with comfort. With the top box, the pillion can sit further back and feel safe, Its a surprisingly large seat.
Fully laden, 2 up, you can motorway ride at 85 MPH, although 70-75 is better with less vibrations, more relaxed feel. When riding Stelvio Pass I slipped the clutch as i was often caught in the wrong gear, gear changing was still new to me :yes: We literally got off the Hayabusa and went touring on the Versys. No issues at all with the fitted panniers and top box, the pillion needs to practice their mounting as it is a tall bike and with luggage fitted you need the nack.
We thoroughly enjoyed our holiday on it.

Thanks roadruns! Excellent factual information which is always welcome. I understand what you are describing because I used to ride a Blackbird and I am now sitting up straight.
Yes, the torque from that type of engine makes us all lazy with the gear lever :-)

Versys 2008
 

I just bought a 2008 model here in the states with about 10,000 miles on it. So far I find it a great bike, even at my height of 6'7" aka 200cm. I plan to spend some time on it before taking a long trip, but it seems like this is a bike for paved roads only.

Bought one back at the end of December, 2010 for a trip to Alaska in the summer of 2011. The trip, June 8th to July 20th, took me from Key West, FL to all the major points up in the great north: Inuvik, NT, Dawson City, YT, Eagle, AK, Deadhorse, AK, Seward, AK, Valdez, AK; just a hair under 15K miles all told. The bike performed flawlessly and was a blast to ride. The ONLY issue that I had was that when I got done with the trip, I noticed that a small amount of oil was seaping around the front fork seals; to be expected though after the amount of abuse that I put on the bike. In retrospect, I should have put on some Seal Skinz or something else to protect those fork seals.

Don't know if it's kosher or not to do this, but if interested, you can read up the ride report I put together while on the road here:

www.tinyurl.com/kw2dh2011

If it's not kosher to do this, let me know and I'll edit this part of the post out.

After all this time and a few bikes i have bought a Versys.
2007 model with 5600 miles on the clock. It was still on the original tyres but totally shot. I imvested in a pair of totally road tyres today.
Pirelli Diablo Rosso 2's.
So far so good, a bit choppy on the rear, i will drop the preload to minimum.
Typical Kawsasaki oversprung and underdamped. Surprisingly nippy and torquey for the size.
A few farkles ready for my European trip
atb Floyd
P.s, needs a better screen

There's another thread in the Kawasaki forum that you might like to read:-
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...s-thread-65709

Even on minimum preload, the shock on my bike was always choppy.

You had one then Dave?
Did you modify it in any way?
Any good farkles to improve the bike?
How many miles did you do on it?
Any problems along the way?
Many thanks Floyd

Floyd
I probably did about 6000 miles before trading the bike.

The link has a post about my views on the Versys; have a read of that and see if you agree with my review - it is quite alright to hold different views and ideas. :innocent:

- for instance, concerning your other post about using sheepskin covers or similar add ons, I found the seat OK for riding 300+ miles per day. Others in that thread have posted about aspects of the bike, but I think we are all agreed that it is a road bike and there is nothing wrong with that.

As a road bike, it doesn't need much in the way of extras - I tended to resist the urge to go out and buy bits for the bike; I might have fitted the footpeg lowering kit that is mentioned in the link, if I had kept it longer.

No one seems to have problems with this bike and it's engine: I had none and it never needed topping up with oil, for instance.

Enjoy!