Kawasaki Versys Coming

daewoo

daewoo

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Dec 6, 2005
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Maybe with a little bit of modification :D

635470880_CmJCe-O.jpg

(from the ADVRider forum Australia branch)

I have a KLR here in Aus, top speed is 167km/h... at 140 it is working very fucking hard and very tiring to ride, the engine is screaming, the wind buffeting is very strong, the suspension is not quick enough to react to bumps... I would guess it is a bike that is 25% capable of open road touring, and 75% capable of dirt road touring... it is still too big for proper off road (the bike of choice for that is a DR650)...

The Versys is a bike that is probably 75% Capable of open road touring, and 25% capable of dirt road touring (and still not really suitable for off-road work)...

I think it goes beyond simple weight to suspension angles and travel and stuff like that...

I think of the KLR as a good workhorse if you were going to be doing a lot of dirt roads at slow speeds, but if you spend any significant amount of time on the open road, than the Versys would be a much better choice...

Cheers,
Daewoo
 
K

KenYam

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Nov 2, 2007
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I wonder are there any Kawa bikes made in Thailand for export only and not sold in the local market Tony ?

I think the Versys would be light enough for a town hack and strong enough for the open highways of LOS, the motor appears good the brakes and suspension are flairly average oh and a differrent muffer would also be my choice of mods.

Cheers Ken F
 
Ian Bungy

Ian Bungy

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Sep 19, 2006
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www.chiangmai-xcentre.com
I was Told by the Local Kawasaki Dealer that it will be here the End of the Year? My Guess is early next Year, Maybe a Release at the International Motorshow end of March??? Expect the Price to be Higher than the ER6 so around 300.000 Baht?
 
TonyBKK

TonyBKK

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Dec 27, 2007
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KenYam wrote: I wonder are there any Kawa bikes made in Thailand for export only and not sold in the local market Tony ?
Click to expand...
The Thai-made KLR650 is an example of a bike made in Thailand but not sold here. KLX450 is another one.
 
KZ

KZ

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Aug 20, 2003
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My guess is that the announcement of the Versys is hampering the Ninja sales, like: "I wait for the Versys and won't buy a Ninja now". If there's no Versys coming, people buy a Ninja now.
And who knows what's the economic situation going to be like early next year?
Also other manufacturers may offer bikes by then.
 
TonyBKK

TonyBKK

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Dec 27, 2007
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KZ wrote: My guess is that the announcement of the Versys is hampering the Ninja sales, like: "I wait for the Versys and won't buy a Ninja now". If there's no Versys coming, people buy a Ninja now.
And who knows what's the economic situation going to be like early next year?
Also other manufacturers may offer bikes by then.
Click to expand...
What announcement? So far all we've heard are rumors and gossip, right? I haven't seen an official press release or statement from Kawasaki regarding the Versys in Thailand. Kawasaki really doesn't spend much on advertising and marketing in Thailand, preferring instead to let their unbeatable prices and word of mouth do the talking. I'm not sure how popular the Versys will be with the Thais... It will be interesting to see how well it does if/when it goes on sale in Thailand.
Ride On!
Tony
 
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nikster

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Nov 7, 2007
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TonyBKK wrote: [quote quote=KZ]My guess is that the announcement of the Versys is hampering the Ninja sales, like: "I wait for the Versys and won't buy a Ninja now". If there's no Versys coming, people buy a Ninja now.
And who knows what's the economic situation going to be like early next year?
Also other manufacturers may offer bikes by then.
Click to expand...
What announcement?

I think he meant the non-announcement, e.g. the reason Kawa is very keen on NOT announcing any bike prematurely is that it would eat into sales of current models and/or delay buying decisions. It's the same with any company that already has product in the market - except in special cases, you want to announce a new model on the day it's shipping. And prior to that, you want to suppress any leaks, e.g. you shut up your talk-happy dealers and threaten them with sanctions. They most likely signed an NDA anyway.

Hence the denials until the official release. The other reason to not announce anything prematurely would be if you're not sure you really want to introduce that model in the market. I imagine it would do just fine if introduced, but Kawa will be trying to figure out whether or not it would increase sales, or simply move sales from the Ninja 650 to the Versys.

We'll see soon enough.
 
TonyBKK

TonyBKK

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Dec 27, 2007
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nikster wrote: [quote quote=Fishenough]Versys ride report, SE Asia, from ADV - http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=593811

Also from ADV - http://jdrocks.smugmug.com/photos/833949077_5vxQc-M.jpg
Click to expand...
Route map, going from Malaysia via Thailand, Laos, China to... the UK! They're already in Budapest.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8& ... tput=embed
The Givi helmets look pretty nice, never seen these before.
Just finished reading that ride report- fantastic! Sounds like their Versys' are performing great and wow- they are carrying quite a bit of weight!
 
TonyBKK

TonyBKK

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Dec 27, 2007
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I ran into Khun Tidawan at Kawasaki HQ last week and she was very coy about the Versys but asked me if I wanted the first one... :mrgreen:

I'd be really surprised if we see the Versys by October and rather expect the soonest we MIGHT see it will be December or January, but hey, I'd LOVE to be wrong!

Let the Good Times ROLL!

:happy5:
 
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nikster

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Nov 7, 2007
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According to said other forum's ThePedroDB:

- colours: Red or Black. Photo of Red bike to be sent to me later today. I will post as soon as I have it
- price: 285,000 THB
- delivery: End of October 2010.
Click to expand...
Colors and price as expected, delivery date earlier than expected.
 
KZ

KZ

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Aug 20, 2003
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I thought the ABS, rear swing arm and the better suspension are the reason for the higher price over the naked Er6n.
 
TonyBKK

TonyBKK

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Dec 27, 2007
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2011VersysImperialRedRHSSR.jpg


Woohoo! The Thai Baht is KILLING me and I really shouldn't do it, but I just couldn't resist :mrgreen:

Placed a deposit on a new 2011 Metallic Imperial Red Kawasaki Versys a few days ago :lol:

2011VersysImperialRedLHSSR.jpg


Was told price will be 285k Baht and delivery "not before November 15th" whatever that means? :roll:

It's the ABS version (which is the only version offered in Thailand) and hopefully genuine Kawasaki accessories such as the color matched panniers and engine guards will be coming soon, but no promises from Kawasaki there...

2011RedVersyswPanniersSSR.jpg


Inverted front forks with adjustable preload and rebound will be a wonderful upgrade from the non adjustable forks on the ER6n and Ninja 650R-
2011VersysForksSSR.jpg


I'm hoping the Thai version won't come with the Dunlop Roadsmarts shown in the pics above. Shite tires IMO and I'll ditch them immediately if that's what it comes with. Probably have one set of road touring tires like the Bridgestone Battleax BT021's and a set of Pirelli MT60's for off road fun. :mrgreen:

The Aluminum swingarm is stronger and lighter than the steel swingarm on the ER6n and Ninja 650R-
2011VersysAlumSwngarmSSR.jpg


3-way adjustable screen is standard-
2011VersysAdjtblScrnSSR.jpg


Larger fuel tank, better suspension and what looks like a better seat will make this the PERFECT bike for touring SE Asia IMO. At only 285k Baht!!! nothing else comes close. :happy5:

Can't wait!

Happy Trails!

Tony
 
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nikster

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Nov 7, 2007
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Looks fantastic I am about to order one too - as soon as kawa Cm accepts deposits. I hear you about the THB same here. But what are you gonna do?

My only concern is the 65 hp (vs close to 80 on the ER6 with the same engine) and top speed of 180. I don't want to faster but I want to have some room above that. Can a power commander fix this? Also could anyone explain why this is. The bike is tuned differently that much is clear. But if you give up some hp and speed, what do you gain?
 
K

KenYam

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Nov 2, 2007
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Nibster it was my understanding that a 6n has 64 HP and top speed is 205kph depending on rider body weight.

The Versey has 60 HP with a top speed of around 180kph because its geared differently to have usable power at mid revs so more user friendly and gruntier when you want to use the power for everyday use so you sacrifice top end speed. Thats sort of the way I understood it anyhow, and I agree sounds like a good bike at a reasonable price.

cheers Ken F
 
TonyBKK

TonyBKK

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Dec 27, 2007
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Well, with only very minor modifications (airbox baffles pulled and aftermarket exhaust) my 650R can do 220km/hr
[youtube:14rpvsbn] /youtube:14rpvsbn]

As I understand it the Versys is tuned for more torque and less top end. Should be easy to change with different gearing and/or FI Module such as Powercommander or Juice Box.

I'll wait and see how she rides stock then decide how I'm going to pimp her out :mrgreen:

Ride On!

Tony
 
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nikster

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Nov 7, 2007
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Yeah Franz just explained to me - less HP are traded for more torque which will make this bike much nicer to ride in the mountains.

According to Kawasaki's spec sheet - I have the PDF here - it's 64HP at 8000 RPM.
Max Torque is 61 Nm (6.2 kgf.m) / 6,800 rpm

Kawa's website is very coy about giving HP ratings for any bikes but you can find the PDF here:
http://www.kawasaki.eu/_download.asp?Fp ... sys+Tourer
 
H

Hoghead

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Feb 5, 2007
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33.3 inch seat height and 30 inch legs. I have had bikes like that before and it is a sure thing for toppling over
Not too svelte either

Best value for money and suits our crappy roads, however with that seat height I will wait for a test sit before deciding
 
N

nikster

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Nov 7, 2007
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Kawa Germany sells a gel seat that's 5 cm - 2 inches for our American friends - lower. For 340 EUR.

I am thinking you can probably get the same from a local shop for much less. Minus the Versys logo.
 
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