Kawasaki Versys is here

[David Race]

Hi Lakota
This is still the best value bike by far in Thailand but on the world stage if color has only changed its well and truly dated.
I was in Kawasaki a few weeks ago and they said the new bikes for 2013 where here but only color change.
I have a late 2010 model black and to not up date this bike with some modern specs more power etc is inconceivable.
As I have said great value for Thailand but in my country Australia the Triumph 800 is only 120 thousand Bhart more and in UK Europe about the same so you would not think of looking at a VERSYS that has not changed in 3 years.
I think Kawasaki are putting all there eggs in one basket with selling the new Versys 10000 in the rest of the world and not touching the 650.
I know in some country's if you bring your Kawasaki 650 in they are offering good deals on the 1000.
There are now in other parts of the world so many duel purpose bikes Suzuki well and truely updated there 650 last year which is a great bike so we just hope Kawasaki does not let this bike go to waste and make some decent changes soon before this bike is on the outer and especially for us living in Thailand we Waite for this bike to catch up with all the rest.

 

[palexxxx]

Lakota;282763 wrote: What sort of tyres does it have. just wondering if there the same as last year. I'm a long way from a Dealer or I'd check myself ;-)

They're Dunlop Sportmax D221

 

[nikster]

palexxxx;282759 wrote: I picked up my Versys on Wednesday, it's apparently a 2013 model. The 2013 is available only in black or white.

Here 'tis.

She looks nice in white!

@David Race I think the Versys can easily hold its own in other countries as well; 120k Baht more for a Tiger 800 is close to 50% of the price.. that's a lot of money. Anyway it's a good bike, and yes you're right we're not currently blessed with lots of options here in Thailand, unless you're willing to pay 2x of what it's worth.

Speaking of Triumph I've heard they will be offering some models under a new BOI agreement in 2013, so reasonably priced Triumphs are on the way!

 

[TonyBKK]

nikster;282770 wrote: She looks nice in white!

@David Race I think the Versys can easily hold its own in other countries as well; 120k Baht more for a Tiger 800 is close to 50% of the price.. that's a lot of money. Anyway it's a good bike, and yes you're right we're not currently blessed with lots of options here in Thailand, unless you're willing to pay 2x of what it's worth.

Speaking of Triumph I've heard they will be offering some models under a new BOI agreement in 2013, so reasonably priced Triumphs are on the way!

Just FYI, the Triumph Tiger 800 goes for 770,000 in Thailand, and the 800XC is 800k Baht, so certainly not 120k baht more than a Versys

Where did you hear about a new BOI arrangement for Triumph in 2013? Would be great, but at present Triumph only assembles twins in Thailand so it should have any real impact on the price of imported triples...

 

[Captain Wally]

TonyBKK;282774 wrote: Just FYI, the Triumph Tiger 800 goes for 770,000 in Thailand, and the 800XC is 800k Baht, so certainly not 120k baht more than a Versys

Tony, David Race was quoting Australian prices. The Triumph Tiger sells for $14,400 and the Versys for $11,000, a difference of $3,400 which at today's exchange rate is about 107,000 baht.

 

[TonyBKK]

Captain Wally;282790 wrote: Tony, David Race was quoting Australian prices. The Triumph Tiger sells for $14,400 and the Versys for $11,000, a difference of $3,400 which at today's exchange rate is about 107,000 baht.

Ah, thanks for the clarification :happy2:

 

[palexxxx]

I've had my Versys now for a couple of weeks and I can't get used to the uncomfortable seat. Has anyone made any modifications to their seat along the lines of this

http://www.kawasakiversys.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4847

I'm tempted to try something like this but I don't want to start pulling out staples. Is there another way?

 

[TonyBKK]

palexxxx;283008 wrote: I've had my Versys now for a couple of weeks and I can't get used to the uncomfortable seat. Has anyone made any modifications to their seat along the lines of this

http://www.kawasakiversys.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4847

I'm tempted to try something like this but I don't want to start pulling out staples. Is there another way?

There are tons of saddle shops in Chiang Mai that can do a basic re-shape for as little as 200 Baht. Add more if you want to change the seat cover or add special foam. I've seen some pretty impressive saddle jobs from CM. Here's the guy I use in Bangkok- awesome work for very little money-


Usually they'll be happy to re-shape as needed until you get the result you are looking for.

Best of luck!

Tony

 

[DavidFL]

palexxxx;283008 wrote: I've had my Versys now for a couple of weeks and I can't get used to the uncomfortable seat. Has anyone made any modifications to their seat along the lines of this

http://www.kawasakiversys.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4847

I'm tempted to try something like this but I don't want to start pulling out staples. Is there another way?

Take a look in here
Chiang Mai Handy Motorcycle Related Shops
Narong Karn Boh
The "Seat magician upholsterer."
145/5 Chiang Mai - Lamphun Road
Tel: 086 262 6338.
GPS WAYPOINT: N18 46.957 E99 00.350

 

[DavidFL]

An excellent compact value for money luggage / side box set up for the Versys.

Givi E21 side boxes.

Small & compact - don't stick out, much more than the rider / pillion. You can still lane split!

Universal mounting kit to bolt straight on.

Highly recommended (& I've never been a fan of hard luggage side boxes!)

Order from Chiang Rai Saddle bags.

 

[Hoghead]

I am about to order a medical gel seat pad off Amazon and have it inserted into the Versys seat
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004EMXZKW/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=A20XU0WANOL4B5

Also fitted the 44T rear sprockets (46 is stock) and the resulting higher gearing seems better for the road riding that I do. 1st gear is not so low and less looking for 7th.

EDIT
Took another look at that Wondergel cushion and it seems to be a gel honeycomb rather than a gel filled bag.
More research is in order before I hit the buy button

 

[palexxxx]

Thanks Davidfl and TonyBKK for your replies. I'll give Narong Karn Boh a visit soon.

 

[David Race]

Hi David
Are these side cases genuine or copy ? as I know they say Givi and what about the brackets ? IS THIS REAL OR A COPY ? not that it matters
and what is the ball park cost for these side cases and brackets ?
Thanks Dave.

 

[DavidFL]

David Race;283043 wrote: Hi David
Are these side cases genuine or copy ? as I know they say Givi and what about the brackets ? IS THIS REAL OR A COPY ? not that it matters
and what is the ball park cost for these side cases and brackets ?
Thanks Dave.

The real thing as far as I know.
http://www.thaimotorbox.com/product_case_detail.php?proid=28
Best get them from CEI Saddlebags.
Price 7-7,400 baht all up I think it was.
I'm a happy camper with them on. Get them for your Ninja! Jurgen has a set on his Versys already & he too is impressed. The Kiwi Cruiser has a set already too!
Again highly recommended.

 

[Changnoi1]

David, side-cases look good. I am still in doubts about side-cases.
As far as I understand the cases (Givi E21) are original but made in Malaysia. They costs about 4400thb for a set.
Officially you should not use this cases at high-speed or with a lot of weight in it.
The price is excluded the mounting-rack. The original Givi mounting-rack costs about 12000thb!

As far as I understand the mounting-rack that is sold at CEI Saddlebags (and at ThaiMotorBox) is an "universal" (copy?) and much cheaper at about 2600thb??
It looks to me that it is not only cheaper but also it makes the set-up of the all-set much less width. I have seen the original set with original mounting-rack and that seems to me at least 10cm wider. And 10cm is a lot when sliding trough traffic in the city. But I do not sure if I am correct.

The boxes itself are easy to take off in 1-second and can be locked to the mounting-rack, so it are actually a kind of suit-cases.

Chang Noi

 

[DavidFL]

Changnoi1;283068 wrote: David, side-cases look good. I am still in doubts about side-cases.
As far as I understand the cases (Givi E21) are original but made in Malaysia. They costs about 4400thb for a set.
Officially you should not use this cases at high-speed or with a lot of weight in it.
The price is excluded the mounting-rack. The original Givi mounting-rack costs about 12000thb!

As far as I understand the mounting-rack that is sold at CEI Saddlebags (and at ThaiMotorBox) is an "universal" (copy?) and much cheaper at about 2600thb??
It looks to me that it is not only cheaper but also it makes the set-up of the all-set much less width. I have seen the original set with original mounting-rack and that seems to me at least 10cm wider. And 10cm is a lot when sliding trough traffic in the city. But I do not sure if I am correct.

The boxes itself are easy to take off in 1-second and can be locked to the mounting-rack, so it are actually a kind of suit-cases.

Chang Noi

Yes these are original. Made in Malaysia. Official Givi product.
The universal mounting rack comes from Givi.
The boxes are priced at 4400 baht.
The universal mounts 2600 baht. Not a copy.
All official stock & prices from Givi / Thai Motor Box in Bangkok.
I see nothing wrong with the product. It is excellent value for money.
And yes all luggage boxes - top & side - have a safety level warning, weight & speed. Nothing new there - protection against insurance claims in the west?

Small & compact - don't stick out, much more than the rider / pillion. You can still lane split!

Give them a go you won't be disappointed for the price.
Excellent value for money.

 

[TonyBKK]

Out of curiosity, can you still carry a pillion with those boxes on?

 

[ronwebb]

Ah Tony. Are you thinking of taking your rice cooker, flat screen TV, etc along in future rides?

 

[TonyBKK]

ronwebb;283102 wrote: Ah Tony. Are you thinking of taking your rice cooker, flat screen TV, etc along in future rides?

Ha ha! No, I'm not really interested in panniers, was just curious.

A 20 liter dry bag on the pillion seat and a tank bag provide all the space I need for a week-long tour. If I didn't carry around a laptop I could probably ditch the tank bag.

 

[nikster]

Those boxes are pretty nice - well OK they look like ass but not worse than any others, really - the price is truly excellent.

Since when are Givi mounting racks so cheap though? Last time I checked they were between 7 - 10k

Thai Moto Box them for 4,400 but not entirely clear that's for the pair?

Edit: I just confirmed the price with CR Saddlebags - 7,000 Baht for pannier set + rack, from Givi/Malaysia. That's an amazing price. It used to be that the Givi rack alone was 12k... I think I'll get me some of these. Thanks for the tip, David!

 

[Changnoi1]

Hi David,
I was just about to order the Givi E21 + SB2000 universal rack but then someone said that the rack actually does not fit the Versys "plug & play" and that you need to make some adjustment.
Is that correct?

Chang Noi

 

[TonyBKK]

Surfing the old YouTube and stumbled across this Versys vid that I think is quite well put together. Who says you can't take a Versys off road?

 

[Rideagain]

Anyone know of an outlet which sells mudguard and huggers for Versy.. cant seem to find anything anywhere !!!