Kawasaki Versys is here

[KenYam]

I would luv to read more about the pro's and con's on the Versys bike. How do all the new owners feel ? Does it live up to the reputation the bike mags give it ?

I heard that that motor ( on all models ) burns a bit of oil between services - is this true ? Not really interested in fuel comsuption but am on the ability of this bike for a general purpose - around bike for Thailand.

Cheers Ken F

 

[TonyBKK]

KenYam;264495 wrote: I would luv to read more about the pro's and con's on the Versys bike. How do all the new owners feel ? Does it live up to the reputation the bike mags give it ?

I heard that that motor ( on all models ) burns a bit of oil between services - is this true ? Not really interested in fuel comsuption but am on the ability of this bike for a general purpose - around bike for Thailand.

Cheers Ken F

Hiya Ken!

I'm quite happy with my Versys- it's not the fastest bike out there but it's extremely comfortable and a great touring bike thanks to larger tank, large comfy seat, ABS and long travel adjustable suspension.

Did the 6000km service recently and haven't been burning any oil.

Same goes for my ER6n's and Ninja 650R- they all share the same engine, only the Versys has different cams and tuning.

Ride On!

Tony

 

[Ian Bungy]

Ken, I rode with Tony on Our little Trip into Laos and He seemed to have No Problem at all on it!!! We had some Pretty Shocking Roads and he was right there all the Time, Tony is a Good Rider so that may have helped but I still think the Versys is the best Value Touring Bike available now! You can soften up the Suspension for the Really Rough stuff as it actually has Adjustments where as the others don't! If I didn't already Own a Similar Bike in the Tiger I would definitely look at Buying this Bike!

 

[nikster]

Pros: It does a little bit of everything, and all of it really well. It's happy on good roads, bad roads, twisties, in the city, cruising on the highway, etc.
Cons: Tops out at 180 kph - that's the only thing that keeps it from being THE perfect bike for me.

There's many practical advantages to the low rev torque biased engine tuning in the versys compared to the ER-6n/Ninja, but you do lose top speed.

 

[TonyBKK]

nikster;264526 wrote: Pros: It does a little bit of everything, and all of it really well. It's happy on good roads, bad roads, twisties, in the city, cruising on the highway, etc.
Cons: Tops out at 180 kph - that's the only thing that keeps it from being THE perfect bike for me.

There's many practical advantages to the low rev torque biased engine tuning in the versys compared to the ER-6n/Ninja, but you do lose top speed.

Hey Nikster, are you quite sure 180 kph is the max your Versys can do? I've had mine up to 195 kph indicated (which given the speedo error is quite a bit less actual) and I think with a fuel injection module and some airbox mods she should be able to crack 200. I agree with you though, that the lack of top end is a bit disappointing. Thank goodness I've got the Gixxer to satisfy my need for speed :-D

 

[nikster]

No, not sure - I guess I'll have to test it out one of these days, now that it's broken in and all. Still - it's much flatter at high speeds than the ER-6n was and that's quite noticeable at speeds much below 180... just a gut feeling of sorts I don't know if it makes a lot of sense but the Versys is up to 160 quickly and easily - the ER-6n went to 180 quickly and easily... a different feeling at higher speeds.

I am waiting to find a comprehensive set of aftermarket mods to increase power on this bike, so far found nothing. There's only vague promises of a HP increase in the low single digit range on some aftermarket exhausts. I am looking for dyno runs though... of course there's that guy who modded his Versys engine to the same spec as the ER-6n engine, claims 85hp on the dyno... but that particular mod seemed waaaaay too difficult to even consider.

Edit: Versys is actually up to 160 pretty quick, just tested this morning... for faster speeds testing I'll have to find a stretch of empty road, not really possible here around CM. Even when the road seems empty there's always somebody u-turning, suddenly coming out of a tiny soi, crossing the highway on foot, or other stuff happening... anything you can think of can and will happen here.

 

[KenYam]

Thanks for your comments guys - look forward to more feedback if anybody has the time. Tony I am very happy to hear your motor's are not burning oil, another
ER-6N owner was topping up oil only after 4K maybe he did not break in the motor correctly and may have valve seal issues or something similar ?

I have a older Faser 1000 thats suppose to do 260 kph but have never been there, the fastest was 220k, man at those speeds you never know whats going to happen on Thai roads but my point is I would be happy with a bike that does 180 kph as long as it accellerated fast to achieve this speed - enough for LOS.

Safe & Enjoyable Riding - Cheers and Thanks Ken F

 

[Fatlad]

Hi Ken
Yes had mine now two weeks, tried the ER6 for 18 months just sold my Vulcan 900 last week, i must say this to me is the best allround bike available here in Thailand at present would have liked the Yamaha 660 tenere but to much shite to try and get one here.
My only like would be like the switchable ABS as i have on my GS1200 adventure in NZ, i love to tez around the unsealed roads here and gets a bit unnerving when the ABS takes over when braking hard on the gravel and end up going round the corners faster than i would really like.
The riding position is just right for me i found the rear end a bit soft due to my rather large structure, presume i have big bones, so fitted the Hyperpro rear progressive spring and now feels much better.
The other problem i have is rear vision at over 100km the bloody mirrors shake like shite and all behind is a blur, but i am quite happy at 100/120kmh as to many things want to kill their selves here in Thailand, presume just a part of getting old

Eric

 

[nikster]

Eric - lots of cool stuff about your V, so I have many questions:

- Paint job white tank and rear panels - or is that silver? Looks cool; certainly a color scheme I haven't seen before.

- Hyperpro rear progressive spring - how much did it cost and where did you get it? Ok I can Google it, it's here http://www.hyperpro.com/index.asp?page=springkits I'd buy it for the looks alone, I think, at $125 it's cheap enough Did you buy it in Thailand, order via mail, or bring it from overseas?

- Exhaust: Model / make / cost / does it just sound different or does it improve performance? Certainly looks interesting!

- 50/50 tires make the V look tough - do you actually do any offroading with the beast? Dirt tracks?

- How does it compare with the GS1200, that being one of the bikes I was always interested in?

~Nik

 

[KenYam]

I like your bike Fatlad and Nikster has already asked the questions. Nice bash plate at front of motor and exhaust can as well I think ! It is really difficult to find a can that sounds good for this motor - how does yours sound ? I thought a longer muffer ending at the rear axle (like a honda CBR) would maybe give the motor a meater, solid sound like an old Triumph 650 - in my dreams maybe haha - but that 650 motor sounds unimpressive IMHO.

Cheers Ken F

 

[Fatlad]

Hi Nikster
Yes the tank is silver just the basic toyota silver metalic, love the colour scheme of my GS ADV how they use the black silver white and red seat, so thought i would have a try, and i think it now gives the bike a bit of character as the basic red or black look very bland.
The Hyperpro i actuall bought the kit which included the front and rear springs and new fork oil from BKK was 11500 bart, the other gear came from UK but some silly twat left the oridginal invoice in the box so i got reamed by customs { the silly twat been my Dad }.
The exhaust is the Mivv Ghibli from Italy, tried one of Tonys two Bros on my ER6 too bloody noisy, even got stopped by the Army when the princess was visiting Mukdahan they thought i had a machine gun, i love the sexy look of the Mivv comes with a decibel killer to reduce the noise, going to modifie that a bit more to reduce it further.
To me the GS is a km eater big 30 od liter tank 600 km a day no problem, but when it comes to gravel its like riding a pig and when you come off then thats the problem time as its so heavy, the Versys has a great standing up riding position for me, canged the foot pegs put on some SW Motec with removable rubber inserts and lowered by 15mm.
Added a Starlane gear indicator which is great on the Versys due to its low gearing was sick of trying to find 7th.
For me here in Thailand i dont think any other bike is available that can put a smile on your face for such small money.

Eric

 

[Fatlad]

Here is one for you Tony, my latest design attached to my Ventura rack, three point fixing, he loves it.

 

[Changnoi1]

FatLad, what tyres are on the bike? Pirelli's MT60's? Did not know they had 17inch front tyres.
Last time driving a nice tarmac road until just after a slightly hill the tarmac was gone ... just a lot of soft sand. Then you feel that the standard Dunlops are a bit shitty.

And indeed the mirrors are a bit irritating .... but might be fixed with some extra rubbers.

Chang Noi

 

[Fatlad]

Hi Changnoi
Yes there are quite a few companies do a 17 inch front and rear, Pirelli, Avon, Mets and a few others, think they describe them as a super motard tyre
Got these pirelli from BKK 10500 plus 70 freight Muk.

Eric

 

[ronwebb]

Hi Eric, I am interested to know how you mounted your GPS. It looks to be bolted on to the top of the dash? Any vibration issues with that? Ron

 

[Fatlad]

No proplem problem at all, its only a cheap 2550 bart garmin so if it dies will get a new one rather than but a motorcycle specific one.
Just making a sun screen for the Gps to reduce the sun glare, the mounting point is good for me as the handle bar ones are in your face and as this is not a water proof GPS so this mounting point gives it a bit of protection from the elements.
Designing a spring to absorb the shocks when moving at speed off road.

Eric

 

[DavidFL]

This the the new Versys is Here thread split from
https://www.gt-rider.com/thailand-motorcycle-forum/threads/32951-Kawasaki-Versys-Coming?p=264608#post264608

which should make more sense & work a little better now.

 

[Fatlad]

So what is the new thread?? certainly confused me

 

[jon]

Could someone tell me how to pronounce the name " Versys " ?

 

[Fatlad]

Like this "VERSYS"

 

[nikster]

Fatlad;264661 wrote: Like this "VERSYS"

For non native English speakers, the name is very easy - it seems hard / odd only for native English speakers.

The name comes from Versatile System, so you pronounce it just like Ver in Versatile and Sys in System.

 

[TonyBKK]

jon;264659 wrote: Could someone tell me how to pronounce the name " Versys " ?

I read somewhere that Versys stands for "Versatile System". Not sure that helps.... ;-)

 

[TonyBKK]

Doh! Nikster beat me to it! Ha ha ha!

 

[jon]

Thanks for clearing that up for me.I got a bit confused trying to pronounce a word that didn't previously exist. Luckily it is said the way it is written and my favourite rider is Ben Spees,Spies,Speeze.

 

[bill]

At ~Bt300k-USD10k on the road and insured in Thailand, it compares pretty well to OS prices.

Googling around, same bike seems to go for $9k in US and $13k in Aust.