Announcements

**stefen** · #1 4 Sep 2011

Hi
after being stolen of my glorious old Dominator these days i am looking for a bike to replace it, considering that i will use it in ever day traffic in a big town(roma, italy) and now and then medium trips in the weekend and hopefully once a year for big trip(with dominator i travelled all the way to iran...for example)
I have suddendly narrower down my search between Transalp and VStrom, after considering for a littel while Versys also. But it looked to me not big travel oriented...
Today for the first time i have seene it, and i must say that i like it, though i still have the sensation that it will not be very capablem for big trip
Ad i mean , dirty, white,or spoiled road,poor petrol,reliability,ease of maintenance etc...

Who can tell more about it?

Thanks

**Prisoner62113** · #2 4 Sep 2011

Can't give any first hand experience of the versys, but a friend of mine had one for a while and loved it (I had a vstrom at the time). There is probably not much between them - personally I preferred the vstrom but that's just my opinion. As road bikes they are both brilliant.

But, if it were me doing a rtw I would take the transalp, simply because you can fix it by shouting very loudly and hitting it with a rock.

**roadruns** · #3 4 Sep 2011

I bought a NEW 2009 model Versys in May this year. I fitted a Top Box and Panniers, an extender fender, auxillary power socket under seat and positioned my Tomtom on handlebars wired into bike.
My girlfriend and I covered 3,600 miles two up touring Europe in June. We rode most road conditions Stelvio to Autobahn and loose paved roads beside rivers but not off road or sand. The Versys was excellent averaging 56.7 MPG used no oil, charged phones and sat nav. I've since added handguards, hugger, and touring screen. All good so far at 6,000 miles.
Hope this helps, any more info required just ask.
Stewart.

**stefen** · #4 4 Sep 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by roadruns

I bought a NEW 2009 model Versys in May this year. I fitted a Top Box and Panniers, an extender fender, auxillary power socket under seat and positioned my Tomtom on handlebars wired into bike.
My girlfriend and I covered 3,600 miles two up touring Europe in June. We rode most road conditions Stelvio to Autobahn and loose paved roads beside rivers but not off road or sand. The Versys was excellent averaging 56.7 MPG used no oil, charged phones and sat nav. I've since added handguards, hugger, and touring screen. All good so far at 6,000 miles.
Hope this helps, any more info required just ask.
Stewart.

thanks!
it is a start, as i don't have any info about versys on trip
anyway i would interested if someone drove it in a more extreme condition
don't talk about sahara of course...but in a some more adventurous trip!

**chrisbf125** · #5 29 Jan 2019

I rented a Versys 650 ABS in Chiang Mai a few years ago and took it round the Mae Hong Son loop near the border with Myanmar. I was super fun to ride, with plenty of punch from the engine making it super fast up to 100km/h and easily capable of highway cruising at 130km/h (you wouldn't want to go faster than this in Thailand anyway). The handling is excellent, making it great fun to ride - I completely eliminated the chicken strips on the rear tyre.

It was also very comfortable and easy to ride.

It was the ideal bike for the mixed-condition tarmac, including some pretty big potholes and the occasional hard-packed, dry dirt road. I think it would be a great bike for RTW as long as you're sticking mainly to tarmac. I didn't try it on any gnarly trails but I imagine the suspension travel and ground clearance are not sufficient to deal with rocky stuff.

**Sun Chaser** · #6 29 Jan 2019

It's no dirt bike, 17 inch front wheel likes to wash out in loose gravel, on grass or in mud. Also it is top heavy. Pics are my 2015 model in Thailand. Perfect value motorcycle for tarmac and highway use, one or two-up with luggage. Can do some "off-road" depending upon pilot's experience and capability. Only repeated reports of mechanical failures by tour company using them here in SE Asia are alternators burning up...easily enough fixed with them being manufactured (thus parts availability) in Thailand.

Good trade-off for adventure seekers not wanting to drop a mountain of money to ride a badged "ADV" motorcycle. Good solid value. I'd consider it for my 7th RTW trip over some of the other "adv" marketed models at twice the cost...if I was considering a 7th.

I only use the huge top case in town to be able to hide a helmet when parked. It comes off and is replaced by soft waterproof bag for out of city work.

'Dr. G,' Chief of the World Adventure Affairs Desk, CITY BIKE Magazine www.citybike.com researching adventurist affairs around the globe
Sole Sexual Survivor: http://www.greataroundtheworldmotorc...nturerally.com