One thing to consider. If you plan on keeping the bike, for years to come...

Equipping an older bike with new and relatively very expensive gear, might be painful as you know any equipment you sell as part of the bike will depreciate a lot.

If you buy a used bike with garbled you don't need or would like to change, you will have paid a premium for something you won't benefit from as much as you would like. It may put you in a position where you either cannot justify the expense of equipping it the way you would have liked, for a bike you don't plan on keeping... Or, you go ahead on equipping it to a great extent and later find that you keep it longer than you want to because you can't justify taking such a big loss without having utilized it more - only to have to make a new investment.

Therefore, if you don't have any long term plans, then buying an inexpensive adventure ready bike and keeping the mods to a minimum could be the good way to go about it. As the Versys is quite suitable for this job as is, and you already have it, then I would not write it off as a top contender. You probably have all the gear you need to be able to leave as soon as you've had it serviced, collected some spares, and gotten your paperwork in order.

I am in a similar predicament. Buy a used semi farkled up xt660z or a new T7 Rally - which with all the extras would cost me three times as much.

I've also considered the CRF, but find it lacking in power on the smoother stuff. But it is still one of the top runners for my GF (beginner) due to weight, cost and her abilities today. But also here, thinking more long term, she will likely end up with the xt660z.

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Sounds like you want to take the Versys so I’d go with that, don’t forget that where you’re going there a lots of people who use motorcycles for their every day transport and very few will be adventure style ones.

If you’re worried about reliability then how about chopping in your old Versys for a new one then just take service items such as filters and brake pads etc and, perhaps a cable.
It’s a small jap twin - just routine services for 30K miles, if not more

Google Geals in west Africa
A story of 2 guys who circumvented Africa - one on an old 1150gs and one on a new Jap/Chinese 125 bought in Africa. The 1150 had some problems but it was old and the guy hadn’t really planned to go right round Africa so had done no prep. The 125 was trouble free.
It a brilliant read by both riders.

This is what I have done. I haven't upgraded too much on the Versys (just a skid plate and a tall windshield) because I wasn't sure if I will sell it soon.

It is currently the top contender.

I am worried ofc. The Versys only has 20k km right now. But it will probably be closer to 50k before I can start my journey to Africa...

I left home on a KLR with almost 50k miles (~80k km), rode it all over Central, South, and parts of North America, returned home and sold it at just under 100k miles (~160k km). Its new owner is still riding it around my town. It gave me some trouble from time to time, but certainly no more in its second 50k than it had in its first 50k. One distinct benefit: if I'd had to abandon the KLR for any reason, it had by then very little market value.

If I'd owned a Versys, I'd have taken it instead. No matter what you're riding, there'll be times you wish you'd chosen differently and times it serves you perfectly. The real point is to just go...then make the best of it.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

The Versys will be great. 50k kms on a thumper is ok, you can do another 100k - but start out with a new clutch (in addition to your typical - like brakes, tyres, etc, and consider also overhauling the top end as well

I would have invested in pannier racks and hard panniers for that trip. Holan seems equivalent to Touratech in quality, but cheaper. The panniers you take with you on your next bike, the rack sticks with the old bike.

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It a 300 twin, more revvy than a thumper but still should be fine.

At 50K I’d price up a good overhaul, as Wheelie says a new clutch, new brake master cylinders and cables all round as well as the usual. Then compare this to chopping in for a new one.
Have you considered approaching Kawasaki for sponsorship? I don’t remember reading about anyone who’s done this kind of thing on a Versys before, you never know - Honda have been generous with the CRF in the past.

Main thing is it looks like you’ve got your bike choice sorted

FlipFlop makes a good argument. Putting your Versys in top notch will cost time and money, especially so if you farm out the work. When it came to swap my clutch on my F650GS dakar at 50k, I was too busy and unmotivated at that time for such a time consuming job, and farming it out just didn't make economical sense compared to selling it and getting something else. I ended up selling it and never regretted it. Had it happened now, with less work on my plate, I might have gone down the route of looking high and low for a good deal on good parts and doing the work myself - but probably not.

When you sum up all the parts and labor (put a value on your own time if you are to do it yourself). How much further would you have to dig into your pocket to get the bike that you want, and how much would the resale value be of that bike compared to the versys - after the trip?

Now, I'm not the best advocate as of what to do here. I opted for completely overhauling and kitting an old classic 200 cc Vespa scooter to participate in the Budapest Bamako Rally (ended up in Guniea Bissau). With 12 hp, 10 inch wheels, virtually no ground clearance or shock travel, very unreliable - it is fair to say that it was unsuitable (but capable). Conscidering I had the Dakar and a 250 enduro bike in my garage - I understand what it means to ride what you love. I also understand that for every km you ride, the less preoccupied you will become about bike legacy and senitmental attributes, and the more you will come to desire the most suitable functional attributes for the ride you are on. To put it short - for such a long trip. Get the most capable bike your time and budget allows for.

The Versys will be a good bike if you put it back into shape - but following FlipFlops argument, the Versys might not be the most sensible choice still. If you go for the Versys, you won't make a very wrong decision though, just not necessarily the most optimal deciscion.

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All great points, however, riding a motorcycle is a an emotional choice not a logical one - as you say, hence the Vespa

I had a choice to make a few years ago. My 1100gs had 115K miles on the clock, it was still running but needed some work. Do I spend the money on the bike or change it for a newer model?

At the time I was doing a 500 mile a week commute + other usual rides - it was a 500 mile round trip to see my mum. I decided to spend the money on the bike, which was around £2K less than upgrading to the bike I wanted. I went on to do another 65K miles by which time my long commute stopped. I then sold it, for not much money, and upgraded to a bike which isn’t piling on the mileage - I average about 12K a year now (not with Covid, obviously)
This was a logical decision which turned out to be a good one - the emotional bit comes that I chose the same bike, just a newer model.

My wife had a bike that she never really jelled with - even though she did 30K miles in under 4 years. It had a repair that was going to cost around £1K, she ended up paying a hell of a lot more money to upgrade. She absolutely loves the bike she has now.

So 2 different stories, both with happy endings - which probably won’t help with your decision

My plan is to do some off-road days on various different bikes over the next 2 years. Honda, Yamaha and BMW offer them in the UK plus there are places you can go with your own bike. Then I’ll probably just take my own bike