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Kawasaki Versys any good Kawasaki Versys any good
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Which Bike? Comments and Questions on what is the best bike for YOU, for YOUR trip. Note that we believe that ANY bike will do, so please remember that it's all down to PERSONAL OPINION. Technical Questions for all brands go in their own forum.
Photo by Alessio Corradini, on the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia, of two locals

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Alessio Corradini,
on the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia,
of two locals



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  #16  
Old 24 Jun 2012
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Kawasaki is good but i am so impressed with Honda...Personally i prefer honda bikes than anyother. It might be due to my personal attachment with this bike. So Can't compare my bike with anyother
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  #17  
Old 25 Jun 2012
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for that money and in that class rarely anything beats versys, terrific bike, something like a middle weight tourer, or touring super moto, whatever you desire, pretty agile, fast, can go hell fast thru corners, can do offroading, and no fabric loose spots, so overall it is a good buy, 6 of my friends ride them, i use theirs a lot, and love it , all of them have more than 50 60 000 km on the clock, not a single problem, so go for it ( and put bigger shield in front )
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  #18  
Old 25 Jun 2012
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If the new (2012) DL650 Wee-Strom is not out of your budget range, I´d go and ride it, too. Some clear improvements for road use compared to the older version.

And you can get road tyres on it as well, like I´ve currently got Michelin Pilot Road 3 on mine, and I think this improves the bikes on-road performance nicely. And personally I like Suzi´s v-twin engine more than Kawi´s parallel twin (and it´s got more room for two people for touring, which is important for me). But they´re both great bikes, no huge differences in any key area, so really need to test them yourself, and then decide.
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  #19  
Old 25 Jun 2012
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tarras View Post
I got a Versys 2007. Had it since new and have managed to get around 33000 km on it. Mainly use it for longer trips: 1-up with tent, camping gear e.t.c. Been very happy with the bike: No technical issues worth mentioning along the way, very nimble, quick and fun to ride. No problem if there´s some gravel road for awhile. At least not in the dry, even with the fitted roadtires. I do not ride gravel/dirt just for fun though. Efter all it´s not the Versys main business if you ask me, with the small 17” frontwheel, exhaust under the engine etc.

Only thing I actually miss while on the road is a centre stand. Haven´t found a good one, likely impossible due to the mufflers odd placement under the bike...


Regarding maintenance
My Swedish manual for Versys (KLE650) 2007 says: every 6000 km (3750 miles). I contacted Kawasaki Sweden back in 2007 before I bought the bike regarding the intervals. Got a deal with them and got the Kawasaki warranty if I made these 6000 km services myself, as long as I had the bigger 12000 km/every years done at Kawasaki. The 6000 km service is just a check of the breaks - Loose bolts, pads, fluid leaks etc. Maybe been changed since 2007 and/or different depending on the country? Think the ER6 and Versys came with ABS breaks in 2007, maybe a reason to this ?!?! Mine is the non ABS-version b.t.w.


Over all I´ve been very happy regarding maintenance. Way cheaper than the Yamahas and Hondas I´ve had under warranty and had to service at the dealers back here. 40000 km between valve checks. Change of engine oil and filter is dead easy and done in minutes. Air filter is foam and can be cleaned. Changed drive chain and sprockets at 24000 km, and they were still looking OK.
Thanks for answering my question about the service intervals; I guess it is possible that the introduction of ABS shortened the servicing schedule in the handbook.
I like your initiative in making a deal to do the frequent interval services yourself - amounting to checks in any case.
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