Kawasaki Versys built for comfort
Paul Owen revels in the comfort, economy, and versatility that this Kawasaki supplies.
Apologies to late bluesman Willie Dixon for stealing the headline from one of his songs, but I have some fine company in those who have plagiarised Dixon’s art – notably Led Zeppelin, who reached an outof-court settlement with Dixon in 1987 after admitting to ripping off both his riffs and lyrics.
Dixon’s premise in Built for Comfort is that guys of his generous girth make better lovers, and it provides a fitting analogy for the Versys 650, which is arguably the largest and heaviest Kawasaki 650cc twin-powered model.
With those increased dimensions – height, wheelbase, suspension travel, seat foam thickness etc. – comes the opportunity for the Versys to become one of the most comfortable rides in the affordable motorcycle segment.
That comfort was front and centre when the first Versys appeared back in 2005, sporting a slightly detuned Ninja 650 engine that placed more emphasis on mid-range performance, and wearing a generously-sized fairing as proof of its long-distance touring credentials.
A pricetag of $13,999 was one of the most attractive features of that first Versys, as it was mostly a design-free zone where function totally dominated form. The one flourish by the crayon-wielders was a mushroom-shaped headlight that made the original Versys look like it had just hit a miniature atomic bomb. Little wonder then that it wasn’t a big seller anywhere but France, but then, we all know how much the Gauls love their fungi.
Things were improved considerably in 2010, when the ‘‘mushroom’’ was replaced by a pair of stacked headlights, and a host of improvements took the comfort of riding the likeable little Kwacker to a new level.
In came even thicker seats, improved suspension, more legible rear view mirrors, and more isolation of engine vibrations, and the Versys now only looked a little odd rather than the ugly kid in the showroom. Despite retaining some indifferent Dunlop rubber, an engine that placed politeness ahead of character, and mediocre brakes, sales picked up enough with the launch of the second-gen Versys for Kawasaki to contemplate the development of the third-gen bike you see here.
Like the previous two upgrades, the one for the latest Versys focuses on the recurring theme of improved comfort. An even-larger fairing not only places the twin headlights in horizontal layout for improved looks, it also has a quick-adjust windscreen that can be raised or lowered by 600mm.
Seats become even thicker, and the rider’s is now located 840mm from terra firma, and while the generous suspension travel is unchanged, the soft ride it provides can now be adjusted for spring-preload and rebound damping up front, and the rear monoshock now has a hand wheel so that Versys riders can make preload adjustments on the fly.
On the mechanical front, two great leaps forward have been made. A new exhaust now gives the parallel twin the aural appeal that it has been crying out for, and a new Abs-equipped braking system lifts stopping performance up to 21st century expectations.
A larger 21-litre fuel tank and hard-luggage ready mounts add more touring-friendliness to the Versys. New colours like the matt metallic orange of the testbike also do much to raise the appeal.
However, those unlovable Dunlop Sportmax tyres remain, and they’ve blighted the otherwise-worthy handling of the Versys for 11 years now. It’s time they moved on to a bike I care less about.
Best of all, the price of the Versys hasn’t shifted at all. At $14,995, it is precisely what the second-gen version cost back in 2010.
This price stability sends any comfort-for-money meter right off the scale, and gives Yamaha’s coming Tracer 700 a serious valuefor-money challenge before it lands. If your need for speed is a mild wish rather than an allconsuming desire, either of these two well-equipped Japanese twins could be all the bike you need, given their highly versatile natures.
The Versys is a touring bike that’s ridiculously easy to use every day. At 216kg, it is far lighter than more humungous shaft-drive tourers, yet it offers decent levels of weather protection and its plush ride can be appreciated every time you ride it to work.
It’ll return 4.0 L/100km fuel use figures when confining the engine to the mid-range where it feels happiest, and it filters with the best urban transport weapons thanks to its slim dimensions and mirrors and handlebars positioned so that they hardly ever threaten to clout the side mirrors of the vehicles you pass.
A centre stand would turn the Versys into the complete Captain Sensible of Japanese motorcycles.
I struggle to agree with those who call the Versys a ‘‘sportstourer’’ motorcycle, however. The 69-horse engine might be a likable unit singing a more inspiring song these days, but it has plenty of weight to shift and acceleration is only adequate by motorcycle standards.
And those tyres will ruin whatever sports potential the Versys once had when corners beckon due to their constant erosion of rider confidence.
A pity as the Kawasaki steers beautifully with its wide handlebar, 17-inch wheels, 25-degree rake, and comparatively narrow tyre sizes.
So, this is a bike that encourages you to back down the pace and take in the views. Adopt the Zen approach to touring or commuting and you’ll revel in the comfort, economy, and versatility that this bike supplies.