KAWASAKI VERSYS A CIVIL, AGILE TOURER
Sometimes, adventure means taking things a little slower, a bit softer, writes David Booth.
As the motorcycle “adventure” segment has grown in popularity, so, too, has it splintered into sub-segments. While everything with a dirt bike silhouette and street bike engine is still labelled an adventure tourer, that prefix may have remained accurate, but the suffix has decidedly not.
BMW’s R1200 GS and S1000 XR, for instance, may officially be lumped into the same buying group, but labelling both adventure tourers is a bit like calling both Senator John McCain and Donald Trump Reaganite Republicans. One is a well balanced master of many trades and balances, the other a frenetically brash superbike with odd styling and a propensity to the overstated.
Indeed, like so much of modern life, the adventure touring segment is getting increasingly polarized. On one hand, there is the earthy GS and Honda’s new Africa Twin that remain faithful to the original concept of a goanywhere, do-anything touring motorcycle. On the other, you have the XR and Ducati’s Multistrada trying to convince the masses that unless they embrace MotoGP-like horsepower and handling, they will never experience true adventure. As always, lost in the middle are the ‘independents’ such as the Aprilia Caponord, Suzuki’s V-Strom and the subject of this test, Kawasaki’s Versys 1000 LT.
Take but a quick gander at Kawasaki’s adventuresome 1000 and it might look a little like a carbon clone of the aforementioned S1000 XR. Both are four-cylinder (one-)litre bikes with an inverted front fork, superbike-sized wheels and tires, and minimalist bodywork. Even the styling is remarkably similar.
The comparison, however, doesn’t survive closer scrutiny. Kawasaki’s version is much more mildly tuned, more softly suspended and geared for comfort rather than outright speed. Indeed, so moderated is the ex-Ninja power plant — reduced compression, shorter camshaft duration, etc. — that it’s better to think of the Versys as a four-cylinder version of Suzuki’s mildmannered V-Strom. Though Kawasaki makes no official claims, its 120 or so horsepower is much closer to the V-twin Suzuki’s 100 or so horsepower than the BMW’s 160-plus.
If that sounds like a condemnation, you haven’t been reading the subtext I thought was so obvious. In fact, Kawasaki’s 1,043-cc is the smoothest and friendliest of in-line fours, its vibration minimal and its lowend torque prodigious. Indeed, from idle to 10,000-rpm redline, the engine’s response remains resolutely rheostat-like, as linear a powerband as I have ever tested in motorcycling. It may not yank your arms off, but neither do you have to constantly row the gearbox to get its best. And, as a side benefit, the low-end pulling power lets Kawasaki gear the LT taller — 5,000 rpm equated to 130 km/h in top gear — resulting in a calm ride unlike, say, the meth-mainlining S1000 XR that always seems to be looking for a fight.
The ride is similarly contained. Kawasaki’s suspension is fairly basic — a single shock system in the rear and an inverted front fork, both with rebound damping and preload adjustments — but it serves its purpose well. Compliant over the motocross track that is the Ontario road network these days, what it lacks in sportbike-like precision it more than makes up in tourer-like comfort.
It’s all in keeping with the Versys’ sport-touring intent. Factor in the typical reasonable seating position of an adventure bike and the broad, flat seat that is not just well padded but stepped enough to provide some rear support and you have sport touring-like comfort. Throw in some easily accessible saddlebags and a top case — the LT’s latching system is among the easiest I’ve fiddled with — and you have an excellent weekend road warrior.
That said, as it comes from Kawasaki, the LT isn’t quite a long distance mount. First there’s the smallish windscreen — easily replaced, of course — that offers scant upper body protection despite its adjustability (mechanical only, the LT’s $14,999 MSRP precludes electronically adjustable windscreen or suspension). And those bags that are so accessible are also pretty small. Officially, they hold 26 litres, but they are the first hard bags I tested that had trouble fitting my Apple laptop. Oh, they’re deep enough, but their Jetsonian “aerodynamic” styling compromises their width. Some full-face helmets fit; some don’t.
Some road-test reports will lament the Versys’ lack of electronic gizmos. I do not. As delivered, the big Kawasaki has all the rider’s aids needed, namely a three-step traction control system and ABS. Since the suspension is well calibrated in its stock form, there’s little need for the electronically adjusted suspension systems that are becoming de rigueur in the adventure segment, especially if it keeps the LT’s price down to the aforementioned $14,999. The throttle is light enough that cruise control seems unnecessary. Heated hand grips might be nice, but they’re available for $317 as an accessory.
The one high-tech item that would be worth paying a little extra for is an electronically adjustable windscreen. Having to stop to twiddle with knobs every time you want to adjust the fairing’s coverage seems a little behind the times. That said, while some will lament Kawasaki’s back-to-basics motif, I appreciate its simplicity.
Indeed, the Versys LT is a classic example of the difference between wants and needs. For one of the lowest prices in the segment, you get everything you need: perhaps the most civilized engine Kawasaki has ever produced, excellent comfort, decent luggage and surprisingly sprightly handling. So, do you really want to pay more for stuff that will do little more than clutter up your dashboard and switchgear?