There is this sense of freedom which is unique to motorcyle.
probably because it was on a 2wheeler,when you first ventured past the protective shield of your parents,
that corner down the ally,from where they could'nt see you,as you took your first step into the wild,
as time flew by your dreams got wilder,some to go faster,some to go further,
and today i ventured on once a journey on a motorcycle that promises a bit of hope
Ah!,so why the versys 650, So just look at it man, looks like a beer,looks like a chill beer on a hot summer day.
just what you need when life's getting to you and you want to get away,
checks all the right boxes,a big 21liter tank,long travel suspension,you have wind protection,you have place got pannyers,wide seats,
you have wide seats and urgonomics and custom tuned for the long haul.
and more importantly a bullet proof parallel twin engine from the Ninja 650
known as much for it,s reliability and its violence.
woah!!! hahahahah
but is'nt this detuned and over a lakh more expensive then the Ninja 650?
which is already a sports tourer
well!!
essentially yes,it is the engine from the ninja 650,but it has been retuned,and has a wider midrange,
as you would expect on a tourer at the cost of more outrite power. "OH,thank you"
but the rest of the bike, well it out equips the ninja in every other way
I mean think about it,the Ninja has been designed to be more urban more for everyday living
whereas the Versys gets all the bellls and whistles so it can take you to places
places like this!
you get adjustable wind screen,you get showa seperate function forks,you get a remote pre load adjuster for the shock
and more imortantly you get ABS as standard
and thats just the start, the breaking on this is so much better then the Ninja 650
but if you ask me, the greatest improvement is in the handling department,
thank's to the Showa separate function fork
the fact that you can adjust the pre-load and rebound,means that it does'nt nose dive under hard breaking
the weight transfer is so much smoother,that is dose'nt upset the chassy or over power the front tyre,
even when you are going hard in corners
another thing which blew me away was the refinement,this thing is so darn refined man,ther's no buzz
i mean the foot pegs,the handel bars and the engine they are all rubber mounted,
and goes a long way in keeping the bike completely buzz free
and the ground clearance as well
it definately allows you to be a lot more adventerous
and dispite all of these changes,Kawasaki have managed to restrict the weight gain to 5kg's
and the wheel base longer by just 5mm as compared to the Ninja 650
and i think there really lies an advantage of the Versys 650,
but it's main touring competetor the Benelli 600 Gt as well,
in terms of equipment the Gt trumps the Versys because it has an inline 4 engine,
you get bigger breaks,you get a fatter rear tyre,a larger tank ,
while still undercutting the Versys by almost a lakh,
But it makes lot less torque then the versys,dose'nt get ABS and dose'nt stop as well,
and a lot of that has to do with the fact that it's a good 27kg's heavier and about 55mm longer
and the one thing that serious tourers willtell you,that you never ever on a long motorcycle trip around the world,
wish that your motorcycle was bigger and heavier
you'd only ever wish that it was lighter, smaller and more manageable
the Gt also dose'nt have the same kind of versitility which is afforded by the long travel adjustable
suspension on the versys, something even which the CBR650 misses out on,
a bike which makes less torque,dose'nt get the same fuel capacity,nor the wind protection that the
versys offers
infact if kawasaki were to bring in an offroading variant of the versys 650
you know with the bash plates,hand guard stills and dual purpose tyres
it actually has the potential to eat into the market the more expensive and better equiped
Tiger 800
thats how well rounded a package the Versys 650 is really is.
i'm just sad that all these parts that i've mentioned,kawasaki is not even offering them as acessories,
not even the ones which come as standard on the LT variant,
stuff like the hand guards,fog lights,gear indicator
other than that i feel the windshield woul have been a little bit better,
because even in the top most setting ther's a decent amount of buffering,
the gear box is still a bit clunky,not as smooth as the engiene,but i think,
the single biggest obsticle in the sucesss of this motorcycle is goint to be the seat height.
it does look daunting,especially if you're a budding tourer,who's looking at the versys as a first big capcity motorcycle
Honestly if you ask me once you swing your leg over you realize that it is one of the easier and simpler such motorcycles
And on the whole,i feel the versys 650,
is one of the best enginered long distance motorcycles
not only because it will go the distance,but take you there comfortably
but because it will make you wish that this journey you're on is a dream that you're living never ends.