[StepUP!]

Originally Posted by ac 427

...

Does a Versys 650 at almost 8 lacs on road have a case for itself? ...

I bought Versys 650 two months back. 6.96L OTR Mumbai. I believe you are Mumbai based. Check out Anzen Kawasaki. At this price it is absolutely a steal deal. Loving every bit of it.

[Fan@Automotive]

Touring to me is always on a mill above 500 CC.

I own 2 Bullets with a cumulative milage of 70,000 kilometers on it. It's was a pleasure driving them on the highways. Could do speeds around 80 all day. Now with automotive technology and highways getting better, speeds around 80 is less preferred for touring, though illegal.

Generally, I am comfortable to do highway commute at speeds which demand in and around half of the power band of the vehicle. The more it tends towards to the top of the power band, more is the strain on the engine and hence its after effects. Speeds around 120 is a no for a 300 CC, even on a Duke 390 which will fry my thigh and calf muscles.

Hence it would either be Versys 650 OR VStrom in the price range. Only highways then Versys; mixture of mild off roading and highways they VStrom.

I have been in the same situation for the last one year. It is the just the lack of electronic aids in that price range that has kept me waiting.

[Thebat]

Originally Posted by Fan@Automotive

Touring to me is always on a mill above 500 CC.

Speeds around 120 is a no for a 300 CC, even on a Duke 390 which will fry my thigh and calf muscles.

At 120kmph, i doubt a Duke390 would heat up to the extant that you are mentioning , i own a dominar with an almost identical engine and it hardly heats up on highway rides. Engine displacement has nothing to do with the speeds a vehicle can comfortably do.

Not to mention a duke is far more comfortable to tour than any Royal Enfield south of the twins.

[Fury]

Originally Posted by Ajaybiz

Checkout yourself once specially those tiny wheels, non adjustable suspension and poor quality, without any refreance I took out Versys from my list few years ago when it came to Bangalore for the first time.
Used Triumph Tiger would be best suited for your need or even Suzuki V storm 650.

That's quite a contrasting opinion I ever heard about the Versys!
From what I know, Versys is, even today, one of the best choices for a road biased ADV, south of 10 lakhs. This machine has so much fan base and lots of seasoned riders swear by it. Agreed, the tiger is the ultimate ADV for most people but from what I understood, the road biased Versys would be more than enough for this particular use case scenario. KTM 390 Adventure will be an interesting entry into the segment but one area, I am sure the Versys would beat the KTM hands down, would be in refinement. Nothing can beat the silky smooth Japanese twin inside the Versys (except maybe their own Inline 4 )
All in all, I would still swear by the Verrsys until Honda brings in a smaller Africa twin in that price segment (if that ever happens).

[condor]

Originally Posted by ac 427

Does a Versys 650 at almost 8 lacs on road have a case for itself?

I guess you would have, but one of the threads on the V-Strom:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/super...ust-right.html

[nasirkaka]

At 120kmph, i doubt a Duke390 would heat up to the extant that you are mentioning , i own a dominar with an almost identical engine and it hardly heats up on highway rides. Engine displacement has nothing to do with the speeds a vehicle can comfortably do.

+1. Duke 390 can easily cruise at 120 without straining much and at those speeds, the heat is hardly felt. Just that its a racy engine, eager to redline at the slightest hint, and may not be ideal from touring perspective.

Not to mention a duke is far more comfortable to tour than any Royal Enfield south of the twins.

Faster, Yes, but definitely not "far more" comfortable to tour. Not with those stiff suspension, and rear set pegs. For touring purpose, its a light weight bike, with small tank and without much protection form elements, luggage provisions, etc. That is where 390Adv comes in and should take care of most of these shortfalls and some more.

Coming back to AC's query, there is not much to choose between V650 or Vstorm. With either of them, one cant go wrong. Both have proven themselves in international market, one is very slightly road biased, and the other has an edge off the road. If i was in the market, i would have settled with the Vstorm purely beacuse of its leaner visual mass and those lovely tubeless spokes.


KTM 390Adv definitely brings a fresh angle and would be my first choice for an adventure bike under 10L, mainly for the light weight, low on mental load, carefree-ness, ease of maintenance, service, spares, etc. I had a versys and later got 310GS and with time, realized that light weight adventure bikes are my calling. But thats me. Not sure about AC as he is used to a big and heavy bike, with oddles of torque and power and calmness of a twin and have have character clash with 390Adv which is totally opposite of bonnies and bullets. If budget is there, and if you are purely looking at this bike for multiday touring, a versys or Vstorm or even a used tiger makes sense under 10 L.

[AirbusCapt]

Since you are looking at a bike for 10/12 day touring with a little bit of off-road (mainly due the road quality), nothing can beat a Versys, especially if you complete the package with a top box and side panniers. The suspension is fully adjustable, the clutch and front brake levers are adjustable, even the windscreen is adjustable. The build quality is awesome, my bike starts with a single crank when not used for a month. The engine is a bulletproof gem and is capable of sitting all day long at 130/140kmph, two up without a fuss. There is little to complain about the bike, it is a honest machine meant to tour.
The drawback is; it is not an adventure bike, one can't comfortably tour on dirt roads due to the small front tyre, but that's it.

[Ironhide]

There are a whole lot of comparisons available on the net between the Versys & V-Strom & both have their pluses & minuses. A Versys I feel is more road biased whereas a V-Strom XT would do well both on & off road. It also has immense tractability low down the RPM range, which would keep you happy in traffic too. The 90° V-Twin keeps pulling easily, so torque & availability of it across a wide band shouldn't be a concern.
Here's one such comparison. And here's another. Here's yet another short review by a fellow BHPian who's managed to clock some serious mileage on a V-Strom XT.

Do take long, detailed test rides of both and see what suits you over a long ride.

Cheers !

[Tushar]

Recently picked up a used Versys 650 and here's what I'd advise:

- Do not buy one new, it's too expensive for what it offers. The only exception is if you're getting a good discount on it. Anything up to Rs 7 lakh OTR is worth it. A penny beyond and it's splurging.

- Look for a good used example. I bought mine from a BHPian and it was in crisp showroom condition. Most used examples will have some essential accessories (crash guards, radiator guards, sump guards, paddock bobbins etc) and you can get them for a good price. 2017-2018 bikes are going for Rs 5.80 lakh - Rs 6.80 lakh, depending on the condition and kms run.

- If your usage in mainly on-road, I'd get the Versys over the V-Strom. The Versys is more sport tourer, the V-Strom is more ADV. If by off-road, you mean broken patches, large speed breakers etc, the Versys won't break a sweat, even with two on board. But for serious off-roading, it's not the tool. Think of it as the Hyundai Creta of the premium bike world. Looks like an SUV and has the benefit of ground clearance, but for everything else, it's more like a sedan.

- What you may or may not like is that it's similarly tractable to ride as the Bonnie i.e. it comes close while managing high gear-low speed combos. That may just make it feel a touch too similar to what you already own but that could also be exactly what you like about it. It's a quick, grunty, comfortable and nearly flawless motorcycle but yeah, it's a machine. It's not a bike with a personality, if you know what I mean.

[nasirkaka]

What you may or may not like is that it's similarly tractable to ride as the Bonnie i.e. it comes close while managing high gear-low speed combos. That may just make it feel a touch too similar to what you already own but that could also be exactly what you like about it. It's a quick, grunty, comfortable and nearly flawless motorcycle but yeah, it's a machine. It's not a bike with a personality, if you know what I mean.

Having owned a versys and a bonnie SE in the past, i felt the exact opposite with respect to high gear, low speed ridablity. Bonnie is a torque monster and can very easily do low speeds in higher gears meaning now frequent changing of gear. Versys feels like its lugging under 25kmph in 2nd gear. Strange, but this is one of the important reasons for my disconnect with that bike. And you are completely right about the lack of personality. A good and super reliable bike but lacks character. Always reminded me of bigger and powerful and comfortable karizma.

[ac 427]

Originally Posted by nasirkaka

Having owned a versys and a bonnie SE in the past, i felt the exact opposite with respect to high gear, low speed ridablity. Bonnie is a torque monster and can very easily do low speeds in higher gears meaning now frequent changing of gear. Versys feels like its lugging under 25kmph in 2nd gear. Strange, but this is one of the important reasons for my disconnect with that bike. And you are completely right about the lack of personality. A good and super reliable bike but lacks character. Always reminded me of bigger and powerful and comfortable karizma.

True. On my bonnie, the thing to do is quickly try and reach the top gear, and just keep on chugging along - 40 kph to 140 kph - 1 gear, and oooodles of torque.

After reading all the comments, a used bonnie is what I am thinking, but the package the 390 adventure delivers is just outstanding. Its all dependent on the right price.

A used versys - if I get at around 4 lacs or 4.5 lacs, the argument becomes very difficult for the the 390 adv.

Now - on the lookout for a decent Versys, while I wait for my TD of the 390 adv.

Thanks a bunch.
cheers,
ac

[bf1983]

Originally Posted by ac 427

A used versys - if I get at around 4 lacs or 4.5 lacs, the argument becomes very difficult for the the 390 adv. \

4 - 4.5 lakhs for a Versys will be a tough task. I was on the look out for one some time back and the cheapest ones were around the 5 lakh mark. Those were heavily used with 50000 - 70000 kms on the Odo. The Kawasaki engine is definitely capable of many more KMs but thats still a very decent running on Indian roads.

So if you wish to get a sparingly used Versys you would have to look at spending around 5.5l thereabouts.

A Bonnie is also a good bet but most of the used Bonnies south of 5.5l lack ABS which for me at least was a strict no no for a bike that can easily touch 160 kph+.

If you feel you won't speed and ABS can be ignored then the Bonnie is a really fun bike. Its got loads of character and my heart fell hook line and sinker for the Bonnie.

[rahul4321]

Originally Posted by Fan@Automotive

Touring to me is always on a mill above 500 CC.

Speeds around 120 is a no for a 300 CC, even on a Duke 390 which will fry my thigh and calf muscles.

.

I owned a Electra 350 which i replaced with a Duke 390 as i wanted something faster. A few months back, i bought the Himalayan as i missed the RE's personality while still retaining the Duke 390

The high compression engine of the D390 only heats up in stop and go traffic. Believe me when i say, it does not heat up even slightly at 120-130 km/hr cruising speeds.

This is me travelling from Ahmedabad to Hyderabad on the 26th of December. The bike cruised at 120 (heavily loaded with luggage) without breaking a sweat. Absolutely no heat.

However when I get stuck in stop and go traffic in Ahmedabad, the engine heats up like crazy.

[ac 427]

Originally Posted by bf1983

If you feel you won't speed and ABS can be ignored then the Bonnie is a really fun bike. Its got loads of character and my heart fell hook line and sinker for the Bonnie.

True about the Versys. Infact, I am not hearing anything back about a good used versys.

But I already have a bonnie

cheers,
ac

[Frankenstein]

Why not look at the Triumph scrambler , you will have the torquey Hinkleys Triumph engine, offroad spec suspension and will look like Steve Mqeen. These versys vstorm etc etc i personally cannot comprehend the looks. Neither dirt bike nor sports bike.