[mobike008]

Originally Posted by Urban_Nomad

Off topic, but for some who wish to take the Versys off road, a switchable ABS is an absolute must! Try braking on a loose surface like a gravel strewn pavement and you will wonder why the bike is not slowing down at all. FOr the street, ABS is great. For this reason, some of the high end adv tourers get ABS modes, including off road ABS

While on the topic, I recently witnessed first hand how bad can ABS be on a loose surface, when another rider on an RC 390 tried braking hard on a road that had gravel all over it, failed to stop (a car swerved in front of him), the bike predictably did not stop, he tried to turn the bike away and was on his behind the next second. I stopped to check on him (the car had fled the scene, of course) and the guy was both angry and shocked

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Agree with urban. However, off road at a measured pace and I think the ABS can be worked around. It's only when you are riding up a fire road that things could get a bit nasty when you are doing 70-80 kmph.

Karan and Ramana

Come on guys; Let's be practical here please

Versys is NOT an off-roader and let's get used to that idea. I have personally tried some serious off-roading as soon as I bought it (reckon you seen the pictures) and it was shimmying around crazily. It needs dual sport tyres and still with that weight it's not advisable to do any serious off-roading. Better to get an Himalayan if someone is serious about off-roading and not throw this expensive bike into serious off-road conditions

Versys is an excellent sports tourer and can handle broken roads/bad patches with aplomb like I experienced recently. I have put the Versys in the worst imaginable road conditions and it has come out shining in glory (update on my thread soon)

I understand that ABS doesn't work in off-road conditions but, you tell me if you own this bike will you do serious off-roading? I bet my last penny you wont

Finally, off-roading is fantasy for us all but, doing it in real takes lot of special skill and strength and is a different interest level altogether

Versys is a great machine for any highway road conditions in India and I have personally experienced it to claim it strongly. Besides this, we should thank our stars that for that money we atleast get an ABS (even if it's non-switchable) and I still go with my point that ABS is a great boon for regular highway riding conditions !!

[hiran77]

Originally Posted by Urban_Nomad

Off topic, but for some who wish to take the Versys off road, a switchable ABS is an absolute must!

Exactly same reason why i was enquiring about it!

Originally Posted by mobike008

This is as much a subjective question as choice of colors

Some people are comfortable at 120kmph, some at 130kmph etc

It can cruise at above mentioned or even higher speeds comfortably depending on your riding skills and road conditions etc.

Not Subjective Was enquiring how much can it cruze without straining the engine. Not questioning riders capabilities. only questioning machines abilities. Assuming rossi was riding it will he be screwing the engine if he is maintaining speeds of 160+ is what i was looking to know.

Very difficult to hold 140+ on Indian roads safely. I understand that. but ocassionally we get a stretch where we can hold greater speeds. on these situations how does Versys cope up.

for eg. Reason why i sold my Cbr 250 was I realized i could handle higher speeds than what the bike can attain. Had to sell it coz i was mostly on the red line on my trip from bangalore to Trivandrum. Would have not strained the engine much if i had a bigger bike. Simple.

Post riding couple of my friends bikes, z800 and street triple i realized i am comfortable with bigger bikes. these can hold 160 all day provided the rider is able. (wind resistance aside )

I was actually planning a used fz1 or R1. dropped the Idea since did not find a clean one with my expected price. then had a ride on the versys and loved it. since it was a short ride I do not know the actual top speed and comfortable cruising speed. (max cruising speed: I define by how soon it attains the speed and can hold onto it without any major strain on the engine) My CBR took ages post 145 to touch an indicated 162 which i have done only once. I had to literally crouch and sleep over it :P but u can safely cruze all day 135 on a CBR. very relaible for its price! only issue is it is at this point in the highway when some cars have no respect for 2 wheelers and whiz past close by. this cannot happen when you have a bigger bike and can be safely away from such insane cars without being scared.

sorry for such a lentghty response

I hope Versys owners share the max speed they have touched safely(een if for a short time) and the max cruising speed like what i have explained will help me a lot. Have decided to buy it anyways

Mod Note : Merging back to back posts. Please use EDIT button if you wish to post within 30 minutes and smiley limit per post is 2

[Red Liner]

I have heard a few people do 170 comfortably without a strain to test their stock windshield buffeting. I don't think you have to worry about top speed on this bike.

The only thing that really lets this bike down off-road are those tyres. I really wanted to go straight to a dealer and switch the tyres to dual sport, but we don't get any in the country at retail right now. Will have to do a group buy on this one.

The weight on the move, even at absolute standstill provided your feet are up on the pegs and you are good at moderating the throttle, is a non issue. I am not talking about log jumping or Boulder hopping,but trail riding, fire roads, river fording, slush and other such stuff. Of course being able to balance the bike with both feet on the pegs at almost standstill is very important. Being comfy standing on the pegs too.

1st gear is a little more twitchy than I would like it, but can be figured out.

God, I can't wait for DS tyres. These dunlops are rubbish with the monsoons here. Pirelli MT 60 anyone.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by hiran77

Was enquiring how much can it cruze without straining the engine. Not questioning riders capabilities. only questioning machines abilities. Assuming rossi was riding it will he be screwing the engine if he is maintaining speeds of 160+ is what i was looking to know.

Oh that ways!

You can cruise all day long at 150kmph-160kmph "without straining the engine"

Now you have a task on hand to find such roads in India where you can "continuously" cruise at aforementioned speeds

[hiran77]

Thanks Mobike and Red liner!

I currently own a Duster AWD. After the Versys test ride i feel it is An avataar of Duster in 2Wheels. Similar in terms of performance and fuel efficiency and right comparison between its on road off road behaviour

[VW2010]

You can cruise all day long at 150kmph-160kmph "without straining the engine"

Forget speed. If the RPM is way below the Red line you are hardly straining the engine. Now as mobike said,is it possible to have road conditions to continuously cruise at that speed the answer is probably no.

Secondly at that speed even a car is dangerous to slow, swerve or stop. 100-130 is far easier to manage with all the electronic aids the bike comes with. The time you save is not so drastic. We have seen big bikes cruise past smaller ones to save hardly 15 minutes at the next check point.

[fiorano88]

Guys have any of of the current versys owners test driven a Hyperstrada?
I was offered a very tempting deal on a brand new red Hyper bringing it very close to the price of a versys 650 with basic accessories added that are standard on the hyperstarda.
I cant test ride the versys since the Delhi dealer i spoke to said there test bike met with an accident and is in for repairs/parts awaited.
im 6'2 and on the slimmer side so was comfortable on the hyper but cant compare to the versys so need your help.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by hiran77

Thanks Mobike and Red liner!

I currently own a Duster AWD. After the Versys test ride i feel it is An avataar of Duster in 2Wheels. Similar in terms of performance and fuel efficiency and right comparison between its on road off road behaviour

Trust me, it is as good or better than Duster suspension

Versys is meant for broken tarmac and roads. You will automatically increase speed when you see some bad stretch ahead and enjoy the feel of just gliding over it

Originally Posted by VW2010

Forget speed. If the RPM is way below the Red line you are hardly straining the engine. Now as mobike said,is it possible to have road conditions to continuously cruise at that speed the answer is probably no.

Versys does 160kmph at 8000rpm which is 2000rpm shy of redline. So it's pretty comfortable at that RPM and can stay there for long periods without stressing out the engine

Originally Posted by fiorano88

Guys have any of of the current versys owners test driven a Hyperstrada?
I was offered a very tempting deal on a brand new red Hyper bringing it very close to the price of a versys 650 with basic accessories added that are standard on the hyperstarda.
I cant test ride the versys since the Delhi dealer i spoke to said there test bike met with an accident and is in for repairs/parts awaited.
im 6'2 and on the slimmer side so was comfortable on the hyper but cant compare to the versys so need your help.

You must be kidding us or that was a typo for V1000. Hyperstrada is 11 Lakhs ex-showroom Delhi where as V650 is 7.4 OTR Delhi

[fiorano88]

Originally Posted by mobike008

You must be kidding us or that was a typo for V1000. Hyperstrada is 11 Lakhs ex-showroom Delhi where as V650 is 7.4 OTR Delhi

Nope no mistake, i meant the 650 only. if we add the cost of accesories like saddle bags and the sump guard, hand rails etc that came standard on the hyper. It will be about 9-9.5 lakhs OTR which is very close to the price im being offered for a Hyper.
Which is why i m tempted to say the least

[Dust_Harl]

Originally Posted by fiorano88

Nope no mistake, i meant the 650 only. if we add the cost of accesories like saddle bags and the sump guard, hand rails etc that came standard on the hyper. It will be about 9-9.5 lakhs OTR which is very close to the price im being offered for a Hyper.
Which is why i m tempted to say the least

Are you sure it is Hyperstrata? I am 6ft and my experience is that it looks very small for me and I was not very comfortable when I took it for a spin. Both Hypermotard and Hyperstrata looked very small for my built and height ( 6ft, 85 kgs) and my friends who test rode with me compared this to a glorified RX100 with a bigger engine.

My vote would be for Versys 650 or a better model in Ducati or Triumph range if you can stretch your budget a little.

[Urban_Nomad]

Originally Posted by fiorano88

Guys have any of of the current versys owners test driven a Hyperstrada?
I was offered a very tempting deal on a brand new red Hyper bringing it very close to the price of a versys 650 with basic accessories added that are standard on the hyperstarda.

Both these machines are extremely capable and anyone fortunate enough to buy either one will have a ton of fun, so congratulations in advance

I can however give you the following advice that might help you make a decision:

- Both are modern machines that are reliable. However, going by the feedback from various forums; the Versys is more reliable while some owners did raise some concerns around the typical Italian quirks of the multi / hyper
- Please check on the parts and regular service costs for both the Ducati and Kwacker. I am assuming Ducati will be higher, but by how much? Is the difference manageable? I recommend getting in touch with BHP-ian "Outofthebox". He owns a Scrambler and is very helpful

Hope this helps! All the best

[shan_ned]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Versys does 160kmph at 8000rpm which is 2000rpm shy of redline. So it's pretty comfortable at that RPM and can stay there for long periods without stressing out the engine

Just a small correction on the speed matching the engine RPM in the 6th gear. It should be 172Kmph@8000rpm (indicated speed should be around 176 kmph).

The power band is in the 6000 to 9000 RPM range and the engine shouldn't have any problem for a continuous cruising in that range (provided the rider has superman skills ). Having said that, one will barely be in that power band since Versys offers enough power even below that. Versys has a tall gear ratio for the top gear. With the taller gear ratio being complemented by the superb low-end/mid-range torque (even below 6000rpm), Versys has enough grunt and high speed even without entering the power band.

What I like about the 650cc ones from Kawasaki is their clever gear ratios. In comparison with other 600cc plus segment motorcycles, the lower 3 gears have shorter gear ratios and the top 3 gears have taller gear ratios. The former helps you in city commutes and the latter for relaxed cruising on highways.

[VW2010]

What I like about the 650cc ones from Kawasaki is their clever gear ratios

The gear ratios in general are similar, whats different is the power delivery in the mid range. The linear power delivery and not needed to keep pushing the RPM high above say 7 or 9k to start using that power band is what i think makes this engine very good for the touring audience. From the Dyno it does seem to have great power delivery between 4K to 7K RPM which is fantastic mid range in any gears.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by shan_ned

What I like about the 650cc ones from Kawasaki is their clever gear ratios. In comparison with other 600cc plus segment motorcycles, the lower 3 gears have shorter gear ratios and the top 3 gears have taller gear ratios. The former helps you in city commutes and the latter for relaxed cruising on highways.

Nice information. I agree that it has lovely low-end torque (but, not the mad torque rush of Bonnie-Miss that) and pulls cleanly from as low as 2000rpm which is little weird for normally high revving Kawasaki motorcycles but, is a blessing in disguise for torque lovers like me

Once you are at 5000RPM which is half-way to redline it really comes into being and the power delivery is almost brutal until 8000rpm and this is where most of us will stay during our riding so it's literally perfect.

I hate the 6th gear, like you said it's too tall and there is sense of missing power in this gear and I normally downshift to 5th to enjoy the power-rush

Overall, Versys has perfect power (maybe little less for my personal liking--wish it was atleast 90bhp-100bhp) for Indian road conditions and this is what you will need most of the time during touring our beautiful country

Lot of contradictory statements but, hey! you always wish for more in everything you have...Haha!

[VW2010]

And i think you have covered more KMS in the Versys than your previous bike . That simply shows the overall versatility of the 650 and Kawasaki has a winner in hand.

They should think about getting these manufactured locally to get more benefit via cost. Already a great buy at the current asking price and a better reliable engine and components compared to say a Ducati.

Wonderful from Kawasaki.