[noopster]

Congrats Avi! You know I'm a big fan of your vehicle (lifestyle ) choices. Can't wait to make a trip to Hyd and ride this beauty.

Mind you- I'm not a "bike guy". But this enthusiasm is contagious

I'm wary that am at that stage of life when an impulse purchase like this is not ruled out! Since Porsches are ruled out in India, a bike just might be it. Having said that, am more likely to get a relaxed cruiser than a corner-carver like you describe. I guess we won't know till I test ride this across the Tank Bund, will we!!

[ta.joseph]

Awesome review... I have been planning a bike for quite some time now. The Versys 650 looks like a great fit for me.
But, I am worried about the seat height though. I am about 5'6". Do you think it would be a challenge for me?

[Oreen]

welcome to kawasaki
I thought I will move to Triumph Bonneville Street Twin from the ER6n, because of the height. But the Versys is a perfect bike for tall people like you.

[abhinav.s]

Congrats on the bike Avi. Very detailed and well written review. Wishing you many more miles on the bike.
To some of the posts on the Saree guard, are you still on Temp registration due to which you have retained it and waiting for the registration formalities to complete before getting rid of it? And Navin made a hilarious point of carrying your grill!! Hideous looking guard that!

[mobike008]

I knew it that there would be plenty of comments on saree guard..LOL!

Originally Posted by vinair

Is that a saree guard!!! man! you should get rid of it now!!

Originally Posted by theroadrunner

I think it was quite adventurous of you to have added that Saree Guard on the bike

Originally Posted by emperorofindia

Aren't you itching to remove that ugly saree guard? Looks very out of place.

Thanks for your wishes guys. Let me ask you all one question? Who in their right mind would install a saree guard (and, that too with such gigantic proportion) on a motorcycle of this nature? No one..right?

It's there because it is a mandate for it to be installed on all bikes for registration purpose

Originally Posted by navin

Oh that's what that is! Given Avi's penchant for kebabs I figured he was carrying around his own grill.

You know my weakness for good food...This kept me in splits as I was imagining it in real sense. Imagine carrying your BBQ grille during long distance touring.

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

To some of the posts on the Saree guard, are you still on Temp registration due to which you have retained it and waiting for the registration formalities to complete before getting rid of it? And Navin made a hilarious point of carrying your grill!! Hideous looking guard that!

Thanks Abhinav. Your the only one who got the real purpose of the guard

It will be off the bike the moment the bike is registered. So another two painful weeks to handle such queries

P.S: Will respond to other posts little later as terribly busy at work. Just peeped in for a short while. Thank you !!!

[Haroon]

As usual a wonderful ownership thread you have started here Avi and double congrats on that. Honestly, Kawasaki can just guide those sitting on the fence for the V650 to your thread and they will have a confirmed sale

Ride safe & wish you many many enjoyable rides on the Dark Knight.

[killjoy]

While you are thinking of taking the saree guard off, I would recommend that you check with the showroom about the price and availability of the grab rail that replaces this on the bike. There is another discussion going on somewhere else about the availability and some confusion on price as well with the dealer quoting around 6k for it!!!

[Latheesh]

Congrats on your new Versys!

That saree guard looks like it will help to prevent sarees of whole neighborhood from getting tangled.

[Shivanshu]

A beautiful intro of Versys 650 and a big Congrats for having this sweet Bike in your Garage now. This motorcycle is a beauty and as said it is definitely one VFM And I can see that you have already started enjoying it to the max.

How did it perform in No - Tarmac conditions when you rode her?

Any upgrades you plan to do on this bike?

[Ricci]

Congratulations on the Verysys, Avi - wish you many miles and years of happy riding!
Superb thread and review, and reminds me of something my own threads lack - great pictures, because a picture is worth a 1000 words!

Question: is there a main stand, whether standard or optional ?

[Sting]

Congrats Avi, a wonderful thread as always! I'm sure it will help a lot of potential owners to take a decision, the Black Bruiser thread sure did. Many miles of happy and safe riding.

Cheers!
Sting

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by Ricci

Question: is there a main stand, whether standard or optional ?

There's a main stand that is after market from sw motech if I am not mistaken.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by mobike008

However, I'm still not happy with sound when downshifting and it makes a rather loud CLUNK when say downshifting from 6th gear to 5th. Any tips???

Try blipping when you are going down the 'box.

Hard to get used to but once accustomed, you simply can't do w/o it. Heck, I try [muscle memory] to do this in a scooty as well.

This video

is actually nice.

My style of gear-shifting is to quickly upshift till 3rd and then wait for speed to pick up and then pull hard from 3rd gear onwards. I never revv hard in 1st and 2nd gear in all my vehicles. I'm a torque slave

Nice. In my humble 250, I have the liberty to redline till 2nd gear almost daily on public roads.

Please do check in gear speeds once you complete the running-in and do update.

[v12]

Congrats Avi!!! Finally get to see the much awaited review. Good to see that you are really enjoying riding the bike - and I can see that in the standing pics. I guess there are more pics of you standing on the bike that sitting.

I would echo everyones opinion on removing the saree guard - but yes, please do it after completing all the formalities. I don't know what others feel - but I find the saree guard too huge and dangerous (especially if you are off-roading). There are huge chances of the saree guard hitting a stone and causing the bike to lose control.

I like your helmet too - matches the bike. So what other mods have you planned for the Versys?

[petrolhead_neel]

Superb thread Avi Sir! Have been following your purchase since quite some time. Congrats on bringing home the Dark Knight. She looks stunning for sure. Some very nice frames too!

The Versys 650 is a brilliant bike. The 650 twin from Kawasaki is a gem. The suspension mated with the same makes this package awesome. Waiting for a more comprehensive report of the engine once it runs in.

I wonder why people would still buy the N650, given our roads, and the many factors where the Versys excels, other than pricing.

Neel