[avinashsg]

Congrats indrokneel.
Very inspiring write up.
Happy Miles ahead.

[indrokneel]

6000 up and second service due

So the 5500 km mark came up around December end and coincidentally around the 6 months anniversary and just in time for the second service. I had booked my appointment at Aurum Kawasaki for 23rd Dec at 9.15 am and was right on time. Bhavneet and Dayaram ji were in the service centre on time and after the usual formalities of creating the job card, Juggernaut was in for his wash and then service.

I was pleasantly surprised that Aurum had upgraded to a foam wash from the earlier clinic plus and even the chain was given a good scrub using a combination of water, diesel and Motul chain cleaner and a grunge brush till it was shining new.

This time the agenda behind the visit was two fold
1.To get Juggernaut serviced for the upcoming 3000+km ride in January & more importantly

2.To understand how to dismantle and assemble the bike along with some added gyaan on the electricals of the Versys. (So that I could fix the second round of accessories on my own & save on the exorbitant labor charges for the same.)

The Service

1. Oil

Second service does not usually warrant an oil change rather just an oil top up. I still ended up getting the oil changed (this time I used Motul 7100 instead of the 300v). The OEM oil filter costs 730 and needs to be changed with every service, the K&N costs 1290 (on amazon) is sturdier and does a better job at filtering the muck. So I plan to get a K&N 303 installed at the third service.
Cost
Oil – 1458/-
Oil Filter - 730/-
Labour – 283/- for oil filling +283/- for changing oil filter

2. Air Filter

Air filter was cleaned and it made me wish that K&N releases a filter for the v650 soon. I am now more hopeful than ever as the same air filter model/sku will be common between the Z650 , Ninja 650, Vulcan S and Versys 650 so more incentive for K&N to come out with this design soon.
Labor cost – 991/- (Damn)

3. The other odd jobs

a. Chain - Slack adjustment, clean & Lube. (Labor cost – 283+118+118)

b. Brake shoes - Check (front at about 70% and rear at about 60%)

c. Coolant – Check (level was ok)

d. Clutch assembly – check (Labor cost – 141)

e. Washing & Polish – Labor cost – 413 +118

Kawasaki seriously needs to reprice its labor charges. This almost borders on daylight robbery. Had it not been the question of maintaining the warranty, I would have serviced juggernaut myself.

The total bill for the service came to around 6407 including labour and parts and a relay.

[indrokneel]

The Accessorizing saga

I had been meaning to add-on a few accessories at the second service but the 1400+ taxes per hour labor charges was just too much for my DIY attitude. But to do the same work myself, I needed to understand the electricals and had to learn how to dismantle and reassemble the fairings and head lamp.

So here is a ready reckoner for the Versys newbies with a DIY attitude and a fetish for electrical accessories.

Gyaan for the day!!!

Electricals

Versys 650 – 2017 has three ready to use points (2 sets of bullet connector and one set of sealed series connector) for electrical accessories.
- 1 no’s under the headlamp
- 2 no’s under the left fairing

To activate these 3 points, one needs a relay which is to be plugged into the relay socket under the headlamp fairing. The OEM relay costs 1470/- while the sasta jugaad is a maruti 800 ac fan relay at 1/10th the cost. Versys owners have successfully used the Maruti relay and I would have too if I could get it on time. But since the Kawasaki oem was available, I decided to go ahead with it.

I think the three points were meant for
a. Aux lights
b. Heated grip
c. Power port (12V or USB)

The 5A fuse already in the accessory slot in the fuse box somehow tells us that the oem wiring harness is designed to support 60W of accessory load.

Accessories

Aux light mount from Sri – 1200/-
Handle bar risers from Sri – 1500/-
Aux light (3000/-) switch (450/-), led pilot lamps (200/-) and Led headlight bulbs(1600/-) from Aliexpress.

The next weekend was dedicated to juggernaut’s accessory installation and I called over my local mechanic to help me with it.

1. Led headlamp bulbs – Versys uses a pair of H7’s but please take note of the different types of led headlamp bulbs available in the market. Some of them come with a fan at the end for heat dissipation and one needs to be careful while fitting this particular variant. The bulb fits like a glove but fitting the rubber cover needs a little patience as the fan protrudes out the back and is a tight fit for the rubber cap. A few versys owners had taken a short cut and made a hole in the rubber cap to accommodate the fan only to later regret the dust which seeps in through the hole and makes the entire headlamp assembly dusty. A little bit of nudging and the rubber cap fits as well.

P.S. – the replacement cost of a single rubber cap is 3000/- so please think twice before making a hole in them.

Review – It’s a sea of difference when it comes to the stock headlamps versus these beauties. The headlamps need a little focus adjustment after this change (I don’t understand why though).

2. Pilot lamps – Versys uses a pair of T10 lamps in the pilot lamp socket. These were easy for install for my mechanic as you need smallish hands to access the socket.

Review – I actually liked the stock yellow pilot lamps better but prefer the white led headlamps over the stock bulbs. The combination of yellow pilot and white headlamps looked a bit odd so I decided to go ahead with the white led pilots.

3. The aux lights mount and the aux lights took the maximum time. The mount fits on the same screws on which the windscreen does and looks sturdy. It also comes with an additional bar which can be used to mount a mobile holder. The positioning of this bar is good so that the rider wont have to take his eyes off the road to look at a map on his gps/mobile and at the same time the mobile/gps does not obstruct the road view of the rider.

4. The wiring – As you plug in the relay, the three electrical accessory points come to life. They work in tandem with the ignition and are active only when the ignition is set to on. As I was using the electrical point under the windscreen, the wires supplied with the aux lights and the switch were enough to form connections and no splicing or extra wires were required.

As I mentioned earlier, there is a much cheaper relay available ( the maruti 800 ac fan relay) and versys owners have used it successfully.

5. The aux lamp – These are a pair of 20w led with a combination of flood and spot design. I found the fusion of these aux lights along with the led headlamp bulb change enough for my level of night riding which is usually a couple of hours into sundown or before sunrise.

I have often seen fellow bikers opting for an overkill when it comes to lights and although the illumination looks amazing to the rider, I don’t think the oncoming traffic feels the same way.

An interesting feature of these aux lamps are the built in usb ports which supply a cool 2A enough to charge my gopro and phone on the go. A little bit of tinkering was needed with the connections so that the usb ports function even when the aux lamps are switched off.

The switch blends into the handlebar and also lights up as soon as its switched on. The build and design are of good quality. The switches are also available in same design with 2-3 switches in case you want to install multiple accessories.

6. The handlebar risers – Another product of Shri. It raises the handlebar by about 25 mm and makes the riding posture a little more comfortable. The installation is as easy as removing and tightening 4 nuts. In the couple of short rides that I have done after the installation, the arms and elbows were in a slightly more relaxed posture and lesser impacts on the shoulders as I was able to bend my elbows a bit as compared to straight arms on the stock setting. The handlebar risers also come into play when one wants to stand and ride while on trails or potholed roads.
Another product which compliments the handlebar risers is the foot peg lowering kit. (I have them but haven’t installed them yet.. too lazy I guess). With the help of this kit the foot pegs can be lowered by around 33 mm and this combined with handlebar risers makes the ride even plusher. The fit and finish of the risers and footpeg lowering kit is A+ like the rest of shri’s work.

Will post more on these after the ride.

Wish list

a. MRA VarioTouringScreen Windshield
b. Rear tyre hugger
c. Centre stand
d. rear strobe lights
e. Helmet Bluetooth set[/i]

[Mudcat]

Hey, I have been eagerly following your posts as I am also going to book the Versys 650 by May. Your posts have been very well written and informative. Thank you.

Appreciate if you could share the details of the Versys Watsapp group as I would like to start hogging some accessories for the upcoming purchase.

[indrokneel]

Originally Posted by Mudcat

Hey, I have been eagerly following your posts as I am also going to book the Versys 650 by May. Your posts have been very well written and informative. Thank you.

Appreciate if you could share the details of the Versys Watsapp group as I would like to start hogging some accessories for the upcoming purchase.

Hi Mudcat

Thank you for your kind words and all the very best for your new baby.

Please share your name and number on pm. I shall forward the same to the admin.

[Mudcat]

Originally Posted by indrokneel

Hi Mudcat

Thank you for your kind words and all the very best for your new baby.

Please share your name and number on pm. I shall forward the same to the admin.

I am unable to send you a PM, you to allow that in settings.

[indrokneel]

send me you no on indraneelsarkar@gmail.com will fwd it to the admin.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by Mudcat

I am unable to send you a PM, you to allow that in settings.

Originally Posted by indrokneel

send me you no on indraneelsarkar@gmail.com will fwd it to the admin.

Indrokneel cannot send or receive PM as he is still a newbie.

And this status changes after he completes 25 posts and after which you both can interact on PM

[Traveller Nayak]

Hi Indrokneel, I am planning to get a versys 650 for myself.

I have a TB500 at present.

Any suggestions / guidance on the bike and booking process with the dealer?

Did you upgrade the headlamp and get the strobe light?

Many thanks. Nayak

[indrokneel]

Hi Nayak,

Congratulations on your decision to upgrade to this wonderful machine. I had myself upgraded from a classic 500 to the V and though i still own and love the classic, this is a dream machine. The reliability, the power, the smoothness, the riding posture, the comfort, no vibrations, amazing fuel economy, low maintenance cost (when compared to other superbikes) and finally as the name suggests, the verstality. You will be comfortable taking it on 1000 km days as well as the short run to the market or daily office commute hence the thread name - "everyday superbike".

The booking process is fairly simple and uniform around the country. The dealer usually takes 50k for booking and rest before registration and delivery. Waiting time differs from dealer to dealer and city to city.

One of the most memorable experiences of owning a superbike is the unboxing and predelivery inspection. I have mentioned in the thread earlier about the predelivery inspection done by me, ypu can either follow that or read up on tbhp forums on PDI's. More than enough ink has been spent on that. Better to take a biker friend along for the PDI as in your excitement and over enthusiasm you tend to oversee a few important aspects so having a lesser enthu cutlet definitely helps.

You can opt for a RSA program being offered by kawasaki currently. The deal seems vfm and quite comprehensive and in case you plan to use the bike extensively for long rides, i suggest you go for the rsa.

On lights and other accessories, there is a whatsapp group VIR (versys india riders) where we have over 200 versys owners from all over the country and keep discussing everything related to the V and a little more. Please let me know once you get your machine, i'll ask the admins to add you. There also quite a few city based versys groups where people get together and organize rides etc. The biggest ones are in bangalore and mumbai i think.

Again congratulations on your decision and hope to burn some rubber with you on the highway.

Cheers

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by indrokneel

Congratulations on your decision to upgrade to this wonderful machine. I had myself upgraded from a classic 500 to the V and though i still own and love the classic, this is a dream machine. The reliability, the power, the smoothness, the riding posture, the comfort, no vibrations, amazing fuel economy, low maintenance cost (when compared to other superbikes) and finally as the name suggests, the verstality. You will be comfortable taking it on 1000 km days as well as the short run to the market or daily office commute hence the thread name - "everyday superbike"

Indraneel, I'm impressed with your description of the Versys.

I think you have nailed it !!

If i was moderator on Wikipedia, I would incorporated the above as the description of what exactly is a Versys 650

[Traveller Nayak]

Originally Posted by indrokneel

Hi Nayak,

Waiting time differs from dealer to dealer and city to city.

Better to take a biker friend along for the PDI as in your excitement and over enthusiasm you tend to oversee a few important aspects so having a lesser enthu cutlet definitely helps.

You can opt for a RSA program being offered by kawasaki currently. The deal seems vfm and quite comprehensive and in case you plan to use the bike extensively for long rides, i suggest you go for the rsa.

On lights and other accessories,

Again congratulations on your decision and hope to burn some rubber with you on the highway.

Cheers

I should have mentioned, I am based at Delhi and planning to go to the one you bought your bike from. Yes, I will have friends (all Bhpians) join for the PDI and unboxing. Thanks for the RSA input.

most important question: how much is the waiting

[indrokneel]

There are two dealers in Delhi now so you can check with both of them on the waiting period. I got mine from aurum kawasaki in chattarpur. The other one is in mayapuri or naraina. I dont think waiting time should be too long for the versys considering the way new owners are getting added to the Versys India Riders group.

[Dodge_Viper]

Originally Posted by indrokneel

Aux light (3000/-) switch (450/-), led pilot lamps (200/-) and Led headlight bulbs(1600/-) from Aliexpress.

Do you have link handy for these aux lights? And output pics if possible?

[indrokneel]

Originally Posted by Dodge_Viper

Do you have link handy for these aux lights? And output pics if possible?

Hi, i bought these aux lights from Karol Bagh in Delhi. Output is good and compliments the headlamps well. I find the illumination enough for my early morning to late evening rides. (i dont ride much at night time).