KAWASAKI'S Versys adventure machine has been overlooked by many riders in the middleweight adventure market but it shouldn't be. With a flexible and grunty 650 twin providing power, and suspension designed to cope for exactly the roads that proliferate in Australia, the Versys is a real rider's machine, and one which should be on your short list if you are looking into that segment of the market, or even if you just want a versatile street bike.

On the stand

Most people would describe the looks as being somewhat 'quirky', but then again so is every other bike the Versys is in competition with. New for 2010 on the styling front is a stacked dual headlight arrangement, a larger three-position screen, a redesigned front fender radiator shroud and a new-look muffler.

Overall it looks much the same as the outgoing model, with a few updates. The heart of the bike is of course the 650cc parallel twin cylinder engine, taken from Kawasaki's popular ER6-n. With 64hp it's no rocket ship but weighing only 209kg with a full tank it doesn't have to have 100hp to perform well. Liquid-cooling makes sure the engine keeps a cool head, and ensuring fuel delivery is spot on no matter how high you are is the Keihin fuel injection system with twin 38mm throttle bodies.

Six-speed gearbox and chain drive complete the fairly basic package. One of the strong points of the Versys is its long travel suspension. With 41mm forks which have rebound and preload adjustment, and a side-mounted rear shock which also has rebound damping (13 steps) and preload adjustment. The brakes are simple enough: twin 300mm petal discs and dual-piston calipers do duty at the front, while a single-piston caliper does likewise down the back.
There's no trick alloy chassis here, a steel semi-double cradle is used to attach everything to.

On the road

When you first climb on board the Versys you will notice the tall seat height. For us it wasn't a problem but we can see it being an issue for those vertically challenged. Kawasaki probably thinks it must be a prerequisite for this class but it doesn't have to be.
That's no reason to strike the Versys from your list though, it's easy enough to get the seat scalloped out. It has a very comfy riding position and controls fall straight to hand.

The three position adjustable screen is in direct response to criticisms of wind buffeting, as is the redesigned rubber engine mounts to counter complaints of excess vibration from the engine.
We can't specifically remember the previous model being bad in those areas but it certainly doesn't look as though Kawasaki's engineers have gone backwards on those two fronts.
Firing up the engine releases a throaty note from the exhaust, and even though the engine might 'only' produce 64 ponies, they are free range ponies.

There's no denying this engine likes to rev, and if sportsbike hunting on a windy bumpy road is high on your list of priorities then the Versys won't disappoint.
If you are serious about checking out adventure roads on the Versys you will be pleasantly surprised.
The bike's main competition is the 650 Vstrom, which is a very popular bike and rightly so.

In our opinion it is popular mainly for its V-twin engine and comfortable riding position rather than its off road prowess. Sure, it's fine on fire trails and the like but when the going gets really tough it is out of its depth.
So is the Versys, it's in many ways more adventure in style than real ability, but it will cope very well with dirt roads, fire trails and of course the bumpy crap roads we live with.
For that it is excellent, in more of a sporty package than its competition, feels nimbler and lighter, and as said before has an engine which likes to rev.

If open road adventure touring is your bag and you want to sit on 140 plus, with some dirt stuff thrown in, you may be better served looking at bigger capacity machines, but in the tighter stuff the Versys is awesome fun.

Our verdict

It's hard not to like the Versys. True it is a basic machine if you look at the specs sheet only, but in the real world it is a very well rounded bike.
The looks will polarize people, as do many bikes, and it did so in our office.
Whether you like the styling or not, an exciting and adventurous machine lurks beneath the fairing panels. It's cracking good value too.  

To get another opinion on the Versys we sent it away for a weekend with a friend of ours, Jeffrey Bagshaw. Jeffrey is a Canadian who has spent much of the last decade in Japan, including some time racing in the national superbike championship.
Even though much of Jeffrey's recent riding experience has been centred around 1000cc sportsbikes we thought it would be interesting to see what he thought of the Versys.

"To be honest I found it a bit lacking in horsepower on the big straights on Thunderbolt's Way," said Jeffrey. "When we got to the twisty stuff, and backroads it all made sense. Not only does the Versys have a good spread of power, it likes to rev, so you can have lots of fun in the corners. Not only that, it handles very well, much better than I expected a bike like this to handle," he added. "It also soaks up the potholes and bumps extremely well. In Japan the roads are generally much better than in Australia, so a bike like this makes perfect sense for your conditions."