Versys 1000

Well I had me a test ride on Thursday morning, spent about 1 hour 45 mins out in the rain but it did stop although the roads stayed wet/damp.

WOW! What a storming motor! I did a mixed run, M4 motorway, A48 dual carriage way, A40 up to Llandeilo and a few minor B roads and I enjoyed every minute of it!

I played with the screen height, (I'm 6'2"), and I really couldn't notice much difference. It is actually quieter than my Pan with regard to wind noise. It is comfy, more room for my legs than the Pan and not too much less weather protection.

The bike accelerates rather well and just to be cruel, I let the road speed drop down to 25mph in 6th through one village and it just pulled away like a train. Kawasaki seem to have got the fueling spot on, no snatchiness when going from closed to open throttle, just smooth creamy pull all the way.

I wasn't able to push the handling in the twisties, but the steering seems nice and light and the suspension, although firm, seems to soak up the worst that our roads can throw at it. I don't know what the comics are on about when they made comments about the forks and front end being vague, it seemed fine for my needs!

The bike I rode had done over 4k miles including being a support bike for a charity run from Land's End to John o'Groats, and I am pretty sure it had not had preferential treatment. It looks as though the finish was holding out with no signs of corrosion from a 12 reg bike unlike some other makes, (Yamaha Super 10 anyone?), that I have seen.

You might gather that I am pretty impressed, and I certainly am! One thing I did find a little lacking was the braking, it is not as good as my Pan and the Pan has a whole lot more weight to pin down too. No doubt, time and familiarity and a set of s/s braided hoses might help but that was about the only negative that I found with the rear brake being particularly weak in my opinion and I am very much a front brake rider using the rear to steady and stabilize.

Oh yes, just one other thing...... Why oh why don't they paint it Kawasaki Green?

Yes, the colours and general ugliness put me off going for a test ride. I have ridden a Z1000SX and agree the motor is lovely.

I recently visited Frasers in Gloucester and they still have a Versys demo bike as nobody will buy it! They don't help themselves by parking it next to the new Caponord demo bike. I know which one I will be blagging a ride on when my S10 goes in for a service...

I have had a V 650 the last five years and it has done 33000 trouble free miles. Quite a few of my V650 friends have upgraded to the V1000 and been impressed. The engine is outstanding and the handling and brakes are very good. There have been some comments about the front forks being the weakest area but it doesn't show up with most riders. There are no problem areas like there are with most of the European built big adventure bikes. And they represent great value for money. The down side is the look which is an acquired taste. I like the look of the more recent models, especially the orange and black, but the early colours did not do much for me.

Overall - you get a lot of bike for your money and Kawasaki make bullet proof bikes.

Its a pity they don't offer an 's' version in the line up at say £2000 premium with lots of goodies. As it is its a great bike but too low spec

I quite liked it, it handled really well for me but there as no way I could buy one though not if I was to keep hold of my license ..... !

Ugliest bike of the modern era

V4 TRV said:

Ugliest bike of the modern era

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Whilst I couldn't possibly align myself with such an effete observation, it does remind me of the Bimota Mantra for some reason......

Might be a good bike but boy is it ugly!

Same reason I didn't buy a R1200ST nice bike to ride though

Yeah, the Bimota Is an ugly old spud and the Versys reminds me of Kryton from Red Dwarf but ugly bike comments on a GS forum.... Sort of pot and kettle situation isn't it? lol

longdog said:

It looks as though the finish was holding out with no signs of corrosion from a 12 reg bike unlike some other makes, (Yamaha Super 10 anyone?), that I have seen

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My Super Ten is looking good at two years old and 12k on the clock, started of life as a dealer demo and has been used year round by myself. Only issue with finish is spokes - easily replaced, but mine are fine (a lot comes down to how the bike is looked after)

Kawasaki build quality is nowhere near the Yamaha standards, although I am sure opinion will be very divided on this point.

I know several people who have bought the big Versys and they all love them, a fantastic all round machine at a great price point.

I also really like the 650 Versys, but having just bought a 2009 ER6F with 7k on the clock I can confirm the Mrs 2005 V-Strom with 30k on the clock has far less corrosion so I am not overly impressed with the Kwak build quality, and the little Suzuki looks and feels far more robust.

My mates Triumph Explorer is less than a year old and suffering more than my Yamaha (with 1/4 of the miles on the clock and was ACF'd whenever I did my Yamaha) and has recently had a new FD assembly under warranty due to corrosion!

All bikes need a fair amount of TLC to keep them nice, in the next few weeks all three of the bikes cluttering my garage will be getting the ACF-50 treatment again.

Hi rasher, I really like the Super 10, yes I have heard of the issue with the spokes but never actually seen it. What I was referring to was the state of the exhausts and nuts and bolts where the exhaust meets the cylinder head.
Every one that I have seen looks horrendous with the bolts badly corroded. For the record, the rest of the bikes that I have seen looks really well finished and I do really like the S10, it was just that I felt the finish in that vulnerable area appeared below parr compared to the rest of the bike.

My headers are mint - or they were when I put them in the loft after fitting the Arrows

My spokes have some slight tarnishing now, but I cannot be arsed to clean / dry them every time the bike gets wet which I think would be the only way to keep them mint - plus easy enough to swap them for better items after a few years.

I think nearly all bikes have utterly shite headers, the ones on my ER6F are pretty crap considering age / mileage and my mates Triumph ones were looking very second-hand before 1000 miles.

On my recent "budget bike" shopping spree a re-occurring theme was rotten zorts.

Hard to look after as ACF / WD40 etc burns off almost right away.

All my Kawasaki's (seven of them) had very little paint on the wheels, I had several re-painted which also made them much easier to keep clean.

Modern paint is not so good either, the old environmentally unfriendly paints seemed far less prone to scratches and chips, most people live with such wear on a car, but expect their bikes to remain showroom shiny.

I now have lower expectations and think that re-painting wheels / replacing spokes after a few years is OK, and that a bi-annual ACF-50 assault is a must on any bike even if you only ride in summer.

I have had zero success with painting alloy wheels (cars and bikes). Only powder coat has worked for me. I prefer gloss because its easier to keep looking good. Ive also found it hardly any more costly than paint.

Ref the rusty Yamaha header nuts - are they still using the zinc plated hex socket nuts? The zinc burns off and weather gets into the threads. I replaced the lot with stainless dome nuts. No weather problem and no more rust.

The aftermarket stainless headers I put on my Yamaha were very quickly looking dull and corroded though it cleaned off so probably just a thick tarnish. Better quality pipes like Remus just get a nice ocre patina.

My GSA wire wheels are going to be stripped refinished and rebuilt. The hubs will be gloss black powder coat. Ive not yet decided if the rims are best powder coated or anodised.

Regarding stainless steel headers or indeed any polished stainless steel surface, I have found MAAS metal polish to be the best thing ever!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&...vptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=t&ref=pd_sl_2kny1otf34_b

Mate has one and loves it to bits.

Bendy toy said:

I have had zero success with painting alloy wheels (cars and bikes). Only powder coat has worked for me. I prefer gloss because its easier to keep looking good. Ive also found it hardly any more costly than paint.

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The gloss finish is what I go for, and a decent thick layer so crap cannot stick, modern wheels have virtually no paint, although I think BMW wheels are better than most Japs for paint thickness on wheels.

I have used paint as a mate is a sprayer, results have always been good, but I think preparation is everything, agree that costs are probably similar for powder coat is you're not getting "mate rates", well worth the effort, even more so on chain drive bikes.