Quick ride: Kawasaki Versys 650
Successful men — and most women — have a particular common trait: they can multitask rather well. They’re able to maintain and follow through on different tasks in differing contexts without dropping the ball or, often, breaking a sweat. This author, however, is not a successful man and by accident of birth, not a woman either. I am a single-tasker, buy mostly blue shirts and own two motorcycles, one of which rots steadily while the other is used daily. Because I can’t be bothered to maintain two motorcycles, my primary ride does most things well. Sound like something you’d be interested in? Then the Kawasaki Versys 650 is for you.
Ever since the original Kawasaki ER-6n naked came out in the international market a decade ago, I’ve considered it an ideal bike for Indian conditions. It took a fair while to get here, but the current generation Ninja 650 does deliver on that promise in many ways. It’s reasonably fast, flashy and cheap to cater to a wide swathe of potential buyers. You don’t see as many as you’d think on the streets, which I suspect is down to the heady aspirations of potential superbike buyers: they want something sexier. Sound familiar? Then the Versys 650 is not for you.
Based on the same Ninja 650 platform that underpins the ER-6n naked bike as well, the Versys 650 is a taller, heavier, more upright motorcycle with a re-tuned (shared) parallel twin motor and a key differentiator: adjustable front forks, in the form of Showa’s excellent SFF units. If you compare the feature list of a bog-standard Ninja 650 and the Versys 650, you’re not going to see many extra checkboxes. It’s something that you’ll find is a common source of complaint across online fora as well. At Rs 7.35 lac on road in Mumbai, the Versys is Rs 1.2 lac more expensive than its Ninja sibling and apart from a different visual stance, there’s little to evidence where that extra money went. It doesn’t help that the motor is down about 2bhp on the Ninja while making the same amount of torque. In the trump card game of potential big bike ownership, the Versys 650 doesn’t make a good case for itself.
In some sense, the Versys 650 may end up being the biggest open secret in the Indian motorcycle market, because it’s nothing short of a revelation on the move. Let’s start with the motor: while it is down on power, one must understand that horsepower numbers are meaningless unless you’re chasing quarter-mile times, and are rarely a realistic indicator of performance on the street. Torque is more important; perhaps this is why manufacturers such as Harley-Davidson and now Triumph, will quote Nm figures, but not hp. The way the Versys delivers its torque is the fun bit of the motor. It’s almost electric, with lots of poke available straight off idle. As long as you’re in a reasonable gear, twisting the throttle delivers an immediate surge of forward motion that is smooth, accessible and exhilarating in unison. This is not scare-you-witless acceleration we’re talking about, but the motorcycle feels so perfectly composed and in control that the result is that you can ride this bike in traffic like a 216kg RX100 with seven times the power. Seriously! We’re talking about KTM 390-rivalling urban chops.
But it’s not just the motor that’s at play here. There’s more magic ahead of those two cylinders in the form of those 41mm adjustable forks. These are Separate Function Forks, which in this case means preload is adjusted on the left fork leg, while rebound is adjusted on the right. We didn’t adjust a thing on our test ride, and assuming the previous tester didn’t either, the suspension is near perfect as delivered. This makes a phenomenal difference even on the street. One may not consider many of the roads on our local commute “bad”, but poor leveling, paver blocks, gravel, oil and debris make for hard work for a bike’s suspension. If you’re constantly hunting for the smoothest line through potentially disastrous surfaces — as I am — you’re not enjoying the ride and are usually going much slower than you could be.
This is simply not a problem with the Versys 650. You can bash through all manner of rutted tarmac, potholes and speed bumps with such little drama that it will surprise you. Even the preload-only adjustable rear spring does an admirable job in keeping the rider’s bum on the seat and kidneys undamaged. If the going gets really rough, you can just stand up on the pegs and let the Versys 650 surprise you again. Ergonomics seemed spot-on for my 5’9” featherweight frame. Once up on the pegs, your knees lock perfectly into the recesses in the tank, and the handlebar has enough rise to be a comfortable reach from above. Coupled with the smooth, predictable throttle and power delivery of the motor, I found myself standing high up on the bike, making rapid progress, taking in the scenery. Perhaps quite a bit longer than necessary.
Technically an adventure-tourer, it follows that rider and passenger accommodations will follow this intent. The Versys 650 has a stepped seat, but it’s not canted forward so much that there’s unintended sexual contact at every application of the brakes. The seats themselves are generously wide and cushioned, and despite the relative plushness, we didn’t detect any discomfort after a full, hot day of riding. The handlebars and footpegs are also very comfortable placed, and we’d expect this to be a good bike to do 1000km days on. The adjustable windshield is very effective, but must be adjusted by two knobs from the front. The Versys 650 in India does not come with standard hard panniers as does the international LT model, but they are an optional extra for local customers. They’re cleverly designed and slot into two recesses in the side of the rear subframe for a secure luggage system. A top box is also available. Fully kitted-out, this should make for an excellent short-range tourer and there’s enough exposed subframe for lots of bungee points in case you want to strap stuff to the rear seat.
Before you begin making plans for the invariable trip to Ladakh, know that the Versys 650 does wear street tyres, designed primarily for tarmac. Our test bike had a well-used pair of hoops, and I found the front to be sensitive on anything but perfect road. If you’re going to the hills where there are unpaved roads, you might consider a slightly off-road bias tyre. On good tarmac, the Dunlop tyres held well and the Versys holds a line perfectly around a corner. It is a bit top-heavy so moderate-speed sweepers are better than slamming the bike from side-to-side. It’s also worth noting that while the motor does generate torque low in the rev range, it is not enough for you to be lazy and chug the bike in a higher gear, particularly with a pillion. This is also India Kawasaki Motors’ first ABS bike assembled in India. Twin 300mm front discs are clamped on by traditionally-mounted calipers, providing adequate braking. We had no hairy moments coming to a stop.
In terms of gizmos and extras: kindly excuse. The Versys 650 is very bare. Not bare in a minimalist, sexy way as with all the various scramblers out there, but bare in the you-get-what-you-pay-for way. The console is a throwback to the time when Cindy Crawford was a young woman, with an analog tachometer and digital display just below. Don’t know who Cindy Crawford is? Ask your dad. The saving grace is that the display does the standard things you’d need: two trip meters, projected range, time and a proper fuel gauge instead of just a “you’re screwed now” telltale light in a certain Italian bike I could name but won’t.
It’s all very practical. Like a vegetarian NRI software engineer. He plays sports, is respectful of elders and will be a good father to his kids. But a sexy bad-boy he isn’t. But he works in Google and makes more in a month than you do in a year, so shut the hell up! The Versys 650 does not have sex appeal, and if that’s important to you, look elsewhere. Do you have spiky hair, wear chappals and shades while riding your Hayabusa to the paanwallah? Don’t buy this bike. Also, let me know in advance so I can avoid said panwallah. The Versys does many things very well, but it doesn’t attract as much attention as a “big” bike can be expected to. It’s also very quiet, so revving at a red light will get you as many eyeballs as the Honda Unicorn next to you.
Two-stroke motorcycles of old had a “powerband” — a place in the rev range where they made much of their power. It was easy to get addicted to that sudden rush of speed, but it didn’t necessarily mean you were getting places faster than the four-strokers. The Versys 650 is a bike without a powerband, literally and figuratively. Taken individually, none of its characteristics deliver a visceral punch to the gut, but they come together well to create more than the sum of their parts. Together, the package makes for a true multipurpose motorcycle. Be the psychotic rickshawallah of your dreams in traffic, or the continent-crossing loner on a quest to find him/herself during downtime carefully-negotiated with the spouse. The fun lies beyond the spec sheet.
Originally published at ThrillOfDriving.com on February 11, 2016.
