Reviews of Kawasaki Versys 650 [2017-2018]

I got the bike in feb 2018, it costed me about rs. 7.9 lacs and the meter right now shows 19,306 km. I have taken it to delhi - ladakh, udaipur, indore. The performance of the bike is exceptional. The low end is decent but the mid range is where it shines. The bike easily gives you the confidence to ride till 180 kmph. No strong vibrations of any sort even at high speeds. The acceleration is quite punchy.In city riding especially in traffic heating is a issue but again that is a problem with most of the bikes of this caliber. Talking about mileage 22-26 kmpl on highways whereas for city 16-18 kmpl is what i get.Looks, though a personal preference but for me it goes good. Looks quite sporty and easily justifies its price.Seating comfort is exceptional. I have done 1200 km at a stretch without any problem. Also the seat is very comfortable for the pillion as well. But for people shorter than 5'8'' it would be quite a tedious job to handle this bike as its seat height is quite high due to the extra ground clearance.Suspension gives you the option to adjust the preload and rebound times on front and only preload on rear. And on factory settings itself they are superb. Absorb almost every bump and lead you a very comfortable ride.Brakes are very effective, no complains there. Abs works as expected. My brake pads lasted for about 15000km which is quite good according to me.If you are in tier 1 cities availability of accessories and spare parts won't be a problem but you might have to hassle in tier 2 cities or towns. Even there i'd say they are on the expensive side.Regular service cost is around 6-8k without any major part replacement.The plastic quality is quite disappointing. Especially the fairing seem to be built of not so tough material.The headlights are simply there for a show but are of no actual use. I'd say you cannot ride on highways with these lights. So lights are a must upgrade. Offroading capabilities are decent for offroading once in a while but definitely not built for extreme offroading. And in offroading the suspension adjustments do help a lot.The instrument cluster is quite good and loaded with ton of useful features and information like cruising range, current & average mileage, lap time etc. So the major cons are mainly the lights, spare parts and the plastic quality. Rest everything is pro.Verdict: this is easily one of the best bikes you can buy under 10 lakhs esppeacially if your purpose is touring. So go ahead if you have the budget.

About the Reviewer

I got the bike in feb 2018, it costed me about rs. 7.9 lacs and the meter right now shows 19,306 km. I have taken it to delhi - ladakh, udaipur, indore. The performance of the bike is exceptional. The low end is decent but the mid range is where it shines. The bike easily gives you the confidence to ride till 180 kmph. No strong vibrations of any sort even at high speeds. The acceleration is quite punchy.In city riding especially in traffic heating is a issue but again that is a problem with most of the bikes of this caliber. Talking about mileage 22-26 kmpl on highways whereas for city 16-18 kmpl is what i get.Looks, though a personal preference but for me it goes good. Looks quite sporty and easily justifies its price.Seating comfort is exceptional. I have done 1200 km at a stretch without any problem. Also the seat is very comfortable for the pillion as well. But for people shorter than 5'8'' it would be quite a tedious job to handle this bike as its seat height is quite high due to the extra ground clearance.Suspension gives you the option to adjust the preload and rebound times on front and only preload on rear. And on factory settings itself they are superb. Absorb almost every bump and lead you a very comfortable ride.Brakes are very effective, no complains there. Abs works as expected. My brake pads lasted for about 15000km which is quite good according to me.If you are in tier 1 cities availability of accessories and spare parts won't be a problem but you might have to hassle in tier 2 cities or towns. Even there i'd say they are on the expensive side.Regular service cost is around 6-8k without any major part replacement.The plastic quality is quite disappointing. Especially the fairing seem to be built of not so tough material.The headlights are simply there for a show but are of no actual use. I'd say you cannot ride on highways with these lights. So lights are a must upgrade. Offroading capabilities are decent for offroading once in a while but definitely not built for extreme offroading. And in offroading the suspension adjustments do help a lot.The instrument cluster is quite good and loaded with ton of useful features and information like cruising range, current & average mileage, lap time etc. So the major cons are mainly the lights, spare parts and the plastic quality. Rest everything is pro.Verdict: this is easily one of the best bikes you can buy under 10 lakhs esppeacially if your purpose is touring. So go ahead if you have the budget.

About the Reviewer