[Dust_Harl]

Thank you all for your good wishes. It was a pretty long day at work and did not get time to take my bike for a ride. It is going to be the same tomorrow as well. Looking forward to much few miles over the weekend. For now these seems like a 2015 bikes. shall confirm the same with my VIN number.

A good friend of mine and a fellow TBHPian is taking delivery of his versys tomorrow and planning to join him for the delivery in the evening depending on how soon I finish my work. Couple of our group members are picking up Ducati Multistrada tomorrow and totally three new bikes are getting delivered. So it will be four new bikes riding together this weekend along with our regular group members.

[vprabu]

Originally Posted by Dust_Harl

Thank you all for your good wishes. It was a pretty long day at work and did not get time to take my bike for a ride. It is going to be the same tomorrow as well. Looking forward to much few miles over the weekend. For now these seems like a 2015 bikes. shall confirm the same with my VIN number.

Have a great ride and let us know how the bike is. BTW, did you try decoding your VIN number? I tried mine and it says the model number is 2015 and I am not surprised. The serial number is 0004. Does this mean, this is the 4th one in India? Who got the first? Interesting to know.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by vprabu

Have a great ride and let us know how the bike is. BTW, did you try decoding your VIN number? I tried mine and it says the model number is 2015 and I am not surprised. The serial number is 0004. Does this mean, this is the 4th one in India? Who got the first? Interesting to know.

Did you take delivery of your bike? Or was that VIN number mentioned to you by your dealer?

[Odeen12]

That's the first one I guess as it says. Guy from Bombay already riding it and having fun.

[vprabu]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Did you take delivery of your bike? Or was that VIN number mentioned to you by your dealer?

Waiting for the delivery as the STA approval is expected today or Monday. The VIN was shared by the dealer to give me a comfort feel.

[mobike008]

I have never owned a bike with ABS. So I am very curious to know the importance of ABS in a motorcycle especially in a bike like Versys 650

Anyone who has ridden a bike with and without ABS would know exactly what the differences would be and how ABS can provide more stability under different situations

Anyone with experience can share their knowledge and thoughts?

[vprabu]

Originally Posted by mobike008

I have never owned a bike with ABS. So I am very curious to know the importance of ABS in a motorcycle especially in a bike like Versys 650

Anyone who has ridden a bike with and without ABS would know exactly what the differences would be and how ABS can provide more stability under different situations

Anyone with experience can share their knowledge and thoughts?

The difference is night and day. I have a CBR 250R ABS (CBS?) and its braking is just too good. I have done 3 digit speeds and distance to halt is short and it certainly boosts your confidence. At the same time, Iron 883 does not have ABS and I never feel confident on its braking. So, never push it hard.

[hifisharu]

It's a general misconception that ABS helps reduce braking distance. That's however false. One will not see any difference between regular and normal braking on regular tarmac, as the ABS system will not come into play. Where you'll see the difference is when you use the brakes on gravelly surface and with ABS, you can still go ahead and grab a handful of the brake and the motorcycle won't skid, I.e the wheels shouldn't lock up. You'll feel a pulsing at the lever and know the ABS to be working

[Urban_Nomad]

^^ Braking with ABS on gravel or loose surface like packed dirt can be rather dangerous. Applying the front brake on gravel means instant lock that the abs system will recognise, and therefore not let the wheels lock. But since the lock is almost instant on gravel, this basically means the brakes are as good as not being applied. Before venturing in an offroad type terrain, you must switch off abs, rely heavily on the rear brake and engine braking and actually allow the bike to skid around

[techfreak]

Difference between a vehicle with ABS & without is the wheel lockup. If wheels lock steering control is lost so by not letting the wheel to lock steering control is not lost. Hence overall vehicle control remains with the rider /driver and not with the vehicles momentum.
In dirt /lose gravelly track it is good to switch off ABS as it actually like not having any brake force. Some off road bike let the ABS to be switched off completely or let the ABS only on the rear wheel to be switched off or even have a off road mode to ABS setting to aid riding in gravel/slippery surfaces.

[Haroon]

Like hifisharu mentioned, ABS is most effective on Tarmac and "hard surface off road tracks" (calling that gravel may be confusing as gravel comes in so many variations! Yes, if its lose gravel, the ABS must be switched off if that option is available- Not all bikes have the option to on/off ABS).

When you have some water, loose mud or even those small stones 'on paved/tarmac roads' where you have to suddenly brake, you can bravely without second thoughts grab your brakes to the fullest and the bike will stop without fishtailing or drama etc (provided you are in a straight line. However braking on a curve, laws of physics will most likely take over and ABS wont be much helpful there. You probably need Traction Control/Stability Control for that scenario which is offered on some of the high end bikes).

Technically, if you calculate the stopping distance on a ABS bike, it will be a fraction more than a non-ABS bike coz in ABS, even though you grab the full brakes, the system catches and releases the brake something like about 15 times in a second so the bike may stop a fraction further but without wheel lock and change of direction!

While most Youtube ABS videos are shot in test conditions, watch this video from the 1:24 mark to see how ABS works under real riding conditions. What you see from the 1:10 mark is Traction Control doing its job.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8EvHHFAMcQ

[nasirkaka]

@ Dust_Harl Did you get the bike on TR or is it registered with a Number plate?

Today, I went to KTM/kawa showroom at indiranagar to make payment. Khivraj motors has received total of 6 bikes in the first consignment, out of which indiranagar showroom is allotted only 3 bikes. My booking number is 5th, so i will not be getting the bike from the first lot. I had option of going to some other showroom (Kalyani?), but did not want the hassle of starting the process again and running from post to pillar. So might as well wait for the 2nd consignment, which according to the Khivraj motors will be arriving on the coming Friday. So hopefully next week, or the week after that i should be receiving my bike. 2nd consignment they are getting 9 bikes for Khivraj, Bangalore. They also said that as of today, the bike is not showing in RTO list and can not be registered. Seems they are waiting for some letter from Bajaj.

SO the wait continues.......

so far 35+ bikes have been booked, combined all Khivraj outlets @ Bangalore, with a few cancellation. Overwhelming response to the versys 650 inspite of mediocre customer relation effort.

[himanshugoswami]

Originally Posted by mobike008

I have never owned a bike with ABS. So I am very curious to know the importance of ABS in a motorcycle especially in a bike like Versys 650

Anyone who has ridden a bike with and without ABS would know exactly what the differences would be and how ABS can provide more stability under different situations

Anyone with experience can share their knowledge and thoughts?

Avi, more than a car, ABS is imperative on a high powered bike. The last thing you want on a bike is wheel lock up, esp the front wheel, for obvious reasons. Hence, ABS can truly be a life saver on a bike.

[dkaile]

Autocar's balanced Kawasaki Versys 650 review, test ride >> http://bit.ly/1Q0yIq5

[Red Liner]

Interesting review. I get the feeling most of these adventure bikes which weigh upwards of 200 kilos seem to be built for heavy set Americans /euros /aussies. It's like asking us to fit into their clothes.