[Dust_Harl]

Indeed a long post and frustrating experience. Somehow versys launch is not been managed well at all. I had a similar experience and in my case HDFC had issued an approval for H2 and as per them the on road price was 7.75. The dealer was laughing his heat out and even I was okie with H2 if HDFC could arrange for a delivery by paying 7.7L

In my case I guess the dealer gave only the insurance cover letter to HDFC here and not sure how come the process is different there. In a way it was good as you could find out that the insurance was issued for Ninja and not for your Versys. Hope you get your bike tomorrow. Take it on TR incase the final approval and reg is taking more time.

[Odeen12]

I got all my accessories before I got my bike. So all is well as long as she's coming home. Yoga helps.

[techfreak]

What all you got?
Cost, source if you can share will help a lot others out here.

Request same to others too, if we can share the cost, source etc of the accessories here it shall help lot of others in the forum decide on what to get n what not, where from etc.

[nasirkaka]

One thing is very clear on the whole thing. No has any clue on what they do. Everyone involved in the process here is equally incapable and as a result they now have a frustrated customer.

Frustrating indeed! I thought only Royal Enfield dealers dished out such experiences, and buying a relatively expensive bike would be a much better experience. But this is as bad as it can get. I was promised delivery today, Full amount paid a week back, money is gone from all the accounts i borrowed from, and still the bike is standing somewhere at pune with no communication at all of when they might be able to bring us together.

Will write a comment on Kawasaki website anyways and share-the frustration.

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by nasirkaka

Frustrating indeed!

Joy is around the corner mate. Hold on. A close friend also just got a Triumph Tiger 800 Xcx and he too rode it down from Delhi to Kanpur without issues. Had a thrilling day as compensation. Nothing like a beautiful long ride to break in the new soul mate. Cheers...

[techfreak]

It is finally a Online buying experience from me. Dealer was ready to send the bike to my place (180 km away) by road with a mechanic which I refused due to a non-run in engine and emotional factor of letting someone else breaking the virginity of my baby versys. {Already named her Blondelle :-) }

So now the bike gets delivered to my home direct from factory (Ah the Transport issue !!) and dealer's mechanic goes to my place to unpack it, do the PDI and handover the keys and documents to my parents. And then Blondelle sits pretty for about 2 months till I get home for our "Union" ;-)

Could have taken the delivery after I am back but in that case the dealer would have used my bike as the display bike for whatever time it would have stayed with him, so decided against it. Though the upside is that I might have got a MY 2016 bike.

Final Accessories I have decided in order of priority are as follows :-
1. Engine Protection Bar (Hepco Becker)
2. Side Stand Foot (SW Motech)
3. Front and rear Wheel Axle Protection ( Brand not decided)
4. Auxiliary Light ( Long Range Optimus Auxiliary Light)
5. Luggage Solution (Most likely OE / Not Decided)
# Need suggestions for cost effective solutions from fellow BHPians on this.(No tail bag as I often travel 2 up)
6. Scottoiler V System
7. Main Stand
8. Engine/Sump Guard

Found this interesting item while searching for accessories for my yet to be delivered Blondelle. Seems to be an useful addition to touring kit for chain lubrication/adjustment.
Link - http://www.packjack.ca/index.php

Originally Posted by Haroon

Just saw up close the stock tire of the V650 in the video Avi posted and a small word of caution to new riders of Adv (sport) touring bikes. That Dunlop Sportmax tire is a 100% road based tire and if you have been inspired with the Paris Dakar riders or CS Santosh standing on footpegs & riding, please don't presume (just coz this bike comes in the Adv category) that by standing on the pegs you can just zoom off ahead of your riding buddies on regular bikes on muddy/slushy stretches. Coz in addition to off-road riding skills, the tire also makes a big difference in getting the required traction in the different surfaces helping you keep the rubber side down! Thats why depending on the kind of riding you do I personally recommend to put the right tires when it comes time to change your stock rubber. I have photo-cropped & put together here below the examples of tires normally used in these kind of bikes just in case some of you are not familiar. Anyways, in most of your riding scenarios the best recommended tire type would be the 80% tarmac/20% dirt kind of tire, though the 50% street/50% dirt would come out with flying colors in Leh, Kardungla circuits.

I am also interested in Pirelli MT-60 tyres but couldn't find them in any Indian site. Are they available with anyone here in India?

[Urban_Nomad]

Originally Posted by techfreak

I am also interested in Pirelli MT-60 tyres but couldn't find them in any Indian site. Are they available with anyone here in India?

You can buy them here. Prices are tear inducing though:

http://www.sbkstore.in/parts/tires/off-road-tires.html

[vprabu]

First set of accessories arrived. A couple of more on its way. Still no clue of the bike delivery. New tentative date is 17th Feb.

This is from Big Bad Bikes.

[Odeen12]

Super stuff. That Kawasaki in yellow looks nice.

[techfreak]

A questions considering Ninja 650 and Versys 650 sharing engine and a common origin.
Are Ninja accessories like Hand Guard, Radiator Guard, Swingarm Spools, Frame Slider and Sidestand Foot Enlarger etc are common?

Have been going through the engine parts downloading the part charts from KAWASAKI USA site and find a lot of them common.

Another question which is a better option,
a) A frame slider?
b) Frame type guard?

[nasirkaka]

No updates from the dealer so far either about delivering or picking the bike from pune. Initial euphoria and excitement is all murdered by the way things have progressed so far. I am seriously contemplating cancelling the booking and getting the full amount back. May wait for sometime, think it over, test ride the bike when available and make a decision with may be another dealer.

[v12]

Nasirkaka, I would recommend you to wait. Like they say - "Good things come to those who wait" If it is just a matter of days, no harm in waiting a little bit longer. Until then you can make a list and sort out the accessories and the gear. So when your bike is finally here - you and the bike are ready to hit the roads from Day 1 itself.

[techfreak]

I agree nasirkaka. I am also in the same boat. Almost Full amount paid. Bank loan approved, accessories either ordered /selected. Few already despatched and the bike nowhere to be seen. So might as well use these days to know the bike better by going through the user manual, service manual(old model) etc. Am myself doing exactly this now. 😇

[Dust_Harl]

Suggest that you wait instead of cancelling the booking. I am sure there is tremendous pressure on Kawasaki to start dispatching the bikes so that their inventory, turnover and also sales move in the right direction. Every dealer is sitting with handful of bookings and you may lose out on your booking number or priority if you cancel now. If the dealer is keen on giving you the delivery in the next lot then just wait for couple more days unless you want to cancel and move to a different brand.

[nasirkaka]

@ V12, techfreak, Dust_Harl : Thanks guys for words of encouragement!
I dont mind waiting for some more days but whats really put me off is the attitude of India Kawasaki Motors, Bajaj, and the dealer. Had send a message to IKM and Bajaj last friday narrating the state of affairs, but forget a reply, there is not even an acknowledgement. (In past, they both have answered my queries). The dealer (Khivraj) is master at making excuses. They do not have their back-end sorted and are just after money. Hell, they are even charging 4+K more then the Kalyani on the OTR, in the same city. When they called asking to make the full payment, i told them, let the bike come and i will pay. They made stories like they are asking priority bookings (?) to make the payment and bike should be delivered in a weeks time. By logic, booking are as per serial and i did not really get the 'priority' part, but went ahead anyways thinking the bike would come in a weeks time. Now all that hoolabaloo sounds like a scam to get the customers money. For me, its not really about money, but the feeling of being cheated, as there is been no communication at all from their side after the delay. Its always that we have to call and seek information, which mostly comes as some excuses. will wait for some more days and see whats in store.
for accessories part, can only afford a HB engine guard presently, which is out of stock. Will try and add other essential accessories slowly over time.