[techfreak]

I do not disagree to comparison between them guys, comparison and competition brings out good but if you start from post no. 518 onwards it was veering around Z 800 so my comment. Anything that helps even one of us is always welcome. Even I considered Z800 but then that's a old story for me. If there is no thread for Z800, the same may be created. Anyway I do welcome positive n helpful discussion, comparison n so.

[praveenkm]

The story of my v650...

Took delivery among the group last Friday. The ride home was amazing with an ear to ear grin.

Saturday went waiting for the reg number and got only TC number by evening. So could only admire the parked bike for day.

With a plan to change oil after 250 KMs meant could only ride about 200 for the sunday. Hit the Hassan road for relaxed ride covering around 180 Kms for the day. Ride into city and its so comfortable in traffic and nimble negotiating tight manuvers.

By now started noticing the buzz from speedo console and also sound and sense of obstruction in the front disk brake especially in slow speed decelerating. Karr karr.

The plan for Monday was to ride in the morning from jayanagar to indiranagar, with the purpose of signing a missed out finance form and change the engine oil and head to office.

Disaster, felt first hot day of summer this season, and super slow stand still traffic. Mostly feeling trapped in the traffic with no way out. Agonising one hour + in the heat and b2b traffic. Not at all good for new bike. Tried very hard not to strain the engine and clutch. But need to use clutch in such slow traffic to a avoid knocking.

Got to show room, signed the papers. Was told its the buzz from console ca be fixed with double sided tape like Nasir's bike. Ride Down to ktm service who also service n650 near by to get the engine oil changed. Staff pretty exited to see first v650. Wondering why change the engine oil. I insisted. Drained like 1.9 litres. They changed oil filter as they said its must on oil change. Then put in 2 litres of Motul 10w40. Was told its ok.
After this the ride to Marathalli was infested with crazy stop and go traffic. Was to hot to notice the behaviour of the bike. Reached office like 12:30.

It's only on the ride back home with flowing traffic that started noticing the state of the bike. The console buzz for sure, the disk obstruction in more noticed, feel the engine is rough, felt loss of torque. Pretty disappointed by the turn around.
Tried to sleep it over thinking its all in the mind.
The next day morning the traffic only little better and with some flow and slow moving, the disk obstruction and sound was more noticeable, felt obstruction on steering in slow speed.
Feeling all the same on the ride back. More sense of loss of torque. Gear shift harder, needed to play lot more with gears to avoid rising of rpms and also to avoid knocking.

Took the electronics city express way to see if it felt better in open roads. Still no fun like the weekend ride. engine is rough, letting go of throttle decelerates too quickly. Handling affected. I don't want to ride it any more till the issues are addressed. Was told by dealer to visit kasturba road service centre.

Went to office on Wednesday on ZMA to take my mind off this as I have no time to visit service centre till Saturday. It's car for today and tomorrow. Took a small ride near by to get number plate fixed but its the same no fun.

Here is the list:
Buzzing sound from speedo console
Disk abstraction and karr karr sound in slow speed, felt on foot pegs some times
Small steering obstruction in slow speed affecting handling
Hard gear shift
Loss of torque, need to shift gears frequently in slow speed.
Decelerates too quick on letting go of throttle.
Vibrations around felt between tank and thighs at moving around 1.5 to 2K rpms.

Have no clue what went wrong. This is my third bike having covered 1.5Lakhs KMs on two wheels so far and familiar with the drill all to well. But this is puzzling.

Thought may be the engine oil is extra, with no centre stand with great difficulty Tried to take picture of the engine oil level indicator while sitting on the bike to keep it level. The level is higher than the upper limit.

So now not sure if its the disk or the extra oil or both, that is making the bike struggle a little more than a bit. Did the traffic ruin clutch plates ?

Will visit the service centre, on Saturday and not sure how much of the above can be conveyed and how much will be fixed. Having borne the above concerns on my older bikes many times during works, did not expect on this bike so early. All my grin has vanished.

Saturday will tell me how the future is with this bike.
Any suggestions are appreciated.

[VW2010]

if you start from post no. 518 onwards it was veering around Z 800 so my comment

I think the more we discuss these two bikes it helps because the price point is taking it to high 7-8L and for potential buyers it helps decide.

To me at this price point there few bikes that comes to my short list

- Benelli - both the I and T series.
- Benelli- 899 - My no 1 fav at this point
- Z800
- Verseys
- CBR 650F
- Now the Himalyan as well.

I am not going to digress on whats best on these bikes but on a fair comparison i came down to this conclusion

Benelli - Sheer pleasure of sound and a feel of riding the true inline 4 at a fairly cheaper cost and with that IXil exhaust it just turns from a lion to a lion with a microphone.

Benelli - 899 - This is a stunner of a machine. Doesnt have any gimmics, traction control, ABS, or anything that remotely compares to price to machine and value for the 8+ laks.
But the fun fact is it generates 110+ BHP in less than 9000 RPM. That midrange will blow away anything in this segment and that exhaust note when the engine revs up to 9k is stunning. This is my top favorite if its not 600i

Z800 - This is what the FZ1 was at this price point before Yamaha decided to increase its price. Has every electronic feature for the pricing and the engine and transmission is one of the smoothest and best one can buy. It all comes to preference at this point. It ticks every other box and you cannot go wrong with the z800. Looks are personal.

CBR 650F - To me this is priced high for what value it brings to the table. Between this and Z800, its hard to not chose the 800. The 650 will be good at tracks while the z800 will not be that nimble. Lets be honest that z800 is not meant for track anyday. Comfort wise the z800 will be better.

Finally Versys -

What the Ninja 650 lacked for touring is what versys fixes. The riding stance is much more stable. It has a wider mid range and a much controlled output that makes it fantastic for not just daily rides but overall touring. I am someone who believes the sport bikes are far more comfortable on highway than the street simply because of the riding position and how you can cut the wind and stay more energetic than getting tired by the wind hitting your face.

Verseys with a 6.5L price point killed this segment with the first overall package. Any one thinking about serious touring cannot ignore the Verseys.

As i said, the segments compared are different by various means. The z800 seating vs Verseys, one would pick Verseys for touring. I can say from the list above the verseys are like Skoda Superb of this segment, the Z800 probably an Audi or even a Mercedes, the benelli 899 is the M3 for me in this segment simply giving more smiles per miles and more vibrations inside our ears than any while the CBR is the Honda of the segment (Pun intended)

This is my take on picking verseys over others and thats why i would pick the 899 over the Verseys for i am getting chills everytime i say 120BHP in 9K RPM. Price is making it a difficult bike to reach and i may just end up getting the RC390 to get the same amount of fun with a grinder like sounding KTM engine.

[v12]

Other than the price, I don't think there is much to compare between the Versys and the Z800. They are 2 different categories of bikes and cater to 2 different type of people. If you are a person who prefers long rides with 2 up and your luggage or using a high capacity bike within the city - the Versys is the bike for you. If you are the type of person for whom performance matters of have a 4 cylinder dream, the Z800 is the bike for you.
On their own, both bikes are equally good. The buyer needs to decide on not what bike is good- but what bike is good for him/her. The comparison can go on and on and on - it will be a never ending one. My personal preference would be the Z because an inline 4 was the most important criteria. But on a long ride I would definitely prefer the Versys.

I must admit I did get tempted to trade my Z for the Versys for its sheer comfort and practicality.

[GTO]

Mod Note:

We do have Z800 ownership reports as well as individual threads like this one.

Please discuss the Z800 on its own thread. Thanks!

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by GTO

Mod Note:

We do have Z800 ownership reports as well as individual threads like this one.

Please discuss the Z800 on its own thread. Thanks!

Agree with GTO here.

Please discuss Z800 on a different thread and request not to dilute the conversation which should be revolved around V650

On a side note, I personally feel that V650 and Z800 should not even be compared. Both are different category of motorcycles with different character, power ratings, riding aesthetics, comfort factor etc..

Heck, every darn parameter is different

I would never compare them at all. Z800 should be pitted against the Tripple and Bennelli 899 etc.

Originally Posted by praveenkm

The story of my v650...

Here is the list:
Buzzing sound from speedo console
Disk abstraction and karr karr sound in slow speed, felt on foot pegs some times
Small steering obstruction in slow speed affecting handling
Hard gear shift
Loss of torque, need to shift gears frequently in slow speed.
Decelerates too quick on letting go of throttle.
Vibrations around felt between tank and thighs at moving around 1.5 to 2K rpms.

Praveen. Congratulations and sorry to know about your problems. A brand new bike simply cannot have so many problems. Did you guys do a proper PDI before accepting the bike? I know that doesn't give any inkling of any technical problems that might come up in immediate future...but just asking?

Nasir had only the speed console buzzing which is understandable as all these bikes are CKD and there might have been some issues in putting them together (technically even that excuse is not acceptable)

But, what you listed out ( losing power, deceleration is faster than normal) seems like something serious

My recommendation is not to put on more kms on the bike till the dealership folks solve the problem.

Good luck and please do update this thread with progress

[Odeen12]

Originally Posted by praveenkm

The story of my v650...

Here is the list:

Buzzing sound from speedo console

Disk abstraction and karr karr sound in slow speed, felt on foot pegs some times

Small steering obstruction in slow speed affecting handling

Hard gear shift

Loss of torque, need to shift gears frequently in slow speed.

Decelerates too quick on letting go of throttle.

Vibrations around felt between tank and thighs at moving around 1.5 to 2K rpms.

Hey congratulations on your bike.

As per the points mentioned, here are a few suggestions.

- disk brake: try cleaning those. I know it's only what, 200 kms that you have done however carbon dust sticks quickly. Which should be the reason for the sound. Plus the fact that these are new pads.

- I don't know what's obstructing the steering. Check for any loose screws in and around the turn radius. Near the forks or the console. That might be the culprit.

- oil filter should be changed every time you change the oil. Motul oil is good. The engine oil level should be precise as per Kawasaki specs. You mentioned you used Motul 10w-40 assuming that's fully synthetic. If your manual allows, try and change it to 15w-50. The extra weight helps in our hot temperatures. The oil will hold its viscosity better in traffic and regular usage. Allowing you to have smoother gear shifts. Your clutch plates are fine. It's just heat which plays havoc on the oil.

Do speak to your service head. I am sure they should be able to sort this out. Cheers and hope this helps.

[Red Liner]

Before everyone runs out and spends on exorbitant saddle bags, have a look at these.

http://overlandmag.com/features/new-...akar-panniers/

Absolutely frickin brilliant.

[Venku2015]

Originally Posted by GTO

Mod Note:

We do have Z800 ownership reports as well as individual threads like this one.

Please discuss the Z800 on its own thread. Thanks!

I agree. I just posted my impressions since it may help prospective buyers decide between Z800 and the Versys 650. Most of the prospective buyers do evaluate both the bikes before finalizing their purchase.

I request Mod's to please move my post no 525 to its appropriate thread.

[Jet-thrust]

@praveenkm, congrats but sorry to hear about the issues on the brand new bike.

I think the front disk brake obstruction is related to:
Loss of torque.
Rapid deceleration on letting go of throttle.
Need for more gear shifts.
Unusual sound.

There was a similar issue on a friends pulsar which had to do with the brake pads adjustment.

As far as the steering obstruction is concerned, I noticed that you mentioned it only after they tried to fix the buzzing sound. It's quite possible that they messed up something while doing the 'jugaad'.

No clue about the hard gear shift and the tank vibes.

Hoping it gets sorted out soon so you can enjoy this beautiful machine.

[nasirkaka]

Will visit the service centre, on Saturday and not sure how much of the above can be conveyed and how much will be fixed. Having borne the above concerns on my older bikes many times during works, did not expect on this bike so early. All my grin has vanished.

Buddy, i feel you. Know exactly how it feels to have issues with a new and highly anticipated purchase. Really gives sleepless nights. Hope all of your issues are taken care of.

In my experience, brand new bikes are more prone to having these niggles, like unwanted vibrations, loose RVM, Chain slackness, clutch lever, brake lever and throttle play, etc. The catch here could be the assemblies done at Pune, and not so strict quality control.
Things like buzzing from console could just be plastic to plastic resonance and can be taken care-of by some adjustments. The bigger the bike the number of parts increase, adding to the probability of things getting loose/fouling, esp in the initial 'settling' stage. Even i am experiencing some vibes at the tank at lower RPM range and also the hard gear shifts. Guess they will take a while to settle in. Lets hope kawasaki is good at after sales service in terms if identifying and fixing bugs.

Incase you are not satisfied with kasturba road service, do visit 'Autoservice' at Banashankari who are official service guys for ktm/kawasaki and a lot of KNOC members (kawasaki ninja owners club) get their ninjas fixed there. They have a technician who is visited pune for official service training for versys as well.

Just to make you feel better: My MD's brand new BMW 1200 GS had some loose parts and vibes too.

[praveenkm]

thanks for the replies and suggestion guys.

@mobike008: Yes, not riding the bike untill i take to the service center tomorrow. Could not really do the PDI as the bikes were already assigned. But that was a chance any way. will keep this thread posted how it goes.

@Odeen12: Yes, they did say the oil was Fully synthetic. The manuel recamends for for 20W40 for the temperature zone we are in, but the guys said 10W40 is just fine. May not be the heat itself as the issues were also in the night. Going to the service center tomorrow. Keeping fingers crossed.

@Jet-thrust: I really hope its just as simple as that causing all the issues, and not something in the engine. It did give me goose bumps first couple of days. Its an awesome machine when there were no issues.

@nasir: Tell me about it. Thanks for the inputs and suggestions. Will take them and try it out. Surprised that you have the low RPM vibrations too. The reviews like PD, suggested the vehicle had no vibration what so ever! I really hope they can give attention to detail and fix em all.

[Urban_Nomad]

Originally Posted by praveenkm

Here is the list:
Buzzing sound from speedo console
Disk abstraction and karr karr sound in slow speed, felt on foot pegs some times
Small steering obstruction in slow speed affecting handling
Hard gear shift
Loss of torque, need to shift gears frequently in slow speed.
Decelerates too quick on letting go of throttle.
Vibrations around felt between tank and thighs at moving around 1.5 to 2K rpms.

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Some queries and pointers that might help.

* Speedo console - I think Nasirkaka reported something similar just a page or 2 back. A small foam tape jugaad is apparently a good fix
* Brake - Check your disc for any scoring. If you find any, take the bike straight to the service center and get the relevant parts replaced ASAP. Also, is the braking proper? Any loss of feel, feedback or bite?
* Steering obstruction - Just to clarify, do you mean something obstructs movement of the handlebar from full lock to full lock?
* Hard gear shift - Service center is your best bet
* Loss of torque - Across the rev range? What gear + speed combos we talking about here?
* Deceleration - I felt the same uneasiness when I first started riding the Duke 390. The bike would lose revs so quickly that I almost felt like I was about to go over and beyond the handlebars. Could just be the nature of the beast and you need to adapt your riding style accordingly
* Vibrations between 1.5 - 2k RPM - What is the idle speed of the Versys. I am guessing it must be around or just under 1500 RPM. If you are riding for a prolonged period of time in this band then thats a problem. The shudder is just the bike telling you to shift down and / or give it more gas. It will be much more pronounced in higher gears

Additionally, I would also recommend test riding another Versys. The showroom guys should be able to oblige. This way you will have a fair comparison to see whats normal behaviour and whats not

Hope this helps. All the best and keep us all posted on how it goes

[rakesh_S]

Originally Posted by praveenkm

The story of my v650...

Here is the list:
Buzzing sound from speedo console
Disk abstraction and karr karr sound in slow speed, felt on foot pegs some times
Small steering obstruction in slow speed affecting handling
Hard gear shift
Loss of torque, need to shift gears frequently in slow speed.
Decelerates too quick on letting go of throttle.
Vibrations around felt between tank and thighs at moving around 1.5 to 2K rpms.

Have no clue what went wrong. This is my third bike having covered 1.5Lakhs KMs on two wheels so far and familiar with the drill all to well. But this is puzzling.

Thought may be the engine oil is extra, with no centre stand with great difficulty Tried to take picture of the engine oil level indicator while sitting on the bike to keep it level. The level is higher than the upper limit.

So now not sure if its the disk or the extra oil or both, that is making the bike struggle a little more than a bit. Did the traffic ruin clutch plates ?

Will visit the service centre, on Saturday and not sure how much of the above can be conveyed and how much will be fixed. Having borne the above concerns on my older bikes many times during works, did not expect on this bike so early. All my grin has vanished.

Saturday will tell me how the future is with this bike.
Any suggestions are appreciated.

Speedo Console buzz is common across bikes, it should've been a heavier plastic by construction. Can be fixed with a tape or a lining under the same, to avoid contact with other surfaces

Disk will have some sound as the wheel turns, I believe its a normal thing when pads are new. A light swishing sound can occur, not abnormal. Kara karr could be more than normal, perhaps a change of pads will get rid of the sound. But little sound is normal, as explained to me by a third party mechanic

Steering obstruction feel happens usually if the handle axis nut is overtightened. Please get it checked, for any physical obstruction. Could be a loose component, wire etc.

The bike needs frequent shifting, which is true. Usually it expects two down. I ride a Street 750 otherwise and I need to fine-tune my style even more to ride the Versys. I would believe this is the way bike is made, unless and until my bike is suffering from similar ailment. As of now I do not think its a low end torque loss.

Hard gear shift - Clunky shift is a feature of this bike. It will never change gears like a zippy sports bike, or even smoother. You will need to live with it, but you can expect it to become less clunky as you clock more on the bike.

Yes it decelerates pretty quick, again a characteristic of the bike. My experience is the same. I do see the need to break lesser with the deceleration. It is quite strong till the 3rd cog, and reduces as you go up.

At those RPMs there is a bit of vibe, as the engine mounting even though on solid rubbers, tends to transmit. But once you move up, the bike is buttery smooth. I believe it was pretty bad in the last version of Versys. Again this is not something that can be changed in my opinion, its again the way its packaged. If you do come across a solution, please let me know. Right now doesn't worry me too much.

If you have a bit of excess oil in your engine, it tends to expand on heat and affect gaskets/sealants. Get the excess drained if need be. But doesn't really affect performance degradation. Not usually.

I don't think you should be worried so much. It mandates a different way of handling the machine and riding style. You should get used to it. Its a lovely bike to ride and having ridden over 1K and completed first service, I do feel its one of the best decisions I have made.

All the best for your checkup, and please do let us know if there is anything that you find that we should all get worried about.

What I've written above is purely based on my individual understanding and discussions with some good experienced technicians.

[praveenkm]

@Urban_Nomad: The brakes seems to be working fine and don't see any scarring. For steering obstruction it's intermittently noticeable going straight in slow speeds when we try these small adjustments.

@Rakesh: I too think this is a good choice of bike for my riding requirements afters waiting fur such a bike for years. Just want leave these issues behind. Agree the all you have said, my observation is from first two days and later two days of riding the same bike. Could not get much air time on paddacks for front wheel to keenly observe the steering. Miss the centre stand on this bike, to try free rotation of either wheels.

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the responses, that was very supportive.

Went to the the service centre and the main trained engineer was out sick today. Will have to try another day.

But superviser did attend to check for issues. Meter console vibration was obvious and the point identified. Will probably use a tape.

Put the bike on the padacs to check the engine oil level and it was with in the limits. So that was ok.

The front wheel rotated freely with constant light swishing sound which I think can be normal.

Then on test ride I was told there is no issue. Guess he did not notice the obstruction that happens intermittently in slow speeds.

May be the situation is not really drastic but there is definet change compared to the first two days I had ridden and not as smooth and same as the first 2 days.

A friend came over to have a feel for all for the issues. Also felt the various places where the vibrations are felt till 3-4K rpms.

He did not initially observe the disk obstruction, but when I asked him to ride for some more time he noticed. It's not predictable but happen frequently on slow speeds.
Strangely some times happens from brake was not applied and engine was constant RPM. As I feared not sure how to convey this.

For short distance when I sat pillion, the vibrations on the rear foot pegs was too much.

Any ways considering its new engine and all the parts brake pads are new and may be will improve, I will put on more miles and see how it goes.

To be fair for people who tried, the superviser or my friend, they have no reference oh how V650 should be because this is the first one they tried.

If a V650 owner is kind enough to let me try his bike and also try mine and see the difference, it would be great. Please PM me your number so that I can contact you, come to you place tomorrow, for brief trials may be tomorrow morning or some convenient time.

Nasir, Dust_harl and Rakesh_C, the V650 owners I know of here, please PM me if this is feasible.