[mobike008]

Oh! I got you now Navin. I think that's a pretty standard way of braking. More usage of front and less of rear brakes. Ofcourse, application of both is very much required to bring the bike to a faster halt

To respond back in your terminology, I use 70:30 most of the time

Thanks for sharing the saddle bag links. Will review them at liesure

[v12]

Gear Indicator would be a very useful feature to have. I miss the same on my Z. There are various options available on Webike for the Versys :

http://japan.webike.net/ps/#!p.m=5860&p.c=1200&p.sk=1

Regarding saddle bags, I feel hard boxes (like the GIVI) would be better than the softer saddle bags since they are easier to maintain and clean and are waterproof as well. Also contents are much safer in a hard box than a saddle bag.

Do check out Japan Webike for more accessories available for the V650.

[anandpkumar]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Baby Versys Delivered

Congratulations mobike008 on your new acquisition!

Love the bike in that matt black/dark grey colour. Kawasakis have always been synonymous with green - but on this bike, I think the black shade looks much better. Gives it a more menacing look!

Hope to see a detailed review from you once you log in a some time with the new bike!

Ride safe.

[nasirkaka]

Yesterday the long wait came to an end. Showroom guys were ready by 10:30am. I told them will reach by 10:30am but, got delayed and reached only around 11:15am wherein 3-4 of my friends were already at the showroom before me. Embarrassing isn't it to make your friends wait?

Many congratulations!! and good to know that the baby is doing fine.
Would love to hear your thoughts on how the baby versys IS in relation to the bonnie, after you clock some miles. Not really a comparison, but more like feelings from the heart.

'which Gear' is something which i am also kind of struggling with. I guess the 390's console with all the possible information has spoilt us. add to the fact the torquey motor of the versys, may take a while to differentiate between 1st and 2nd.
Have clocked in about 500kms, and not strictly following the 4Kprm rule. (it IS difficult to be in that band all the time). Been riding around 5-5.5k with occasionally going upto 6.5. Gear shift is clunky but precise. Am feeling a bit comfortable with the height and weight, but still riding without any protection to the bike (except the 3M PPF). Need to get a engine guard asap.
There is a versys 650 whatsapp group formed, (Bangalore) folks do join for sharing and caring.

[vprabu]

Disappeared nut and my nightmare

The RAM Mount was delivered today. So while opening the pack, the small plastic that had the U bolt, nut was already cut / torn and , a nut and its cover fell on the floor and disappeared. May be it was giving me a hint on what was coming up next I think! After a brief search, found them and started the installation procedure.

To my horror, this simple installation turned into a nightmare for me. I have to be blamed for the silly mistake, of course.

I was trying to check for the position of the mount and accidentally the hex-nut slipped out of my hand and dropped inside those complicated fairings, god knows where. Literally panicked, started searching for the lost nut. I tried to shake the bike, but cannot hear a thing. Second, tried the torch cannot see anything inside. All black bike, less light and dark brown nut complicated the whole thing.

So, called up my service person to drop in to remove the fairings to remove the nut. The last thing I wanted was the nut to fly inside and cause damage to the bike. Took rest for 5-10 minutes and then resumed the search. With eyes wide open and my head almost inside the fairing, started probing the wires and applied the FBI logic on how this could have happened and where the nut could have landed (physics :-p).

Bingo. I could find some object between two cables and with difficulty I reached out and released the nut. Damn, I could hear the nut rolling down and went missing again. I could literally hear my heart racing. Cursing myself, went under and tried to search around the radiator section and still no luck. Finally a look on the floor returned my lost smiled back. Yes, it was lying on the floor.

Then not to repeat the mistake again, put a dirty cloth around and fixed it. Happy ending!!





The photo below looks misleading. There is a sufficient amount of gap between the mount and the tank. Even while charging, it does not obstruct the handle in any way. I did a thorough mounting point check before I decided to go with this place rather than close to the mirror point.

[dreamseller]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Baby Versys Delivered

Yesterday the long wait came to an end.

Hearty congratulations on the superb purchase Avi!
Looking forward to another detailed ownership report. And needless to say, a comparative write-up with the Black Bruiser would be welcome!

Trying to understand that, with the 3M coating, will the matte effect of the paint be still visible? Or will it turn shinier?

P.S. Looks like you have a thing for the parallel twins.

[Haroon]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Baby Versys Delivered
Yesterday the long wait came to an end.

Congrats Avi. So its finally home. Great to see you are enjoying every bit of the ride.

The gear position indicator is indeed a nice accessory to have.

Good wishes for many many miles of enjoyable rides. And your ownership thread sure is something a lot of people here will be looking forward to read. Eagerly waiting

Ride safe.

[VW2010]

The only other option is to learn to use the Tacho. Thats your easiest gear indicator. If you are close to red line you are closer to first gear(at slow speeds) and if you are closer to idle you are at really high gears.

Dont worry about gear indicator as long as you can understand when you drop a gear down to avoid lugging.

Good luck Mobike. Isnt the brakes Nissin with petal discs. They are actually fairly good. Worst case you can order some brembo pads to go with those calipers. But i believe you will understand the difference in riding dynamics between the Bonneville and the versys to adjust your braking style.

Each bike has its own braking style. The bonnie will probably have weight distribution and engine characteristics such that it will be perceptionally better in braking.

I felt the same when i upgraded to a disc in my bull. The drum itself was fairly sufficient but the disc on the front make huge difference. Then riding that GT made me realize how much the Brembo can stop. I just felt even the KTM with dual ABS was weaker than the single Brembo disc on the GT. Brembo IMHO is a different beast altogether when it comes to braking.

You are doing the right thing testing the waters with respect to brakes and it will surely improve (the feeling of that brake) to give you plenty of confidence to use that ABS as well.

Keep Brembo on your list of upgrades. Totally worth it

[veerameti]

Hearty Congratulations to nasirkaka (+5 Bangaloreans) and to mobike008 for your new steeds.

Finally nasirkaka has been freed after all the delivery turmoil, I am sure this will bring a wry smile after sometime.

Ride safe and enjoy the bikes.

Regards,
Veera

[mobike008]

Thank you all for your kind wishes. Appreciate it

Originally Posted by dreamseller

Hearty congratulations on the superb purchase Avi! Looking forward to another detailed ownership report. And needless to say, a comparative write-up with the Black Bruiser would be welcome!Trying to understand that, with the 3M coating, will the matte effect of the paint be still visible? Or will it turn shinier?.

Thanks! Hope to write a review after a few miles are clocked. Perhaps towards the end of this month

Good question on the possibility of losing the matt effect if coated with 3M. Actually, what I meant was wrapping the area with transparent film. So I am assuming the matt look is retained. Heck, even I'm not sure. Let me find out later

Originally Posted by dreamseller

P.S. Looks like you have a thing for the parallel twins.

In-line 4 is great on paper and also has that exotic exhaust note and not to mention the insane power but, is good for tracks or high speed racing. However, for our road conditions, a parallel twin is the maximum that you will ever need and despite this engine not having any throaty characteristics it's actually a fun engine with respect to way it delivers power and torque

Originally Posted by nasirkaka

Many congratulations!! and good to know that the baby is doing fine. Would love to hear your thoughts on how the baby versys IS in relation to the bonnie, after you clock some miles. Not really a comparison, but more like feelings from the heart.

Thanks Nasir. Bonnie is stamped all over my mind so I will obviously use it as a punching bag for all my comparison notes when I get some time to write down a review later this month even though both these bikes are totally different in many ways

Originally Posted by nasirkaka

'which Gear' is something which i am also kind of struggling with. I guess the 390's console with all the possible information has spoilt us. add to the fact the torquey motor of the versys, may take a while to differentiate between 1st and 2nd.

Well, Versys is certainly very Torquey but, I feel it's not as torquey as a Bonnie

Originally Posted by nasirkaka

Have clocked in about 500kms, and not strictly following the 4Kprm rule. (it IS difficult to be in that band all the time). Been riding around 5-5.5k with occasionally going upto 6.5. Gear shift is clunky but precise. Am feeling a bit comfortable with the height and weight, but still riding without any protection to the bike (except the 3M PPF). Need to get a engine guard asap.

Totally agree. Riding it below 4K rpm is an impossible task. Btw, now I know the exact km/hr at 4000rpm? It is 86kmph. Please confirm if you also noted it

Originally Posted by nasirkaka

There is a versys 650 whatsapp group formed, (Bangalore) folks do join for sharing and caring.

Sure would love to join. But, I might not be too active as I'm already in too many groups. Hope that's fine?

Originally Posted by v12

There are various options available on Webike for the Versys

That's an insane price for a digital gearshift indicator. 200 bucks?

Originally Posted by v12

Regarding saddle bags, I feel hard boxes (like the GIVI) would be better than the softer saddle bags since they are easier to maintain and clean and are waterproof as well. Also contents are much safer in a hard box than a saddle bag

My first choice is a hard-case pannier but, as mentioned before I want to carefully tread waters before plonking a lakh on Panniers

From my past experience, in our excitement we buy a bunch of things we "don't" need, use it rarely or even worse ; never use them.

Talk about performance parts, I spend money in a jiffy...LOL!

Query to V650 Owners :

Did anyone get a free tankful of petrol like I did?

[navin_v8]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Good question on the possibility of losing the matt effect if coated with 3M. Actually, what I meant was wrapping the area with transparent film. So I am assuming the matt look is retained. Heck, even I'm not sure. Let me find out later.

You would indeed loose the matt effect on your Versys650 if you opt for 3M transparent PPF as it comes in glossy form and not matte. One member Silverflash had asked me about the same to get it done on his matte black Tbird500. I enquired with 3M outlet in Bombay from where I got my PPF done and they said they do not have a transparent matte film. Also I am not sure how a transparent matte film will look on matt body. Eventually the matte film will become glossy with time. The only option is to go with a black or any other colour matte wrap film.

Thanks Nasir. Bonnie is stamped all over my mind so I will obviously use it as a punching bag for all my comparison notes when I get some time to write down a review later this month even though both these bikes are totally different in many ways

Rightly said these two cannot be compared as one is a Retro Classic while other is an ADV/Sport Tourer.

That's an insane price for a digital gearshift indicator. 200 bucks?

Welcome to the insane world of insanely pricey accessories. Not taking away anything good from the Versys650, if a 70K Suzuki GS150R 6 Speed can come with a gearshift indicator then why not a 700K Versys 650? Beats me hollow.

[shan_ned]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Totally agree. Riding it below 4K rpm is an impossible task. Btw, now I know the exact km/hr at 4000rpm? It is 86kmph. Please confirm if you also noted it

Yes. 21.5 kmph per 1000 RPM (though Speedo will show close to 90 kmph@4k RPM).

[mobike008]

Completed 200kms ( Pic was taken couple of days ago)

I'm going through a painful period and no points for guessing why? Running-in an engine is terribly excruciating as most of us might have already experienced

A few quick observations :

1. Gears are still hard but, getting a feeling that they are smoothening out. Not entirely sure as of now

2. Brake play for front brake is little more than I like and braking also seems to be improving but, is far from what I was expecting. Hope this improvement goes to the point where I can say "WOW" like I'm for a few things about Versys 650

3. Engine note is not that great. Heck, I think the sewing sound of the Bonnie ( even though many folks hate it) is music to my ears. V650 engine note is like a very ordinary commuter bike. Are there any after-market exhausts that help it sound like an in-line 4? LOL!

4. Handling is mind-blowing for this category of a bike. You can sleep in corners. I think its primarily due to the 17" front wheel and shorter rake

5. However, the highlight of the bike is it's "RIDE"---I feel like I'm riding on Stanley leather sofa . It dispatches away the bad roads like you do mosquitoes from your sleeve

Boy! I'm slowly but, surely falling in love with the Versys 650 !!!

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by mobike008

3. Engine note is not that great. Heck, I think the sewing sound of the Bonnie ( even though many folks hate it) is music to my ears. V650 engine note is like a very ordinary commuter bike.

Sorry to say. But no matter whatever you try, it will still sound like a single cylinder engine!

[v12]

I don't think there is any exhaust that will improve the sound of the the 650. It'll just make it more louder than it actually is. I too hate the sound of the 650 || twin...I feel it sounds like a Tata Ace.

Check for after market options on the web and go through YouTube to hear the sound. I did the same when I finalised on the HP Corse. Took me around 4 months to finalise it.