Kawasaki Versys 650: New riding gear & other updates

Took the bike for a city commutes in mid-Jan and realized one fine day that the rear tyres were shot.

BHPian CrAzY dRiVeR recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Riding gear updates:

As mentioned in a previous post, riding gear needed a refresh. After receiving the Rynox Storm Evo Noctex pants - I was impressed by the improved quality on offer from Rynox and went ahead and ordered the jacket too. Noctex works as advertised and lights up like a Christmas tree when direct light falls on it! Might be a bit more attention-grabbing than I had bargained for - but can't deny the safety aspect of it at night. And during the day - it certainly suits the Versys colour scheme!

The horrible condition of the old Dainese gear! Picking white fabric was one of the worst decisions! Will use this for rough use inside the city, going forward:

Package from Rynox:

Noctex in action! Looks dark grey in the morning with not much hint that it is a reflective material:

And lights up like a Christmas tree when direct light falls on it, like from a camera flash:

Also finally got Pinlock 70 for the helmet. (MT Revenge with MT-V12 visor). Pretty straightforward installation, but will need to test it out during the monsoons. Has proven to be effective at traffic signals though - where I couldn't see a thing due to fog on the lens, especially in the recent past with the masks on:

The wife, however, was using her HJC CS14 as a daily and need a complete replacement. After checking a couple of shops for the options available, she finally settled for the MT Thunder 3 SV in size S (HJC was M):

Good quality fabric as compared to my old Revenge. Nice:

Temporarily concludes the riding gear revamp for now. Sum total of expenses on riding gear so far, with the items in red being taken out of service:

Tyre change:

Took the bike for a city commutes in mid-Jan and realized one fine day that the rear tyres were shot. Strangely - I had not been careless or tried to extract the maximum mileage from the tyre. We (BHPians neil.jericho, ebmrajesh and KarthikK) had checked the tyre condition during the previous ride in Coonoor and concluded that the tyres were good for at least another 5k kms! Looks to have deteriorated and squared off very soon afterwards.

15k kms of life from the Metzeler Roadtec01s! Was 19.4k when I bought them in 2018, and the same has been selling at prices close to 35k recently:

Front tyre condition, with almost 50% life left and have been giving excellent grip, so I decided to go ahead with a replacement of the rear tyres alone. The only reasonable choice available currently in the stock size is from Vredestein, but I'm convinced these shouldn't be much of a mismatch! Yep.

Got a second opinion from the expert guys at Motonerdz too. The front will run easily, at least till the next service. Just asked me to watch out for any signs of aggravated wear towards the right side as that will wear out faster due to road banking. Either way - will take it a notch safer on this set just to be sure - till both get replaced as a pair during the next change:

With the Vredestein Centauro ST 160/60-17 installed:

Rain channels seem deeper than I remember of the stock Dunlops and later Metzeler Roadtec01s:

The compound seems to be softer towards the sides, going by fingernail test:

Brake pad change:

Got the front brake pads changed with EBC FA142HH Double H Sintered pads:

The rear has a good amount of life left, at least enough to make it for the next service:

Mini Service:

The below tasks were performed at MotoNerdz, Trivandrum:

• Engine oil had run only 3k kms. Was checked and found to be quite good. Postponed till the next service.
• Clutch cable was thoroughly lubed.
• Air filter was found to be in decent condition, so just cleaned for now. To be replaced during the next service:

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