My pre-owned Kawasaki Versys 650: Riding experience

The Versys 650 is one of the most comfortable bikes I've ever ridden. The Kawasaki Ninja 650 comes a very close second.

BHPian Mr.Ogre recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I think Versys 650 is a very underrated bike. I myself was averse to getting a Versys 650. It never blipped on my radar.

I had spent quite some time with the Ninja 650 in India and it was the same thing. Before I got it I wasn't too sure, however, after I got it, I regretted not getting her before.

Coming to the Versys 650 it is one of the most comfortable bikes I have ever ridden, Ninja 650 comes a very close second.

Until you have owned or ridden either one of them you don't realise how much fun they are. From the outside, they don't look like the kind of bikes you can have fun with around the corners, however, once you know your way around them it is hard to not be pleasantly surprised.

What astonishes me is the amount of corner speed you can carry. On the Versys, the brakes are slightly better and the adjustable upside-down suspension at the front is never low on feedback. I have set my front and rear to the hardest, and with that, I feel she is very well planted when entering a corner. She gives me so much confidence that I can choose if I want to go inside or outside of someone in a corner.

At least, for now, my Versys 650 is here to stay.

Here's what BHPian CrAzY dRiVeR had to say about the matter:

Well said! I'm glad you are having fun. Thanks for sharing.

In the Indian context - I absolutely love the stock suspension tune which is on the softer side and still confidence-inspiring. Have been in situations like well-laid, but rough concrete roads where fellow riders on better cornering machines (like the Ninja 1000) had to back off due to too much feedback from the hard front end whereas the softer Versys just feels composed and sorted. Showa suspension was one of the highlights back then and many times I feel it was money worth in our conditions. Only had to play around with the rear preload at times.

The downside in the handling department though - is how easy it is to scrape the pegs! Some non-owners might say this is an atrocious statement - on standstill the pegs look high as to avoid scraping, and the bike doesn't look like it can lean as much as to scrape a peg. I had stiff resistance initially when mentioning this complaint within the friend circle, but now we are sorted on that. Problem is that the comfortable footpeg position for the rider ensures the pegs are set at the lowest point possible (and not high rear-set) as in sportbikes and scrapes on aggressive cornering.

Nowadays I expect it to scrape and don't panic - but never a safe feeling to be dragging metal, isn't it?

I'm curious how you deal with it on the faster roads there?

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