Joy comes in many shapes and sizes and in this case, it’s a pre owned 2013 Kawasaki 1000 Versys.
If you follow these-here quality pages, you’ll know that we feature a regular coffee Tuesday feature where we head down to Bikeshop Rivonia, select a random pre-owned bike and head out for a ride. The trouble is, that this is often fairly time consuming due to the fact that this lot have such an enormous volume of delectable machines on the floor.
Ace Sales guy Sven Heyerdahl has come up with a solution that saves aforementioned precious time. He prints a list of available bikes, numbers them, puts the numbers into a crash helmet – and we draw one. From now on that’s the plan – so it will always be a bit of a surprise.
This time we drew a neat 2013 Kawasaki Versys with 40000 KM’s on the clock.
This might not be the prettiest bike of all time, but Kawasaki had a plan when they made it. They had a kick ass 1000cc engine mated to some great sportbikes and nakeds, but they needed a middle ground. A bike that was fun to ride for long distances – and so the 1000 Versys was born.
There was a bit of confusion when the Versys 1000 (which stands for Versatile System if you care…) arrived in 2012. Many Kawasaki fans hailed and touted the bike as a real adventure machine – which in South African context, it is not. While it’s softly sprung, the suspension is certainly not long travel… and the bike boasts 17” wheels front and rear.
The bike did however, establish its own niche as a simply brilliant do-it-all road bike.
At 17 years old, this is still a brilliant bike – and we proved it by taking this one on a fast, flowy ride out through the cradle just to get ourselves re–acquainted.
Why we like it:
Comfort:
Well -this bike is seriously comfortable. It’s also designed to happily accept a pillion, so you can take off on that long journey with your best friend on the back. The seat feels plush and you sit upright, so your wrists don’t hurt and your back shouldn’t get sore. Suspension is sprung to the soft side, so it’s perfect for those long journeys. Whilst there are comments roiling around about the styling of little faring and adjustable screen – they do work perfectly. The dash is comprehensive and includes range remaining, current and average fuel consumption and an economy riding light which comes on when you‘re being gentle.
Practicality:
17” wheels, there’s a vast choice of tyres available. The 21 litre fuel tank means that she can do some serious distance between fill-ups. One of the aims of the design team was to match fuel economy with the fact that riders of these bikes rate range very highly, with 300km’s the expected minimum.
This one has a Givi Box fitted, so you can stash your gear. A great addition. It also has a great big skid plate that – well we won’t be doing anything off-road so – well, it’s nice to have. The rear suspension has remote pre-load adjustment and the forks are fully-adjustable
Simplicity:
Electronics include Kawasaki‘s KTRC traction control with three modes. The more aggressive two are designed for the best traction and are similar to the Kawasaki ZX-10R Ninja‘s predictive system, allowing a certain degree of tyre slippage, while the third intervenes early for safety in poor conditions. Similarly there‘s a lower power engine mode which reduces output to 75 per cent of maximum, with a softer power delivery. Output in normal mode is 116bhp (118PS, 86.8kW) at 9,000rpm.
Performance.
At 239KG, this bike can never be described as a lightweight, but it does have a peach of an engine that is more than up to the task.
Based on the Z1000, the four cylinder, in line motor is brilliant with loads of bottom end grunt. Compression was lowered a bit compared to the Z1000 and the fueling was tweaked resulting in 116bhp and 75ftlb of torque.
It’s got gorgeous low down pulling power and it simply sings its way through the six-speed gearbox and Akarapovic pipe (there’s another value proposition for you!), with a great big kick up at the top. There’s still nothing quite like a Japanese four! it’s smooth up to 6,000rpm, after which you get a tingle through various contact points. Mostly the vibes aren‘t too off-putting.
As you’d imagine on a bike like this, speeds well above the national speed limit are quickly attained. And it all happens very smoothly. It’s stable at high speeds and you are backed up by those excellent ABS-assisted brakes.
This is the kind of bike that you’d happily ride through to Mpumalanga with a friend on the back – and if the roads are good, you can co and scratch Long Toms pass and take a ride down to see the Blyde River Canyon. Have a sleep over at Numbi and head for home again in the morning. On Monday, hop on and commute to work and back.
We spent a good few hours in the saddle and found it absolutely comfortable. It‘s broad, well shaped and powerful and a lot of fun to ride.
This specific bike is parked at Bikeshop Rivonia and is priced at just on 100k.
If you are considering a pre-loved bike that’s fast, comfortable and powerful enough to take a weekend with a friend, then a pre-loved Kawasaki 1000 Versys is absolutely worth a second look.
We’ll post a video soon!
