2010 Kawasaki Versys launch test review

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The 2010 Versys has had a lick of paint, a wash and scrub up. The model’s been around since 2006 and has proved to be a hit with riders who want a do-it-all runabout. The Versys snared a lot of sports bikes types fed up with dodging speeding convictions and even trail bike riders who, when they were honest with themselves, never actually used their bikes off-road at all. Practical and versatile is never a sexy sell but the Versys was fun to ride and those who took the plunge weren’t entirely disappointed.

You may recognize the 649cc, 63bhp engine from films such as ER-6n and ER-6f and indeed, the 1st version of the Versys. It’s effectively a ZX12 motor chopped in half and is a lesson in compact packaging. Features like the semi-dry sump, cassette-piggy-back gearbox, integral crankcase water galleries and ultra compact, oversquare, electro-plated bores make this 180-degree parallel twin physically diminutive.

The team behind the redesign have sensibly left the engine well alone. Well, the mechanical bits anyway. Any parallel twin is going to suffer from vibration and Kawasaki’s answer was a gear-driven balance shaft. This took the edge off the vibes but Versys owners still complained of pesky tingles getting through to the bars and pegs. A new rear rubber engine mount has sorted this out although, oddly, the left hand mirror blurs while the right hand one doesn’t. Other mods are just cosmetic like the LED tail-light and redesigned headlight assembly and the redesigned side exit exhaust end can.

A combination of a short wheelbase (1415mm) and a mere 108mm of trail means the Versys is keen to change direction. There are factory superbikes running more conservative figures than that. On the roads – particularly twisting, grippy, bumpy Sardinian ones – the Versys flicks from side to side with nothing more than a gentle counter-steer and a quick flick of the hips.

And with 150mm of front wheel travel and 145mm of rear wheel travel (now softer sprung and damped than the previous model) and wide-section 17-inch Dunlops, it doesn’t really matter what the road surface is up to. I’m not sure whether it’s the low footrests, the wide bars or the long travel suspension but the feedback from the tyres is immense – the total opposite of a firmly sprung sportsbike. I had a few floaty-rear tyre moments but the warning you get is so progressive it’s almost encouraging you to make it break traction on purpose.

Normally I’d be complaining about softly damped long travel suspension but it really does work in harmony with the chassis and engine characteristics. The engine has fantastic throttle response at small openings and at low revs – not a trait that blessed the ER-6 I rode last year. From 3,000rpm to an indicated 7,000 the Versys grunts like a hungry boar.