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I bought a 2017 Versys 1000 Base model with side boxes about 1 months ago. It only had 4K miles. and in pristine condition. I ride it everyday. It is such a pleasure to ride. It is comfortable, loads of power and smooth as silk. I got is for $6,500 USD. I've already put 1100+ miles on it. I absolutely love love this bike.
I've had my 2017 basic model for 14 months and love it ,just ordered a brand new 'S' grand tourer picking it up towards the end of the month,it's my kind of bike it has style, comfort,reliability,economy, power when you need it ❤
Definitely a review to believe...glad it is not just a ride along review. I prefer the ones that have some ride along, but then a long walk around description. Thank you, Sir for your candid honesty.
Got an SE version a month ago, moved from a BMW R1250 RS, far better comfort for me and my wife loves it!!, smooth, no vibs although they do present themselves at higher revs which I seldom need. I did fit bar risers as I have short arms and a MRA screen but thats down to personal preference, these will NOT be needed for most riders!. You Will NOT get bored with it when you use the upper rev range, trust me , i know!!the more you use it the better it gets! 4 year warranty and great reliability
I stepped down from a Concours 14 (GTR 1400 for you folks on the other side of the pond) to a Versys 1000 about 3 years ago. I do miss the brutal acceleration of the 1400 (sometimes even us old guys have a bit of hooligan in us), but after about 22,000 miles, I have no regrets. It's an uninspiring bike in some ways, but it gets the job done in comfort and with no fuss.
Hey man, i dont know if im too late or if this opinion is wanted or well recieved but, i am in a unique position to offer it. I live in the USA originally from the middle currently in the north east. I currently own the 2019 versys 1000 Se grand tour. I also own a 2020 vstrom 1050xt. Ive put 40000 miles on the vstrom and 5k miles on the versys. I ride two up exteme offroad and long cross america trips. If you are looking to get into either of these bikes and you are coming from any model, harley, congrats you are making smarter decisions by the minute , ol. Heres some ownership advice for both these bikes. If you put aa lotof miles and I mean alot your going to be doing a lot of maintenance. Personally , I find the work easier on the vstrom 1050. However , the versys needs it less. If you ride two up at all , ou really need to consider the long-term comfort for the woman , of which there is a lot more on offer with the kawasaki. On the offroad , i have ridden around 10000 miles two up in extreme conditions. Single track through rivers and leaving dualsports behind. My advice would be not to even consider bringing the kawi or the pan america. Its alot of work taking these bikes off road ,and some like the kawi or harley . Just dont have it in them for the extreme . The suzuki suprisingly has the chops despite constant professional opinions to the contrary I invite them to come out with me and my wife and see why that isn't the case. Finally , if you have the need for speed , the inline 4 really eats the heart out of everything but the most expensive options boasting 150hp. Some say it has no character ,that's subjective , and i wouldn't own mine if i wasn't in love with it. Ultimately this is all somehwat subjective anyway. I hope you find your next bike. Thanks for your time. Cheers from the other side of the pond
Never ridden a Versys 1000. Have tried the 650 and the 300, both great in their own right. I personally love Kwakers. Some of the most charismatic engines the Japanese make. One of my favourite commuter bikes ever was a 2004 Z 750. Never complained once, bomb proof, never gave me any grief, lane filtering in Sydney peak hour was always entertaining, always got me to work on time in one piece, rain hail shine. Bought it for $3000 and sold it two years later (regrettably) for the same money. I'm not a huge fan of ADV either mate but as you mentioned I'm sure they are a cracking bike.
I had one for about 57k miles. It certainly does the job and I did do some group ADV rides with it. So it is a more versatile bike, but I traded it for the Road King and I got no regrets. Funny you mention "rain mode." When I got mine, I had to leave it there until I found a Power Commander with a better on/off throttle tune. The road mode (or whatever they call it) was too snatchy. One thing I really liked about Kaw was they provided (at the time) a really affordable extended warranty. 2yr standard and 4yrs additional for ~$700. The preload on my shock froze at about 40k miles. Got a new shock out of the warranty which was considerably more costly than the policy. I shudder to think what a new electronically adjusting suspension would cost if that one goes bad. If you could even get the parts. I'd probably put a standard shock on it and call it a day.
Great video Alf. When you say that you don't think this bike would hold your attention for too long, I have a feeling that it'd be hard for any other brand bike to give you that same (perhaps intangible) feeling once you've owned a Harley.
I am considered a new bike myself and your impressions are helping me a lot. However after trying out some bikes I can say that for me high reving bikes are not my cup of tea. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on different bikes 😊👍🙏
I owned one for half a year. It was a very good bike. But too smooth and too civilized. It was a limousine, not a fun roadster. And the sound of it was always bigger than it's acceleration and fun factor. Then I bought an Indian, than a Honda NT1100. Because fewer cilinders are always more fun :)
I'm about same stamp as you with my 2020 Harley I ride 2 up all the time and looking to change from my Harley but this bike don't like the upsweep rear seat which is why I stick to Harley but do feel Harley take the piss
I think this is a 4 in line engine. I dont like that. No character. Boring. Alf try a Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE (if you can reach the ground;-). I drove one last year and it is amazing. At this moment i am in the market to get rid of my Ultra and buy a used XE ‘19 with 22.000km for €13.500…😅😅😅😅
Thanks for watching. Let me know what you think in the comments below. More videos like this here: th-cam.com/play/PLmgCmljtdCzUqvX8H5C5vG1b7QiagtD3Z.html
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I bought a 2017 Versys 1000 Base model with side boxes about 1 months ago. It only had 4K miles. and in pristine condition. I ride it everyday. It is such a pleasure to ride. It is comfortable, loads of power and smooth as silk. I got is for $6,500 USD. I've already put 1100+ miles on it. I absolutely love love this bike.
Best overall bike I’ve had. Engine, handling, sound, comfort: all superb.
I´ve got one and I love it. Amazingly easy to ride despite it´s size. Reliable and smooth, and plenty of go....
Kawasaki inline 4 motors are like a precision watch... rock solid engine. a great choice.😀👍
I've had my 2017 basic model for 14 months and love it ,just ordered a brand new 'S' grand tourer picking it up towards the end of the month,it's my kind of bike it has style, comfort,reliability,economy, power when you need it ❤
Definitely a review to believe...glad it is not just a ride along review. I prefer the ones that have some ride along, but then a long walk around description. Thank you, Sir for your candid honesty.
thank you
Got an SE version a month ago, moved from a BMW R1250 RS, far better comfort for me and my wife loves it!!, smooth, no vibs although they do present themselves at higher revs which I seldom need. I did fit bar risers as I have short arms and a MRA screen but thats down to personal preference, these will NOT be needed for most riders!. You Will NOT get bored with it when you use the upper rev range, trust me , i know!!the more you use it the better it gets! 4 year warranty and great reliability
I stepped down from a Concours 14 (GTR 1400 for you folks on the other side of the pond) to a Versys 1000 about 3 years ago. I do miss the brutal acceleration of the 1400 (sometimes even us old guys have a bit of hooligan in us), but after about 22,000 miles, I have no regrets. It's an uninspiring bike in some ways, but it gets the job done in comfort and with no fuss.
Thanks for the video, just what i want to hear, Gonna buy it...
Hey man, i dont know if im too late or if this opinion is wanted or well recieved but, i am in a unique position to offer it.
I live in the USA originally from the middle currently in the north east. I currently own the 2019 versys 1000 Se grand tour. I also own a 2020 vstrom 1050xt. Ive put 40000 miles on the vstrom and 5k miles on the versys. I ride two up exteme offroad and long cross america trips.
If you are looking to get into either of these bikes and you are coming from any model, harley, congrats you are making smarter decisions by the minute , ol.
Heres some ownership advice for both these bikes. If you put aa lotof miles and I mean alot your going to be doing a lot of maintenance. Personally , I find the work easier on the vstrom 1050. However , the versys needs it less.
If you ride two up at all , ou really need to consider the long-term comfort for the woman , of which there is a lot more on offer with the kawasaki.
On the offroad , i have ridden around 10000 miles two up in extreme conditions. Single track through rivers and leaving dualsports behind. My advice would be not to even consider bringing the kawi or the pan america. Its alot of work taking these bikes off road ,and some like the kawi or harley . Just dont have it in them for the extreme . The suzuki suprisingly has the chops despite constant professional opinions to the contrary I invite them to come out with me and my wife and see why that isn't the case.
Finally , if you have the need for speed , the inline 4 really eats the heart out of everything but the most expensive options boasting 150hp. Some say it has no character ,that's subjective , and i wouldn't own mine if i wasn't in love with it.
Ultimately this is all somehwat subjective anyway.
I hope you find your next bike. Thanks for your time.
Cheers from the other side of the pond
'Therapy bike', this is factor X for me.
Never ridden a Versys 1000. Have tried the 650 and the 300, both great in their own right. I personally love Kwakers. Some of the most charismatic engines the Japanese make. One of my favourite commuter bikes ever was a 2004 Z 750. Never complained once, bomb proof, never gave me any grief, lane filtering in Sydney peak hour was always entertaining, always got me to work on time in one piece, rain hail shine. Bought it for $3000 and sold it two years later (regrettably) for the same money. I'm not a huge fan of ADV either mate but as you mentioned I'm sure they are a cracking bike.
Yes for sure
I had one for about 57k miles. It certainly does the job and I did do some group ADV rides with it. So it is a more versatile bike, but I traded it for the Road King and I got no regrets.
Funny you mention "rain mode." When I got mine, I had to leave it there until I found a Power Commander with a better on/off throttle tune. The road mode (or whatever they call it) was too snatchy.
One thing I really liked about Kaw was they provided (at the time) a really affordable extended warranty. 2yr standard and 4yrs additional for ~$700. The preload on my shock froze at about 40k miles. Got a new shock out of the warranty which was considerably more costly than the policy. I shudder to think what a new electronically adjusting suspension would cost if that one goes bad. If you could even get the parts. I'd probably put a standard shock on it and call it a day.
Yep I think service intervals are quite close together now on these bikes too
Got to agree, I’m not an ADV guy but that bike does look very nice indeed
Yep 👍
Great video Alf. When you say that you don't think this bike would hold your attention for too long, I have a feeling that it'd be hard for any other brand bike to give you that same (perhaps intangible) feeling once you've owned a Harley.
Yep that’s what I keep saying to myself too
For fun please ride the Royal Enfield Super Meteor.
Yes would love to try more of those too
Hope you find the holy grale it is a difficult to make ones mind up i know .
Yes for sure
I am considered a new bike myself and your impressions are helping me a lot. However after trying out some bikes I can say that for me high reving bikes are not my cup of tea. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on different bikes 😊👍🙏
What bike are you considering
Yes it’s a different feel no doubt
I owned one for half a year. It was a very good bike. But too smooth and too civilized. It was a limousine, not a fun roadster. And the sound of it was always bigger than it's acceleration and fun factor.
Then I bought an Indian, than a Honda NT1100.
Because fewer cilinders are always more fun :)
Had one great bike but it does not hold your attention like the sport glide which I changed to, so much more involving, stage 2 👌
I'm about same stamp as you with my 2020 Harley I ride 2 up all the time and looking to change from my Harley but this bike don't like the upsweep rear seat which is why I stick to Harley but do feel Harley take the piss
Yes I’m not sure about long ride comfort in this either
Reflash it, it will give you alot more pep
The Versys 1000 is a nice motorcycle, but I don’t like the characteristics of the inline 4 engine. I love my Harley, but my Tiger is my touring bike.
Yep going from v twin to these is different for sure
Oh, Alf. Quit playing around and throw your leg over a real adventure.
Get yourself the Pan America Special; does it all. Love mine!
marcus
Ha ha I really should give that another go at some point
Good Morning your Lordship, Take a look at the Kawi voyager. The best bang for your buck. 13,900 USD
Oh yes would love too but haven’t seen on e in ages let alone be able to have a go on one
@@RevelatorAlf Same here in Florida. Most dealerships don't stock them. Not big seller. Don't know why, It has great reviews.
Why oh why does the rear fender on these bikes need to be so high? The look of it is awful....
Shiny side up 👍
Yes it’s the sporty design feature ha ha
Looks like a transformer... not for me :-)
I think this is a 4 in line engine. I dont like that. No character. Boring. Alf try a Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE (if you can reach the ground;-). I drove one last year and it is amazing. At this moment i am in the market to get rid of my Ultra and buy a used XE ‘19 with 22.000km for €13.500…😅😅😅😅