As the penultimate of the 650 platform, Kawasaki has refreshed the popular Versys 650 for model year 2022. In the hilly surroundings of Girona we were able to get acquainted with the bicycle and our man Ron Huis was quite enthusiastic afterwards. An extensive test will soon be available on Motorfreaks, here’s a first impression of the Rocketman.
We have something to do with that, with the Versys 650 that was put on the market by the green team in 2007 as the ultimate toy for the mountains, especially after we had done that ourselves in the French Alps for three days exactly a year later. were allowed to experience during the Kawasaki Experience. Yes, that first Versys was ugly as night – it was also called the Multipla on two wheels – but oh what a great toy that thing was.
That changed in 2015, when the bike, along with its big brother the Versys 1000, was given a completely new look that was more in line with the Ninja family and then the addition 650 was given the addition 650 for the first time in the name. The Versys 650 had come of age, albeit somewhat at the cost of its mischievous nature. However, the general public was not sad about this, thanks to its metamorphosis, the Versys 650 finally became the big success that Kawasaki had aspired from the start and that the bike had actually earned from day 1 based on its handling characteristics and fun factor.
With the now-launched fourth generation, Kawasaki has once again gone to great lengths, studying the customer profile and tailoring the Versys 650 to their needs. According to Kawasaki, that profile can be split into two groups: the tour riders and the commuters. In the first group, matters such as duo-seat comfort, luggage options and long distances are high on the list, where the cummuter considers purchase and maintenance prices especially important. A reliable and convenient tool for everyday use, where you can also do a sporty tour around the church.
Although the Versys 650 can still be recognized from a distance, Kawasaki has refined the appearance, so you can immediately see that this is a new version. Like the Ninja family, Kawasaki has now also fitted the Versys 650 with gills that seem even more hefty than the Ninja, but what we really like the most is the new windshield which not only fits into the design much better, but It is also much easier to adjust in height.
The new windshield should offer better wind protection, in conjunction with the gills in the cockpit, which should have improved long-distance comfort. Whether that is the case will have to be determined by an extensive test in our own country, but during the 180 kilometer ride through the Spanish (or should we say: Catalan) mountains we have had no complaints about it.
From the comfortable seat, where you can rest your butt against the raised edge of the pillion seat, you have a view of the well-known 4.3″ TFT color display with Bluetooth connectivity that is now used on almost all Kawasaki models. In other models, the display can be connected to the Kawasaki Rideology app, so that you can, for example, check the route you have driven from the lazy couch.
The new Versys 650 also marks an outright first for the green team, as it is the first bike on the 650 platform to now feature adjustable traction control. The KTRC has 2 positions and can also be switched off, although you have to stand still for the latter. By the way, turning off the traction control is never permanent, when the engine is switched on, the traction control is on by default, regardless of whether you had turned it off the previous ride.
Now we have not seen that as a limitation at any time during the 180 kilometers long route, which thanks to a smooth Spanish driver who has been here before, judging by his driving style. Only if you want to put Versys on the rear wheel – which is perfectly doable by the way – you must first have switched off the traction control, but to call that a disadvantage…
“Simply summarized, the Versys 650 is a real all-rounder, an engine that excels at something, but also lacks nothing. The block is smooth and powerful enough for all all-round purposes,” says our man Ron Huis from Girona. To conclude his first impression with: “I would even venture to say that on the variety of roads that Kawasaki had devised for us, no supersport could have followed us.”
The extensive test of the 2022 Versys 650 will soon be available on Motorfreaks.
– Thanks for information from Motorfreaks.