The MAM Journals- Kawasaki Versys 1000 SE GT . Easy to respect, hard to love? 

I have owned a Versys 1000 for a little over two years. I have ridden about 15,300 miles on it and it’s been rock solid and dependable only requiring regular maintenance and tires. I will say that in my 50 years of riding since I was 14 years old in 1974, this is the best and most comfortable, capable and fun motorcycle I have ever ridden! It is a great touring bike with the most comfortable passenger seat of any I have tried. It will happily cruise smoothly down the road easily and effortlessly munching the miles or, if I feel the need for speed, just remove the luggage in less than 5 minutes and hit the twistiest roads with the performance of a sport bike and the comfort of an adventure bike! It never fails to make me smile and giggle like a hooligan! I think it is the most motorcycle for the money you can find!

I to decided on one of these, but bought the S model. I tried the bmw, ducati but the versys was a better tourer and better reliability, why anybody needs 170bhp on a tourer is just a dick measuring exercise. Excellent review michael as always, professional and well executed.

Real gentleman's review. Thank You. So, having seen and sat on on all three, Versys, Suzuki GT and Suzuki GX, the Versys made the best impression on me. It gives out some grown man, serious motorcycle kind of vibe compared to other ones and to me, it makes for more powerful road presence. I've ridden sport bikes, sport nakeds (also considered comfortable), but once I sat on Versys, it was comfy as 5 star hotel room. I couldn't believe what I used to consider comfortable compared to Versys lol. The seat, the bar height, equipment that comes with it, the engine, the luggage, and so on. It really is everything a man needs. Sure, there are better looking bikes but I think that's a matter of personal preference and I'm at a point in my life that I don't care if the bike is not flashy or egzotic as long as it makes me happy and it works for what I wanted it for. Big thumbs up for Versys 1000 SE.

Great review. I have the 2022 V1K S here in Australia. My (21 y/o) daughter. who rides an MT-09 SP, calls it a ‘Dad’ bike. I’m happy with that label as I recently rode it comfortably from Canberra to Perth and back (approx 10,000 kms). Like to see my daughter do it on her MT-09!

Great video Michael! I have a versys 1000s gt and I love it. Super-comfortable, practical and reliable; I guess I'm in the Spock camp....hehee!

Very enjoyable review as always, I could listen to you all day 😂👍!!

Nice to listen to a thoughtful reviewer who speaks in whole sentences.

As a Spock fan i approve this bike!

Thanks Mike, another fantastic review👍👍

Great vid and very informative. I bought the Versys 1000 SE Grand Tourer 2024 model in Malta in December 23 and have just returned from a short trip to Sicily and the Nebrodi's which is a large mountainous area with trails. Bike performs as you clearly explained. Did it all and managed the twisty, winding uphills and downhills as well as the autostrada in Sicily. Cruise control worked like a peach as well. Just 2,000 Kms on it but very happy with it.

Yes, your last few words on the film wrap it up perfectly. Your description differentiates charismatic from competent bikes. After owning a few (many) bikes, I now lean towards the former. It’s why I spend hours in the garage looking at it. Charismatic motorcycles are also good value, since you are less tempted to sell it after one or two years. Thank you for sharing your experience.

Well done again, sir. Thank you for the details, insights, and most importantly the opinion. Keep 'em coming.

Great review, thank you. I have a 2020 SE GT that I bought new after the first lockdown at a bargain price. 14,000 miles later I still smile when I open the garage door. Totally reliable, smooth, comfortable and well equipped. The solution for Capt Kirk and his like is to simply put a Ducati badge on it and charge £5000 more!

Thank you for posting, Michael; yet another polished, articulate and excellently presented review that other reviewers may well learn from! Obviously, this Kawasaki is a very capable and accomplished touring bike, albeit, on the heavy side; I’d argue that straight away that eliminates sales from some of us older and lighter riders as I believe there’s simply too much bulk to cart about when it’s not in motion. I do like Kawasakis and I’ve owned a few in my time, but, whilst this is clearly an excellent bike for touring or riding around, it’s not a Kawasaki that particularly excites me for some reason. I think the Suzuki is the better of the two, but that would simply be an informed guess as I’ve ridden neither. A friend has recently bought a brand new Moto Guzzi Mandello V100S; he traded in his rather lovely Guzzi V85TT ‘travel’. I have to say it looks and sounds marvellous; would you consider, if possible, doing a review of one of the newer Moto Guzzis?

I'm considering to buy Versys 1000 S, after having sold my Z900. It had 125 hp, only 5 hp more than the Versys and as far as town riding and regular road use, I felt I never could have fully utilize all the power from the Z900. I feel people have gone mad with the hp numbers. I rode 125 hp motorcycle and it was fast, really fast when you open it up fully. So, for touring I really don't need more than 120 hp that the Versys offers plus I'd have all the comfort no naked bike can ever give you.

Another great episode to add to the collection Michael. Many thanks for the hard work and insight. This bike seemed to have passed me by a little. That being said, as someone who can justify really only having one bike in the garage; one able to cover a multitude of tasks, your review was a very interesting and thought provoking watch.

Great review! I have a Canadian spec 2023 SE LT+ which is the highest spec. Just clocked over 9,000km this past weekend. I agree with pretty much everything you noted about the bike. Its certainly not a popular choice here in North America but I have found it a very underrated machine. I can tour all day solo or two up with the girlfriend. I can also remove the bags and throw it into twisties and its quite capable of being tossed around (as my scraped center stand will attest). Its no Ducati Pikes Peak or BMW S1000XR but for the price point, its a great bullet proof sport tourer with a seating position even more relaxed than a Ninja SX. It certainly lives up to its name Versys (Versatile).

A great review, your genuine enthusiasm may well be responsible for selling a few of those in the coming months. The sort of machine that is almost a well kept secret.

Yes, forget the range indicator until the tank is down to about 1/4 full...only then does it start to give you any reliable guide. No judder on pull off with mine 🧐. Great review overall, thanks!

Love my Versys 1000 S. The range indicator alters with your current riding conditions. In town it shows less but on the highway it will adjust due to the different fuel economy.

We read MAM journals, we click immediately because we know it will be a good VDO 👌 Thanks for your restless work of educating us rider with high quality bike reviews, Michael 😘

Very informative review 👍

Great stuff Michael.

Sensible and comfortable, this Versys can be fast as far as tourers go but comfort is the main focus on this one. I own a 22 Ninja 1000 SX and that is a true sports tourer. The sportiness comes at a price in legroom and wind protection but for me it works great.

I got mine 4 years now. 26.000Km until now. I couldn't be happier!

I bought a 2019 versys 10000 SE GT with only 4,500 miles on th clock almost two years ago. Just enjoy the bike solos or two up with fully loaded luggage. I find it a easy bike to ride and very capable Touring bike. Strong wind likes to catch the front end. Fitted road 6 to it and just spot on for my riding style and speed. The is lower seat option if I wanted to buy it.

Great review again that is some serious piece of kit if you want to cross continent's. I currently don't these days and would personally go for the 1000SX sport tourer much less bike for me to handle these days.

A very fair review, thank you. I have owned one of these for over four years, it's a great bike and perfect for me, but no way perfect for everyone, its too tall, too heavy and too detuned. I don't need the power and I have lowered mine but I may have to change mine for something lighter under 230kgs in the next five or so years as I will be 66 by then. There are lots of great bikes available, its a shame that a lot of people ignore this but its their choice and their money. Cheers MM. :)

Another nicely balanced review Michael, thanks. I think Mr Kawasaki has missed a trick but not keeping the power of the SX engine for this tourer. It seems to do everything you ask of it, but without making a significant impact whilst doing it. Onto the next ....

I have the S model, it's amazing!

Thank you for your review, mate. I appreciate the effort that went into this video. :) keep it up! Will ask my friends to subscribe to your channel as well.

great vid fab bike

Keep my 2019 RT or jump on a new V1000 SE GT? Truly a tough decision…thanks for a great review. Liked and subscribed

A very interesting, informative and thorough review, including both mechanical and affective domains. Although Scotty had beamed you up a bit via the Kawasaki Sky Hook your camera was positioned too low on the ride. We mostly got to examine the mount for the Garmin rather than the road ahead. You convinced me that this is _not_ a future bike for me; I like to enjoy the scenery and the bike's weight and complexity would demand too much attention.

Interesting and informative, as usual Michael. Back in 2014, a bike mag had a Ninja 1000 as a long term test bike. Each month, their writers wrote about it, they loved it, so I bought one. The 10 years newer Versys has a few similar features. You say it is turning 4500 at 70 MPH. Mine does too, after I went up 1 in front and 2 down in back as it was geared for an E.T. number on a magazine page. Crazy for a sport tourer. The clutch may smooth out in time. The 2015 and up has a different clutch hub that oils the plates better. I modded mine, but it is still not totally smooth from a stop. I don't notice that any more. I never put the bags on unless I need them for a trip. All that weight hanging up there has got to hurt the handling. The N1K came with a 190-50-17 in back, and a 190-55 improves the turn in a lot, but it does raise the back a half inch. After 10 years, the engine is still trouble free, and out of my 6 bikes, it is still my favorite to ride on the street. The Versys should put a smile on the owner.

Great review on a much overlooked bike. There are a few 2023 non touring, poverty spec bikes about at sub £10k which makes the Versys a bargain.

Excellent review and an new subscriber 😀 I have test a lot of those sport touring bikes but my problem is that I am tall 194 cm and 119kg but on the Versays im sitting realy good ,i tray the Yamaha tracer 9+ gt but that bike feels like Mikey Mouse bike it was to small for me , as you say in the video the adventure bikes are for an other type of riding i think i will stay and crusing on the backroads and enjoy the Versays not guts no glory 😃

I own a versys 1000 (base model) and a ktm 1290. I changed the suspension on the kawa since the stock components are rubbish. I love this bike so much. I ride it balls to the walls with over 50degree leans in corners it ks absolutely amazing. The ktm is faster but in corners the kawa might be just as quick if you know how to ride it. Fact remains that the engine is boring and power delivery is very predictable. Truly one bike to do it all

Agree except best bike for any amount of money.

When I was looking to change my bike in 2022 this was one bike I looked at, but as soon as I test road the ninja1000sx I bought this instead. I'm 58 but still like the to ride pretty quick some times. I bought the tourer model so panniers, larger wind shield, heated grips , fitted a tank ring and sat nav and feel I have the best of both worlds on long trips. I think if the versys had more power and less weight I could have been tempted. I'm 6 ft 1 but still feel some of these adventure bikes are to big for me.

I have a 2020 se lt version with about 20k. It's definitely great at many things. The engine pulls quite hard from 5000rpm on up and has more than enough power for me. The weight is a big deal whilst moving it around and I've had it fall over in the garage twice and it is extremely hard to get upright. The fact that it has basically the same engine as the Ninja sx, but has significantly more weight, less power and is significantly more expensive than the SX just doesn't make sense to me. It would be very easy for Kawasaki to lighten the Versys significantly. The exhaust is very heavy and it's over-built in many areas, which makes it pretty indestructible, but comes with a weight cost. Those negatives aside, it's very comfortable, the suspension accomdates two-up riding without a whimper, despite it's size, it actually handles pretty damn well, it's got very usable torque is as relaxed or dynamic as you might want it to be. I've had 4 great years with it, but at 65years now, I'll be looking for something lighter and more manageable for me. I think it's a great bike for two-up touring, but if you're mainly riding on your own, there are better, cheaper, lighter choices out there.

Needs a more powerful engine, but thats my opinion. smooth bike I rode it.......

I have a 2016 that I am looking at upgrading in the next year. Really torn on whether I should keep it on the road and get another Versys with the updated suspension...or go for an ADV bike for a bit of off road capabilities. If I am being honest, I would probably be doing at least somewhere around 80-85% road v. 20-15% dirt riding.

I sat on one today. Thinking of trading my 2014 CTX 1300. I want the technology. But damn it’s tall.

Seems like that Vstrom RE would do most anything the Versys does with the benefit of being considerably lighter and more economical. The suspension’s not as fancy on the Suzuki but do you need it to be with 30-some kilos less weight on board ? Fair comparison?

Hi Michael I would have thought it would be the torque difference you would be more likely to feel rather than power? Denis

Do you believe this bike is only best suited for those intending long distance touring? Would a Tiger 900/850 or Suzuki 800RE better complement local rides and shenanigans?

I really liked this bike but the insurance quote was insane for my area, even higher than the Ninja 1000 for some reason. :(

Love is overrated 😂

okay.... so how far this bike is different from a Ninja 1000 , i think i can convert Ninja 1000 to a Versys for cheap.... (if it's not some major expensive mods)

The verses 1000 is not A adventure bike It is a sport touring bike It has been mislabeled You can't just put handguns on it And call it adventure bike You're just gonna get You're just gonna get stuck in the mud on this

Got one brilliant bike very comfortable

BMW S 1000 XR... NUMBER 1.