Why did I buy a Kawasaki Versys X300? 

I just purchased my almost new 2017 Kawasaki X300 Versys on Monday of this week. It had 1540 miles on the odometer and looks absolutely brand new! It was delivered to me by the original owner on Tuesday April 13, 2022 which is the first day that I rode my new motorcycle. The previous owner rode it to my state so that he could rest assured that I would register and title his motorcycle before he turned it over to me. First let me say that I am 68 years old. I am 5-10" tall, weigh 269 pounds and I have a 29/30" pants inseam. I looked all over for specifics on whether this motorcycle would be a good fit for me. I knew it was tall with the seat height at 30.9". But would I fit this motorcycle well. I already had a bad experience owning a 2002 BMW R1150GS that was a huge machine, a real monster. That BMW proved much too tall and heavy for me to safely handle so I sold it right away. I replaced that BMW with a 2001 R1200C Pheonix which proved much more manageable with it's seat height of a mere 29.9". But it is a 1200cc machine which means it is VERY heavy! So I bought a little Honda Grom which proved to be so much fun that I thought to myself, "wow, look at what I have been missing." Then I discovered a Blog online where a girl named Noraly is riding her 2022 Honda CRF300L from South America to Alaska. She calls her site "Itchy Boots" where she posts 3 videos per week on average. After watching her great adventures for a couple of months I decided that I must have a motorcycle just like hers. But then I discovered that the Honda CRF300L is nearly impossible to acquire right now unless you are willing to pay $2,000 over MSRP. Yikes. That is when I discovered the 310 BMW and the X300 Kawasaki Versys. I went with the Versys for several reasons. First, it was availability. Next was value and finally after watching many reviews on RU-vid I liked the twin cylinder water cooled engine making 40hp. So I bought one! I have ridden it 60 miles so far. This is what I can report. First, it IS TALL. We lowered the rear shocks to the lowest factory settings and now I can almost flat foot the motorcycle. It actually seems manageable although I almost dropped it going up the ramp into my shop today. Scared me a bit. The motorcycle is whisper quiet. I like this because my Honda Grom snarls like a mad dog with it's aftermarket Vance & Hines pipe. Really it is too loud. But the X300 has a very nice exhaust note. I do not plan to change this. Next, This motorcycle handles beautifully. The ride height seems tall but the bike is so friendly in every situation. I just love my new X300. Finally, this motorcycle is geared very low. Extremely low. But I guess Kawasaki wanted it this way. I go through the gears to find that I am in 5th at 37mph lol. I hit 6th at about 43 mph and that is the last gear. It seems like it should have a 7th & 8th gear lol. The bike redlines at 12,000 rpm. Whoa, that makes it a screaming machine. When you ride 65mph the engine turns 7,500 rpm. This is very alien to me and seems insane. But there is tons more throttle left after that, all the way to 12,000rpm. Amazing! This bike gets 51mpg so the high rpm must be efficient. I researched re-gearing the bike but you cannot alter it very much without disturbing the engine's code(s). For this reason I plan to leave mine all stock. Finally, the seat is very hard, most uncomfortable. I rode 40 miles today and my Fanny wanted off of this torture device. I guess I am spoiled by the Corbin Seat on my BMW R1200C. Finally, my biggest concern was, "will this motorcycle have enough power to haul my fat butt around lol". Yes it does! The low gearing is so powerful that this little Kawasaki doesn't even know that I am onboard. I get the impression that the X300 could carry a circus elephant if one was so inclined. I hope this little report will help others decide to buy a X300 Versys. I sure am happy with mine. So lite and easy to handle. That is where the fun is!!!

Your off to a bad start when you let the wife tell you what you can do. She is to be your best friend not your boss. Everything else is great. Enjoy

I bought my versys-x in June of 2020. Put 3000 miles on it. I love it. Light. Fun. Easy to ride. Quick for what it is. I love everything about it.

I also bought a new versys x 300. I have had it a couple years and love it.

Man! you spent 11.5 minutes talking about everything but the versys 300 in a 13 min video.

You just described lots of people’s journey into buying there first ADV bike. Basically, you got an off-road capable Ninja 300. Great looking machine, enjoy it. 👍🏼👍🏼

I took mine on a 2 week 2500 mile journey to Norway. The bike is perfect for longer adventures. Loved it.

So how does it handle with you being only 5’4”?

I can confirm that this seat is probably harder than a 2X4", but I've found someone to make it more confortable...I'm 67 yo and I don't need this kind of treatment when riding...Oh, BTW, this is my "only complain"! I'm an ex-Harley rider....

Title should been. "MY life motorcycle history, an oh, I bought a 300versy"... LOL

Getting ready to pull the trigger on a Versys x 300 (hopefully ABS). Hope you continue to post... subscribing.

Early retirement in the Philippines.....At 56 y.o., I moved here and purchased a Kawasaki Ninja 650......havent owned a sport bike for 30 years.

I'm in the same boat. I live in the boonies and have been thrashing my cruisers on dirt roads and washed out cattle guards. I just bought a Multistrada off a guy in Santa Fe and the added suspension and ground clearance is making my adventures so much more fun

Nice video man! I'm looking to get into riding after I finish school next spring, and for the longest time I've kept coming back to the Versys X300. I'm 25 but I don't really care about speed on motorcycles, so the sportbike category doesn't really wet my whistle. I just really like the idea of having a bike that is great to learn on, fun to ride in the streets, comfortable, but can also do a couple hours of highway duty and has the capability to take some light to moderate off-roading for areas I just want to ride around in and explore. Good luck with the channel man, hope I see it grow!

Hey Mike, thanks for your video! You mentioned a few times you sold a bunch of your bikes. Do you have any recommendations/advice on how you did it? Websites, types of sales, networking, etc?

Is the Versys X-300 really that big? Or is your body built skinny?

Good summary of why you bought the Versys 300X. I just bought one and can add it is light weight (for what it is) and is easy to handle. Also you can modify this bike with so many accessories. It tops out at 100 mph so what more do you need ? (rhetorical question) With a red line of 12,000 rpm this seems insane and I will need to adapt to high revs to ride at freeway speeds. I am just starting and already from watching some RU-vid videos have a list of items to add or change to my 300X. Thank you for sharing.

BTW, I'm 6'3" and I lowered the pegs 1 inch and installed 2 inch Rox Pivoting risers - I stand a lot and this really helps a LOT for tall people! I now have 3600 miles on her. I also installed T-Rex Racing engine guards, which I see you have also, and a T-Rex skid plate. I fabricated a light bar and put on two Auxbeam auxiliary lights - not street legal, but great any other time. Also, I suggest watching Fortnine vid on the X300 and also his vid on "How to do donuts on a Versys X300.. He loves this bike! -Ray near Durango.

Great vid - I've had similar experiences - started on a KLR250, then a Husaberg FE390 (best dirt bike I ever sat on - still have it). 18 months ago I got a 2018 Versys X300 and recently bought a Suzuki Vstrom 650 (heavy, but great commuter and road trip bike- ONLY LIGHT GRAVEL ROADS!). X300 INFO: LOVE this bike for everything but high-speed pavement, but it actually does well even there, just no "extra" power at highway speed. That said, I just returned from a 644 mile trip on my X300 - southwest Colorado (I live near Durango) to Moab, Utah, then trails around Moab, then back home. Longest trip on the Versys so far AND IT DID GREAT!!! About 2/3 to 3/4 off pavement (TransAmerica Trail), but also some great mountain twisties on pavement and great on all but the worst off-road stuff. Several mountain passes, decent gravel / rocks, not too challenging. I have Mitas E07 tires (watch RU-vid reviews on them) - great 50/50 tire that only got me stuck in deep sand on one occasion near Moab - but some full knobby dirt bikes got stock also. For luggage I adapted Pelican cases to Givi racks - about 20-25 liter cases (one IM2300 and one 1520). This bike handles like a dream, has adequate power for commuting and with my new tires does great on forest roads and jeep roads in our area. I also live in the county - 5 miles to the nearest pavement, but gravel roads are good county maintained roads. Several other trips to local mountains have been great. You mentioned, Keepcounty

Similar to you I had decided on the Yamaha XT250. I made a list of several upgrades like a windshield, halogen headlight, gear shift indicator that I wanted to get for it. When I went to the dealership to buy it, they had sold the XT. I started looking, again and discovered the Kawasaki Versys X-300. I, too, am 5'4' tall and seat height was a big factor for me. For only a few hundred more, this bike has a windshield, fuel gauge (low fuel light only on the Yamaha), gear ship indicator with a nice instrument panel, 6-speed as opposed to 5 speed and 2-Cylinder. September 1, 2021 will be one year since I took the motorcycle home. I have ridden 4200 on just day trips. I am so happy in choosing Kawasaki, I can't tell you enough. Thanks for the video!