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KLR vs VERSYS

168K views 392 replies 149 participants last post by  twowheeladdict 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I just traded in my 2008 Versys for a 2009 KLR. There is no comparison in how much better the KLR is off road than the Versys. The 17 inch front on the Versys, the suspension travel, the exhaust & muffler location does not lend itself well to anything rough or slick. The final decision to let the Verys go was a very mild logging road I tried with the Versys. Go up a hill, the MT60 tires would lose traction, and the bike was swimming back and forth "swapping" on the way up. I had both feet down like skis coming back down after thinking...this bike is simply NOT AT ALL AN OFFROAD BIKE!

I have a loop I love to take on weekends, which I was told the Versys would handle. It consists of street, highway, gravel and dirt roads. In the dry, the Versys was good, except in the looser gravel. I found it unsafe to travel at any higher speeds (like 30 mph) in loose gravel. I was particularly careful about the line I would take, looking for the harder sections.

On the same ride with the KLR, I give up alot of power and speed accelerating on the road, but off road the KLR in MUCH better. Any speed is possible on the looser gravel sections, the bike tracks better, does not wander, and feels confident, like it was made for the terrain.

I took the KLR in the pitch black of night on the mild logging road I mentioned above and it was FUN!!! I wanted to do more of it. There is a reason they call the KLR a two-wheeled Jeep! It felt unstoppable on the rough terrain, where I would seriously cringed on the Versys, the KLR would just soak up larger rocks, losse terrain and want for more.

I really want to dispel the idea the Versys is at all an off road bike. There is no way I would take it on anything but a smooth, dry forest service road. If it is wet and muddy, forget it. Kawasaki does not market the Versys as an off road bike, and they are entirely correct in this. That is why they offer the KLR/KLX series.

I was on long street ride on the Versys when I first bought it, and there were logging roads I wanted to explore, but it was very wet, and I wasn't confident in how the bike would get me back if the going got rough. Now, with the KLR I will explore any road I come across, paved or not.

I hope this helps anyone considering these machines!

Andrew
 
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#3 ·
In defense of andyversys I have seen many many dealers with signs on the Versys describing it as an "on/off road" or dual purpose bike. I do recall not to long ago you could also find the Vesys on the Kawasaki website listed in the dual purpose and sport menu pull down. With that siad it is pretty well known around here that it is not a capable off-road bike, maybe un-improved or hard packed road at best.
So andyversys what do you feel yopu traded off from the Versys to the KLR? I was looking at the KLR when I got the Versys but unlike yourself I didnt see much off-road in my rides. What ever the case good luck with that bike I think we all might admit if funds allowed it is endless the bikes we would want to have at our disposal.....
 
#6 ·
I've been in "Tank slappers" with my KLR with no one else around and probably would have been Coyote food if I would have dumped it on a regular old Gravel road! Be careful no matter what you are riding when you are out alone. I still have the KLR and will sell it when the market comes back up in the Spring for bikes. They are a great bike, but, don't have anybody to ride with offroad and have had too many close calls by myself. KLR is also an amazing Pack Mule and sounds good with a Pipe on it as well. You can drive the Harley guys nuts when you're sitting at a Stop light and your single makes their "Potatoe, Potatoe" look like Mashed Potatoes unless they have at least a Stage II kit in them for more than you paid for your Bike and Pipe! Happy exploring!
 
#8 ·
Actually, I've seen quite a few people insinuate that the Versys is capable of mild off road work, but I've always maintained it's a pavement only machine AFAIK. I have a KLR for true dual sporting and if the trails get too tight, I'll take my CRF250X or KTM 200XC which are night and day more capable in the dirt than even the KLR. Right tool for the right job and all that.

2 cents,
Dave
 
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#10 ·
I have never considered it an off-road bike either.

Kawasaki has (or had) it listed as Dual-sport on their website, but then in the detailed description, described the dual-sports as touring and commuting, plus weekend warrior.

Then the MC mag writers added to the confusion, because they think ANY bike with more than about 4 inches of fork travel MUST be a dual-sport.


The Versys is simple. It is a street sportbike. The added 1-1.5 inches of suspension travel make it more comfortable on poorly maintained PAVED roads. It also allows for better two up riding, and loading it down with luggage.

Put a set of really good sport tires on this bike, and you understand why I say its a sportbike. It handles fantastic!

If anything else, its an overgrown super-moto.
 
#11 ·
To be or not to be!

I have changed my tires on the versy's to the pirrelli scorpion syncs. They have a tread pattern that is condusive for riding off road as well as all year on the streets. I can now say that I enjoy gravel on the V. I can take it on a mild trail coming off a fire road but only if I have explored it before and know what I am in for. As far as the V being an offroad machine. NO sport tourer yes. I can hit any fire road I have ever been on and be comfortable. I have been riding a few years now and experience plays a big part.
 
#12 ·
I have 12,000 miles on my V and ride it in the dirt 25% of the time with street tires on it. If you come to a muddy spot in the road you do have to put your feet down though. Other than that I fly in the dirt. I live in a rural area and we have as many dirt roads as hardtop roads. I've been riding since I was 6 and I'm 47 now. Almost all of that time was spent dirt riding and riding on the blacktop is actually more scary to me. If I had dirt bike tires on my V I could take it anywhere as long as I had enough clearance below the bike.
 
#13 ·
Th Versys can not do what a KLR or a GS does, it is simply not the same type of machine. It cannot, easily, traverese completely offroad or on very narrow trails. That being said, the Versys can do dirt roads. It can get you to your camp site. It can get you through gravel, and mud. I would recommend getting more DS geared tires though as the stocks are not at all made for dirt.
 
#15 ·
With all due respect, there are widely divergent opinions on what "off road" means and I'm not picking on anybody in particular but I've raced off road for 10 years and I've ridden for 35 years and I guarantee you that there are a great many places that you'll never take a Versys no matter what tires you put on it! From my perspective the V is a pavement only machine 'cause I have a KLR for dirt roads and mild trails but I'll concede that it could be adequate on dirt roads with the right tires.....but it'll never be a KLR in the dirt and the KLR will never be a real off road bike either. I don't consider the V to be truly off road capable.......according to my definition of "off road" but that doesn't mean you can't do it.

Dave
 
#16 ·
Congrats on finding the bike the suits you best. That is what motorcycling is all about - enjoying the ride. :yeahsmile:

I gave up a BMW for my Versys and I'm sure there were some out there thinking I gave up the best bike on the road. Not for me is wasn't. For me it's the Versys - I do 90% street riding with a required capacity to do dirt roads. I need an adventure type motorcycle and that is what I've made my Versys into. I now have the bike I've always wanted and enjoy it more every day.

Enjoy those roads with your new friend and don't look back, the Versys just wasn't your ride.
 
#17 ·
Well stated. On the flip side, I seriously thought of just using the KLR that I already owned for street duty as well as dualsporting, but it just didn't offer quite enough performance on the road; I'm VERY happy with the V for street riding/commuting.

Dave
 
#19 ·
I started riding two months or so ago, and I want to be able to cruise 50-100 miles to state forests, spend a lot of the day exploring on gravel forest roads, and cruise home, enjoying all this. Also, commute and dash about on country roads. My dog and I scouted out a nearby 3 mile, curvy, hard packed gravel road in the Subaru, and after I put on the H-B crash bars, I tried it on the V (stock tires). After the first turn I felt O.K., I kept it down to about 30 MPH, but could still divert enough attention to enjoy the fall colors and nearby creek. I enjoyed it enough, that I'll probably do it again this weekend, unless it rains, then I'll have a different learning experience in the High School parking lot. I don't know much, but it just felt like with appropriate tires and a little experience, my plans will work out very well with the Versys. Good starter bike, in my experience.
 
#29 ·
OK so I’ll enter the fray with my TCW. In 1932 on a 2 cylinder Douglas, Robert Fulton Jr rode around the world on what we would now consider bicycle tires. Ted Simon rode a 1973 Triumph Tiger around the world when there was no such thing as a “dual sport” bike. The point I’m trying to make is any bike can go “off road’ just some will do it better than others. It is more the will to go, than the limitations of the bike.
That said, the V will never be a true off road bike, but nor are others that are marketed as “adventure” bikes. The Buell Ulysses, the Triumph Scrambler and earlier Tigers, the Honda Varadaro, and to some extent the V-Strom for example are all limited in their abilities to go off road. It comes down to what you want in a bike.
I’ve owned a 1998 KLR and rode it from Montreal to Panama. Most of that was on paved roads, but there was a lot of back roads or beach roads, mountain paths and crude stretches of “short cuts”. The KLR was only limited by my choice of tires, which were not good in mud.
Since then I’ve come to realize what I need in a bike. Firstly I can only afford one; and most of my riding is on paved roads commuting and weekend rides with friends. However I still like to explore the dirt roads and hope to one day ride to Hudson’s Bay or the Trans Labrador Highway which I know the V can do easily with the right tires. As in all things in life, it is a compromise. If your not in a hurry, and not going where only a really “off road” bike can, the V with a good skid plate, the right tires, and a good sense of adventure should be able to get you there.

Moe
 
#30 ·
That's a good post. You hit the nail on the head; just like I said earlier, it depends what you mean by "off road". The Versys obviously CAN go "off road" to some degree. It may not be good at it, and it may be far from the ideal off road mount, but it CAN be done as long as the going doesn't get too rough. For anyone that disagrees with that and insists that a Versys can go ANYWHERE, I have a loop behind my house that I'll be please to take you on. Bring your bike. Heck I'll even supply the tires.

I understand that not everyone wants or can afford a bunch of different bikes and if your idea of versatility is to put some "dual sportish" tires on your V and take the odd dirt road then more power to you.

Cheers,
Dave
 
#31 ·
Good topic. I bought my Versys with the expectation to ride it 30% on dirt/gravel roads. After four months and 600 miles on dirt, I am satified. I go 30-40 mph on decent roads and 20-30 mph on rougher stuff and have ridden throughout the CO mountains. I avoid rocky trails, gravel on a slope and single tracks, but other than that I've ridden lots of dirt on stock tires and have had no trouble.
 
#32 ·
Someone needs to invent super fast quick change wheels, so you could run street tyres on one set and then switch over for the weekend blast through the hills on knobblies.

The key limitation to any vehicle, two wheels or more, is tyres, your contact patch with the surface you're traversing. Almost everything else is personal taste. I used to get laughed at a lot when I rode an old 70's road bike around the tracks my mates were buzzing around on hard core off-roaders. I'd stuck as set of crusty old knobbly tyres on it with bugger all left across the middle of the tyre, (from too much tarmac) but plenty on the shoulders where you want it for some sideways action in the dirt. I wasn't as swift, nor agile but I was going everywhere they were.

As moflow points out... theres a thin line between limitations of the bike and limitations of the rider. :)
 
#33 ·
I'm sorry, but that's just wrong; tires aren't the ONLY thing that make a decent dirtbike. It sounds to me like some of you haven't ever been on a true harescramble/cross country race course because there is NO WAY you'd ever make it back to the pit. I've been racing for many years and I can tell you that even Ty Davis isn't going to make it around one of our courses on a Versys (with or without knobbies).

As I've said (several times now, in fact) whether a Versys is capable off road depends greatly on your definition of both "capable" and "off road", but regardless, make no mistake: there are a great many places in this world that no Versys is ever going to go.

Dave
 
#34 ·
We ride in very loose sand, lumpy as buggery, no huge hills, no real rocks to speak of but plenty of trees and stuff to run into/over, then often out onto the local limestone marble gravel on hard packed unsealed road. It's not the most challenging terrain I grant you but it still hangs up quite a few guys on pretty good bikes and yet I make it through on a pile of junk. We have Enduro races and other pro events on the same land though I've not competed myself, ( I simply have no inclination to, nor do I get a buzz from competition with anyone but myself). My rat bike isn't a Versys by any means and I guess by saying so I'm diverting from the original topic about it being the bike in question.

If we bust a bikes purpose down to the core level, it's about transport. It's about carrying your arse from one place to another with the most safety and efficiency. If a bike gets you from A to B without removing skin and within a reasonable time frame, I'd say its 'capable', regardless of the terrain crossed.

My pile-of-crud gets places it was never designed to go just by adding some crusty offroad tyres and riding it with some knowledge. It just didn't work in the sand, or on the loose crud on the road with the original skinny pavement tyres, all it did was spin on the spot in sand and do its best to dump my ass on the gravel. Adding those knobblies transformed the bike. It's the same story with cars. Ask any racer about whats the first thing to change when you go from street to track and you'll find 99 times out of 100 its wheels and tyres.

In short, add knobblies to a Versys and I think you'll find it goes all sorts of places you couldn't go before you made the change. By the looks of it, your substantial stable would give you ample opportunity to test this. Jam some road tyres on one of your dirt bikes and see how quickly you come off... ;)

There's a reason why we have drag slicks, why we have water dispersion grooves and gator skin knobbles.

Oh and to rub a little salt into the wound, my Uncles very well maintained and kept Honda XR500S (late 80's, last of the drum brakers), is an unforgiving twitchy pain in the ass in the same terrain. I'm happier on my pile-o-poop, forgoing the power for some more controlability. His Honda has dumped me many more times than the junkpile, mostly because I don't modulate the grunt well enough. I'd be willing to bet that you would much prefer the Honda to the POS and you'd probably get around the track far faster than I ever could... and viola.. we come to my last point, personal style and preference.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

As a sidenote : Experience is a double edged sword my friend. It gives you many advantages but it also dulls your ability and capacity to accept different ways of doing things. Hard won modes of operation, hard won skills are precious, no doubt about it but you always need to leave room for the possibility that you can do something another way.
 
#35 ·
We probably agree on as much stuff as not, but to be clear on what I was trying to say;

- Yes, tires make a HUGE difference. I've ridden my KLR with Pirelli scorpions as well as a new set of DOT knobbies and the bike was far more capable off road than with the Pirellis. Still wasn't a real dirt bike, but much better than before. At the same time, the extra 100 lbs, spindly forks, cheapo suspension, etc. all mean it has no chance keeping up to my CRF. At some point in time, I have to concede that "capable" to me has a minimum speed! OTOH, there are some obstacles encountered off road that require a certain minimum of speed and momentum to make it through.

- Again, there is off road and then there is off road. I've been on trails that I had to lift my bike over a dozen logs too big to jump over. I've had to ford creeks up to my seat and I've been on hills that it took a 220 lb 50hp bike to get to the top of. On THESE kinds of trails, a Versys would still be out there somewhere like those cars you see off the sides of logging roads with bullet holes and the paint burned off!

- My point in belabouring all this is simply to prevent some poor newbie sap from reading this forum and buying a Versys "'cause the guys on the web said it made a good off-road bike". It isn't a good offroad bike and can't really be made into one either. What it CAN do is go on dirt roads and such provided you have the right tires.

I love my Versys and it's a great bike.....but it's not a dual sport much less a dirt bike. If a guy wants to spend a fair bit of time off pavement, there are much better choices out there.

None of this is meant as any sort of personal derision and, in fact, I admire your spirit for getting out there and riding regardless of your chosen steed. I don't know where you're from, but if you find your way to the southern interior of British Columbia, you have a standing invite for a trail ride. I'll have something you could ride.

Cheers,
Dave
 
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