http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs...nture-shootout

That was a good review. The Versys did well, but that Yamaha seems really great.

I'm not sure I see it that way. The Kaw is more powerful, more stable, and more comfortable. If you kick in money that goes to the Yami, but I'd easily spend the grand difference to make the FJ right and I still don't think it'd be as good as the V1K.

Besides, even with it's twitchy steering and "eager" engine, I'm pretty sure there won't be too many FJ's leaving me in the mountains on the V1K.

Anyway, nice vid.

Over on the FJ-09 forum, I posted that the video convinced me to buy a Versys 1000. The admin got pissy and deleted my comments! Sensitive bunch over there I guess. I deleted my profile there, don't need that silly stuff.

that's pretty funny.

obviously, we all have different definitions of "good." for my money, i'd take the FJ, though it is unpretty. not "ugly" not in a cool/different/funky/wtf gen1 Versys way, but just plain ugly. Yamaha usually builds the more fetching bikes from Japan, but there was no effort to beautify the FJ. looks like engineers had no designers to interfere with their work. there will be no time wasted in the garage gazing upon the FJ.

Good for me means the FJ would need a better seat (but still wouldn't have the 2 up room of the V1K), better windscreen, and likely a steering damper if the steering is as marginally stable as they suggest. And with all that, the rider ergos still don't fall as nicely into place as they do on the V1K. I've also heard that that engine has cam chain tensioner issues that people are buying manual adjusters to fix. Of course that voids their warranty all to hell.

At Cycle Gear in Fullerton, CA, there are some pretty nice bikes that pull up. Yesterday, a 1200 Yamaha pulled up. He said it was 100 lbs more than mine and he paid $15K vs $5k for mine, and his proud grin melted away from his face. It was a nice bike and a nice guy. People just want more cc's, just like BMW's, until they learn better. 650cc is perfect motor size in a couple of models at least (singles or twins or even v's.) But I really think Kaw Vs. 650 really hit a sweet spot (thank goodness for the Ninja 650's!)

A hundred extra pounds and 35 extra horsepower almost seems like suicide (because all that hp comes at high rpm and mph.) When the Vs 650 mid range boost DOH cam's kick in, the race is over.

If providing power were the only consideration, I'd probably agree. A 650 provides plenty, especially for a solo rider on a light bike.

The problem is doing longer jaunts where their busy, buzzy nature can become irksome. And when touring, many people just want to roll on the throttle and have the power available to pass even from a cruising speed without needing to shift. Yes it's lazy, but it's a legitimate reason people are willing to spend more on bikes with higher displacement, torquey engines. They also tend to come with bigger alternators for more electric capacity.

The biggest downside to larger displacement bikes is that mfgs don't always do a good job of shielding their additional heat output from the riders.

The LONGEST continuous ride I've done on a V was the D2D ride in '13, which was 7,500 kms (4,650 miles) give-or-take (IF memory serves) over 16 days (of which 3 or 4 were spent "exploring" Dawson City......), and I have NO recollections of anything untoward regarding vibes.

We all have different levels of tolerances for such things. Apparently, some did have issues with the vibes as Kaw is making a major point of its 2015 marketing campaign, that the new rubber mounted engine configuration dampens them out better.

I can't really make a comment on a Versys specifically as I've never had the opportunity to ride one, but I have ridden my share of smaller displacement bikes, including a Ninja 650, on which I based my statement.

Don't get me wrong, plenty of liter bikes (particularly inline 4s) are buzzy too, but it's generally at rpms that have the bike run way over the speed limit. Supposedly, the V1K is calm below 6k rpm. I imagine in top gear that's over 100 mph.

says video is private

Click on the link above the video. It will take you to the story and you can watch the video from there.

One thing that drives me bonkers is that even moto-journalists don't seem to have a concept of power. They all agree that the V1K can walk away from anything in the comparo and then conclude at the end of the article that the FJ09 has the best power to weight ratio. NO! It might have the best PEAK power to weight ratio, but if it had the best power to weight ratio it would be faster than the V1K.

So silly how people get hung up on peak values. Who rides these things around with them constantly spinning @10k rpm with the throttle pinned anyway? Journos should know better.

Why? The V1K has an engine with a better power to weight ratio. Ain't like you gotta pedal it.

comparing power:weight using a number other than peak power wouldn't make any sense. then you would have to agree about which road speed matters and whether it has to be top gear..... roll on is about displacement and cylinder count and matters more for the riders mentioned above, too lazy to shift. anyway, for me, tonnage trumps those things. gatago FJ... if selecting between the bikes in the article.

my hangups with the Yamaha are mileage and range. it's hard to accept the notion of a moto getting less than 40 mpg. of the 7 bikes i've had, the versys is the second with a range of 200+. it's hard to give that up. interestingly, the other was a '98 interceptor. that was also my thirstiest bike to date, 44-48mpg.

that said, you can't trust consumption numbers from journos. they seem to burn thru the petrol at higher rate than the average rider.

To the contrary, using Total Power over the engine's entire operating range is the only meaningful measure. That is the area under the entire power curve. The curve itself is important too. I prefer nice linear power delivery as is reported to be the way the V1K lays it down. Others like a big non-linear power hit for the exponential surge of acceleration when the engine spins up. Plenty of inline 4 designs that provide that too.

I bet you'd not like it a bit if your electric utility told you they were going to start charging you for the peak power during the month rather than the total power that you actually used.

It matters not a whit. Power is a measure of an engine's ability to do work over a given period of time (minus parasitic losses in the drive train). Gearing is immaterial. If an engine can make X hp at a given rpm, it will make X hp at at that rpm regardless of the gearing. All the gearing does is change the speed at which the rear wheel turns.

That's the beauty of bikes are no right or wrong answers. Ride what ya like and enjoy it. I just think worrying about 80 lbs on a street bike is like worrying about whether my computer has a quad core or only a dual core, when all I use it for is to type text messages. If you haven't seen it, Google up Versys 1000 track day and you'll see a guy on a V1K wax a whole bunch of much lighter and much more powerful bikes purposely built for road racing, and doing it at track speeds. Now if the V1K can do that on a track...at track speeds, do you really think that little bit of extra weight is going to be a big deal on back roads running 50-70 mph?

Frankly, I'd be more worried about the lighter bike being more prone to get blown around on windy days.

I went from a 2011 650 to a 2013 1000 and I can say personally that the extra 70 lbs is not noticeable at all. I can say that if it was, and extra 50 hp and 30 pounds of torque I think would have no problem overcoming it.
As Saddlebag points out, an extra 70 lbs on a bike like that is a non-issue.
The power delivery on the 1000 is fantastic and it is just as much fun in the twisties and better for touring in my opinion after owning both.

Saddlebag,
when you see integrals on a spec sheet, let us know! we compare the specs that are available.

agreed, per my first post, but you seem to be selling v1k. your first post listed attributes you like about the v1k and for me, each one is a feather in the FJs cap. i like less weight and that has nothing to do with how fast i am relative to others. i'm more comfortable when the bike is easier to wield and speeds low and high. that's me.

Fortunately, they gave us the answer in the video. The Kaw can walk away from the FJ. That thar's your real world power to weight spec.

Once again, no it doesn't

I'm sorry they have early onset Alzheimer's and can't remember the review they just did.

V1K

"Its suspension delivers the cushiest ride here, but is also firm enough for aggressive backroad riding, and controlled enough to let you use all that torque to best advantage."

"What an engine! Crank the throttle to the stop and hang on."

"Best weather protection of the bunch"

"The Versys’ seat is a winner."

FJ09

"a flattish handlebar that pulls you a tad more forward...tauter chassis, a thinner seat and less wind protection than the other bikes"

"FJ is the clear winner, for us anyway, because we’re childish that way."

So as you said, the V1K has the most ability to cart people and things. It also does it faster than the FJ. And it does it more comfortably than the FJ. And it's got more fuel capacity. And it gets better mileage. And the warranty is twice as long. And its much purdier. And it comes with an optional matching trunk that uses the same key as the other bags and the ignition. On the Yami you get a key for the bags and a key for the ignition and no trunk that I'm aware of. If you do buy a setup, it will have its own key too.

So the FJ has to be the obvious winner.

Well summed up, I don't what they were smoking