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What did you do on your Versys today?/ 2024 Hey Include Some Photos!!

82K views 955 replies 93 participants last post by  JT in GA 
#1 ·
Well this is hard to believe but my last ride November 10th, I had electrical problems, almost identical to early spring 2021. I was over 200 KM from home, it was around 3'C with high cross winds, gusts to 70KM/HR when I started out. I was running my oxford grips at 75% due to the cross winds, Barkbusters are only so good. I have the Givi muffs sitting on the shelf in the garage-I never was comfortable riding with them. Anyway it was a ride of 2.5 hours straight. I stopped just south of Wiarton on Grey road 1. There is a dive site I go to, I was there 15 minutes. I start up and first thing I am in the red. I rode south and 30 minutes later stopped at my lunch spot.



So after 30 minutes of riding with no heated gear and my grips at 50% I stopped for lunch
Warmed up to 10"c by this time, I got my trusty Peak 1 stove out and heated up my pot of Chili--next time I will take a photo of the chili 😁
So from this spot it is around 210 KM to my house.




So about 45 minutes later I head south,I am certain I have a single phase condition, identical to what happened in the spring. So heading for Hariston, fuel up there, I was considering bump starting it, but by putting on a extra jacket, I was able to keep warm and I was always in 2 green LED so around 13.7 to 13.9 VDC - no worries at that voltage-I also dimmed my Denali lights, although 1 amp isn't going to kill the battery / alternator.

Gased up with no problems and headed for home, 5 KM from Home I had all 3 phases again, high beam on, grips at 100% and 3 green led. That lasted 3 minutes and less than 1 KM it went back to single phase. This spring after the ride, I took out all the extra wiring for testing Polaris regulators. The 3 phase connector is one of those circuits the the wire is so short I had to re-route my fuel injection line and even so, it took two pairs of needle nose pliers to close the connector. I suspect one of those male pins is beside the female pin instead of being in the female pin.

So Ontario is heading into a bit of a cold spell. I have been waiting for a new window since September 18, 2021 3 feet by 4 feet, so yesterday I put some foam board in and tomorrow I start on the bike. So I have started on the bike. I in tend to do what I did on the headlight wiring which I extended 8 inches. This stator plug wiring will be a extra 18 inches longer, I want to be able to see the connector and hold it in my hands.I am looking at installing a USB outlet in my Givi top box, live all the time, I can then charge batteries in there for my GoPro or leave my phone to charge in there.
I also need to get back to the plug and play Triumph harness for the Polaris regulator. I have some ideas but the bike comes first.
 
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#227 ·
A day late and a dollar short, but a friend and I rode to Cape Breton last week and camped for a couple of nights. We had originally planned to spend more than 3 days but it started raining pretty hard so we boogied towards clearer skies, about 1400 km total. We did have clear weather to go around the Cabot Trail (first trip for him and I last rode it circa 1979!). I had previously made the mod that raises the front of the seat and while not really necessary around town, I came to appreciate it after awhile. This on my 2021 V650. My friend was on his Moto Guzzi V85.

This was actually on the mainland (Cape Brier, NS) pretty much as far west as you can get in the province.

 
#230 ·
Today, I met up with some school buddies whom I saw last more than 8-18 at the famous twisty Marilaque. Its like our local version of Tail of the Dragon. I was actually hesitant since its famous for its accidents but the muggy rainy weather dissuaded a lot of the street racers so we continued on.
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My Versys and my friend's Duke 200 who was a bit newish to riding. I like the ergos on initial sit down on the Duke (2018), maybe when I reach my goal of 100'000km on the Versys (still at 20'xxxkm) and the local Motogymkhana scene becomes more competitive I'll get a Duke. The stock seat of the Versys is much better than the one on the Duke though.
Also have 2 other friends riding on the SUV behind and asking questions about the bikes.
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My other riding friend with his Bristol Maxie 400 figuring out on how to connect helmet comms. Very similar to my brother's Kymco Xciting 400 which are not my cup of tea but still looks nice. Versys 650 for reference :)

Since my friends are a little newer than me on riding, they were also struggling a little on the muggy wet weather. Original plan was to circle Laguna lake but they decided to head back after our breakfast (and catching up). I lived on the other side of the lake so I decided to continue the loop with the route below:
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Forgot to check the Waze settings and it routed me to rough and muddy roads and my tires are for 100% street use Shinko's.
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It really handled those broken roads and mud well considering the100% street tires. My legs on the other hand could use some beefing up.

Overall, trips like this really makes me appreciate the Versys 650 that its really hard to consider any other bikes for my use case. I know there are other touring/adv brands but the local repair shop specializes with Kawasaki. The Versys x300 is not available (also not highway legal if it ever becomes available) and I would really be hesitant to use a Versys 1000 on the roads above. Maybe a cb500x but the Versys 650 is still better .
 
#231 ·
My first big bike in the Philippines was a 390 Duke; I loved that bike, but it is a street bike and doesn't have the suspension for Philippine roads. I lived in Antipolo for the first 3 months we were in the PI, I had a Rouser 135, rode Marilaque 3 or 4 times a week. I rode the Laguna loop a few times. Your Versys is a great bike for the PI.
 
#234 ·
Went for a Jolly Today to the German Cemetary in Glencree Co Wicklow

German war cemetery. It contains 134 graves of mainly Luftwaffe (Air Force) and Kriegsmarine (Navy) World War II personnel. Many of those interred within washed up on the country’s beaches or crashed their aircraft overhead.

Fab day for it about 80Km Round trip & about 22C

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#235 ·
Went for a Jolly Today to the German Cemetary in Glencree Co Wicklow

German war cemetery. It contains 134 graves of mainly Luftwaffe (Air Force) and Kriegsmarine (Navy) World War II personnel. Many of those interred within washed up on the country’s beaches or crashed their aircraft overhead.

Fab day for it about 80Km Round trip & about 22C

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Nice ride -- and a sobering view.
 
#237 ·
#243 · (Edited)
Got new Perilli Scorpion Trail II tires today. Look good... first thing I noticed on the short ride home though is they seem to be really NOISY. Hopefully that will moderate with a few miles, plus I didn't have earplugs in. So we'll see. Not the best weather forecast for the next week but I'm hoping to get a bit of a ride in soon. Also noticed the chain seems a little tight now, so I need to address that tomorrow and make sure it is adjusted properly.
Edit: Yeah, only about 1/2" on the chain. Too tight I think. Specs say 1 to 1.4 inches. What a pain.
Edit2: Adjusted the chain but I'm not happy with the alignment. Pretty sure it is OK, but I did order a chain alignment tool to double check before I do any riding. Weather is not going to be too good for the next few days anyway.

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#244 ·
Nice beautifuly day, so I take 150km ride. Fuel consumption was 3.646l /100km ( ~ 64.5 mpg ).
For the next 2 weeks the V650 will be waiting covered until I get back from training for a new job 1500km from home.

Also in the middle of driving through the forest, I came across fine edible mushrooms, my favorite Macrolepiota procera . (In Croatia we call them Velika sunčanica)
So I picked 7 mushrooms and took them home and we had a nice dinner.

Unfortunately I don't have a picture of what dinner looks like, but these mushrooms are the most delicious when dipped in pancake mix and placed in hot oil.
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Since I picked them up 70 km from home, they broke a little in the top box.

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#256 ·
I hope you don't get in a place that doesn't have water-- lots of water outages in NW Mississippi !

That looks like a typical MS road from my experience 😂

Looking forward to future documentation of the trip 👍🏻
 
#260 ·
Another ride up to the Hang Glider launch -- my wife hadn't been there, and it was nice yesterday evening.

Blue skies and sunshine - and cool in the shade. Cool enough that my wife borrowed my shirt for a jacket on the way home. T-shirt and mesh jacket was really nice for me.

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