VERSATILE VALUE

Let’s start with the good news: for 2021 you can get a brand-new Kawasaki Versys 1000 for $2500 less than in 2020. The other good news: it isn’t green. (OK, that could be bad news if you’re a Kawasaki Green colour lover.) The bad news: it doesn’t have the awesome electronic suspension of the SE model of 2020, or the cornering lights.

THE BIKE

ARR tested the previous SE model in issue 155 and we were impressed. The machine’s ability to not just cope with, but actually excel in all sorts of varying situations really impressed. Many bikes try, few really succeed. Motorcycling is such a varied activity that designing a bike which can cope with many scenarios isn’t easy. To do so, Kawasaki fitted the excellent KECS semi-active and electronically adjustable suspension, which made rough roads smooth, automagically adjusted for loads and gave your butt a gentle massage when on freeways. OK, I’m exaggerating a bit, but we loved the KECS suspension on the SE… however the market didn’t.

So now we have the Versys 1000 S, the same bike but now under 20K (plus on-road costs). Like the earlier model, it’s a bike that will tour, run through a set of