The Ultimate Sport Touring Machine

I have owned my 2015 Versys since the end of January of this year, In that time I have enjoyed almost 4000 miles of pure motorcycle joy. Look – I understand that any time one is riding it is usually a good time. So let me explain my excitement for this machine. As many of you know, I came to the Versys after a great 5 year tango with my Kawasaki C-14. I loved

the big C-14 and would have no issue riding another for many miles. It is a great machine with a wonderful motor and great two up comfort. With that being said, I have to say that as of this moment the Big Versys is the best sport touring machine I have ever ridden. I have taken rides on many bikes that fit into this genre. I love the BMW RT. I love the look and feel and the ride was amazing. What I did not enjoy was the price tag and the reliability issue that comes into play with owning a BMW. I also love the GS Adventure. Again for the same reasons as listed above I decided on something else. I belong to a local BMW club. I have seen first hand how good and bad these machines can be. The piece of mind and the price tag do not give me the warm and fuzzies. I rode the Triumph Trophy. I really wanted to like it as I had owned a Trophy in the past. I love the triple and I really enjoy having a machine that is unique. You know.. not pulling up to your favorite riding hangout and parking your bike next to 3-4 others that look just like it.

The Triumph has character. Riding it was nice but it felt BIG. It was pricey and it just seemed to Goldwingish (is that a word?) for me. I also wanted to really like the big V-Strom. I had ridden the wee and Jamie and I had some of the best rides on that smaller bike. It was light, looked cool (as cool as a wee storm can look) it was economical and it was just fun. Jamie loved the seat and could ride for hours on it. The motor was good. You had to plan a good two up passing maneuver but it was all good. I went and looked at the Big Strom and after riding it was not very excited. It was a good a machine. It would have done everything well and I am sure it would have been a reliable, fun machine. The only thing was the fact that it stirred no emotion in me. It was plain jane and I was not looking for plain. I wanted excitement.

You have to remember that I do a lot of two up riding. I need a machine that is reliable, comfortable, good two up, fun in the twisty stuff and has a powerful enough of a motor to make passing a reaction and not a planned affair. If it were just me doing the solo thing. I would have a Ninja 1000, Ninja ZX-14 or a Ducati Multistrada (still the sexiest bike around). I would go for more sport and more of an aggressive feel. Trust me, I am not complaining. I love the fact that my wife loves to ride. I am a lucky man indeed. So with all of that out of the way let me tell you about my ultimate sport touring machine.

Enter the 2015 Kawasaki Versys

I had heard rumblings that the guys in Japan and at Kawasaki were contemplating bringing the Big Versys to the states. I had followed the boards on the previous versions and was very interested in the bike. Even in the older version, I loved the motor and the bike itself. The looks fit into the unique category for me so I was OK with that as well. Then I saw rumors that the front end and look would be changed to resemble the Ninja. I was now very excited. I have always loved the Ninja look and I could just imagine what it would look like on the Versys platform. I started looking at the forums and lurking around. I wanted to see what current owners thought of the Versys. I was not disappointed. The board was full of enthusiastic riders who loved their machines. I started to plant the seed with my wife. Explaining that the C-14 was rounding 65K and that I was looking for something a little more up to date. She loved the C-14 so I had to tread lightly here. I wanted her to be happy and I wanted her to continue to be excited about riding. I told her that when they came to the states I would like to test ride one.