Hi,

I'm leaving Bangkok for Pattaya/Jomtien after 6.5 years in the smog and it would be nice to have a bike again.

I have been driving small and big bikes some month/years here and there but i would not say i'm an experient driver, not now anyway. Last i was driving was when I had a Honda Wave 125cc and a JRD Quest 125cc for 1.5years when living in Phuket 6.5 years ago.

Now to my Question:

I don't know which bike i want, actually i want them both. Kawasaki KLM250 for off-road and driving around the town, and a Kawasaki Versys for long adventure trips around Isaan and even further. But i cant really afford them both. If Thailand had the KLM450 in the same price range i would easy choose that one but they dont.

I have read that Versys is quite capable of some off-roading if changing tires to Pirelli MT60 but not even near as good as a pure dual-purpose bike like KLM250. I think i have already decided to go for the Versys but then it would be very nice to have a real off-road bike too. Okay, go for the KLM250 then, Yes, it is a nice play bike and would be prefect in and outside town.... But it is powerless and my rear would start to hurt after couple of hours in to a long trip.

I have been driving them both but still can't make a decision... Any ideas???

I'm 182cm tall and weighs in at 103kg

Thanks, Peter

You need 2 bikes.

I was thinking about a KLX250 but now waiting for the new Honda CRF250L.

Recently did a 5 day trip on the KLX: Very slow and boring on the road. A little too much fun in the tight turns - I promptly crashed it, after massively overestimating the amount of grip I could get out of the dual sports tires it was fitted with. Great in the dirt. Surprisingly not uncomfortable - no complaints after 5 8 hour days.

Riding the Versys every day in the city, and occasionally around the north: Great on the road; wouldn't want to take it in the dirt as it's way too heavy. Rear ABS would need to be disconnected too.

You need 2 bikes.

I was thinking about a KLX250 but now waiting for the new Honda CRF250L.

Recently did a 5 day trip on the KLX: Very slow and boring on the road. A little too much fun in the tight turns - I promptly crashed it, after massively overestimating the amount of grip I could get out of the dual sports tires it was fitted with. Great in the dirt. Surprisingly not uncomfortable - no complaints after 5 8 hour days.

Riding the Versys every day in the city, and occasionally around the north: Great on the road; wouldn't want to take it in the dirt as it's way too heavy. Rear ABS would need to be disconnected too.

Only have limited experience on the KLX but that experience was a lot of fun going from Samoeng to Pai through the mountains.

There's no way I would consider riding my versys off road, as mentioned it's just too big & heavy. Some people will disagree but then there's a fair chance they are more experienced & better riders than I am.

Have you considered the option of looking for both bikes 2nd hand? May be able to fulfil your needs and do it within budget that way.

Agree that the Versys, with its 17" front wheel and 200Kg isn't very well suited to any "serious" off road riding.

But it handles dirt roads just fine

In Pattaya stick to a scooter.

If you plan to go on longer rides, then a proper bike makes sense.

BidBikeBKK - nice videos. Once passed the Ninja 650 he was away. The camera stays amazingly steady for a dirt track, so the suspension must have been busy!

Hi and thanks for your input.

I have followed Tony and Nikster in threads about Versys for the last 6 month.

Yes, i could buy them 2nd-hand but i think the price between 2nd-hand and new is too little to be worth it. It is easy worth 50-80k to get a brand new Versys. It looks like i "need" them both :-) So for the KLM250 i could consider a 2nd-hand later.

As i'm know my self, i will wait with the purchase till i get my new Swedish driving license in couple of weeks as i have lost the old one. And then with an international translation, people says i can get a Thai license without any schooling. Is that true?

Thanks again for all your input and your old threads about riding Versys in Thailand.

For what it takes you may as well just get a Thai license anyway. As far as I'm aware you're supposed to do that after so long anyway, not that it's really enforced though.

A side advantage of the Thai license is that you can use it as an ID card for discounts in national parks & zoo's etc. Even use it instead of your passport to fly domestically too.