Kawasaki Versys 2012 Purchase

[Polanskiman]

If everything goes right, I should be the happy owner of the 2012 edition Versys that I bought during the Bangkok Motorbike Festival (Feb 2012). The dealer says that I should get it in ~ 2 months time as there were plenty of orders during the festival.

Could those who have the pleasure to own such a bike give any useful recommendation? I am already planning to buy an engine guard, anything else I should think of?

Thanks in advance for the useful recommendation.

[BigBikeBKK]

No idea what kind of riding you like to do- the stock tires are pretty hard and easy to slide, so take it nice and easy when they are cold and consider upgrading to better rubber if you like to push the pace.

Stock brakes aren't the greatest either. Brakes can be greatly improved with better pads. Personally I like EBC HH Sintered pads- makes a world of difference!

There are some very strong locally made crash bars available for the Versys-

Kit includes all parts shown in the picture above.

Let the Good Times ROLL!

Tony

[Polanskiman]

No idea what kind of riding you like to do- the stock tires are pretty hard and easy to slide, so take it nice and easy when they are cold and consider upgrading to better rubber if you like to push the pace.

Stock brakes aren't the greatest either. Brakes can be greatly improved with better pads. Personally I like EBC HH Sintered pads- makes a world of difference!

There are some very strong locally made crash bars available for the Versys-

Hi Tony,

Thanks. What tires do you recommend? I will mainly use the bike for the city and tour around when the opportunity comes. No off tracks.

Any idea on the price of the tires as well as the pads?

Cheers

Edited February 12, 2012 by Polanskiman

[BigBikeBKK]

No idea what kind of riding you like to do- the stock tires are pretty hard and easy to slide, so take it nice and easy when they are cold and consider upgrading to better rubber if you like to push the pace.

Stock brakes aren't the greatest either. Brakes can be greatly improved with better pads. Personally I like EBC HH Sintered pads- makes a world of difference!

There are some very strong locally made crash bars available for the Versys-

Hi Tony,

Thanks. What tires do you recommend? I will mainly use the bike for the city and tour around when the opportunity comes. No off tracks.

Any idea on the price of the tires as well as the pads?

Cheers

It sounds like you're going to spend most of your time on pavement and that you don't need sport tires, yes?

In that case I'd recommend you have a look at the Bridgestone Battlax BT021 or new BT023 sport-touring tires. They're a good value here in Thailand at about 9000 Baht a set and offer a good balance of grip, feedback and longevity. Some other tires that I really like are the Pirelli Scorpion Trails- they're the swiss army knife of motorcycle tires- they can do just about anything except mud and sand. They're a bit more expensive, but IMO if you like to be able to take your Versys everywhere the Scorpion Trails can't be beat!

EBC HH Sintered Pads are available in the ThaiVisa classifieds: http://classifieds.thaivisa.com/automotives-vehicles/motorcycles/ebc-hh-sintered-front-brake-pads-for-kawasaki-ninja-650r-versys-and-er6n-144530.html

Ride On!

Tony

[madjbs]

Great choice! I am seriously considering buying one too. There are lots of things you can do to the Versys to improve it, take a look here for some ideas.

http://www.kawasakiv...ead.php?t=16547

That bike looks really good with the spoked wheels and 19" front. My main worry with the Versys is it's off road ability compared to my F650gs, however with the above mods it would be pretty good I think.

Tony, those crash bars look great, do they make any others for different bikes?

Edited February 12, 2012 by madjbs

[wana]

No idea what kind of riding you like to do- the stock tires are pretty hard and easy to slide, so take it nice and easy when they are cold and consider upgrading to better rubber if you like to push the pace.

Stock brakes aren't the greatest either. Brakes can be greatly improved with better pads. Personally I like EBC HH Sintered pads- makes a world of difference!

There are some very strong locally made crash bars available for the Versys-

Hi Tony,

Thanks. What tires do you recommend? I will mainly use the bike for the city and tour around when the opportunity comes. No off tracks.

Any idea on the price of the tires as well as the pads?

Cheers

It sounds like you're going to spend most of your time on pavement and that you don't need sport tires, yes?

In that case I'd recommend you have a look at the Bridgestone Battlax BT021 or new BT023 sport-touring tires. They're a good value here in Thailand at about 9000 Baht a set and offer a good balance of grip, feedback and longevity. Some other tires that I really like are the Pirelli Scorpion Trails- they're the swiss army knife of motorcycle tires- they can do just about anything except mud and sand. They're a bit more expensive, but IMO if you like to be able to take your Versys everywhere the Scorpion Trails can't be beat!

EBC HH Sintered Pads are available in the ThaiVisa classifieds: http://classifieds.t...r6n-144530.html

Ride On!

Tony

no need to rip the guy off tony

ebc hh brake pads are about 30 USD delivered from loads of ebay retailers,but then u knew that ,didnt you?

http://compare.ebay.com/like/400241590607?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&_lwgsi=y&cbt=y

[thai4me]

I could be wrong but most seller in conti us will charge $30-50 per shipment of stuff to Asia. That is USPS standard medium to large box.

So 2 pairs will be about $70 plus shipping of $40. Total $110.

There should be some taxes in most countries.

So 4000b is fair.

[thai4me]

If everything goes right, I should be the happy owner of the 2012 edition Versys that I bought during the Bangkok Motorbike Festival (Feb 2012). The dealer says that I should get it in ~ 2 months time as there were plenty of orders during the festival.

Could those who have the pleasure to own such a bike give any useful recommendation? I am already planning to buy an engine guard, anything else I should think of?

Thanks in advance for the useful recommendation.

Are you buying the 650 or 1000 Versys?

[wana]

I could be wrong but most seller in conti us will charge $30-50 per shipment of stuff to Asia. That is USPS standard medium to large box.

So 2 pairs will be about $70 plus shipping of $40. Total $110.

There should be some taxes in most countries.

So 4000b is fair.

there is plenty of sellers offering them for 30 odd USD with free worldwide shipping

like this one http://www.ebay.com/itm/06-10-KAWASAKI-EX650-Ninja-650-R-Ninja-650R-EBC-Rear-HH-Brake-Pads-FA192HH-/400241590607#vi-content

4000b is at least double what theyre worth

are you allowed to register multiple accounts tony ?

[BigBikeBKK]

No idea what kind of riding you like to do- the stock tires are pretty hard and easy to slide, so take it nice and easy when they are cold and consider upgrading to better rubber if you like to push the pace.

Stock brakes aren't the greatest either. Brakes can be greatly improved with better pads. Personally I like EBC HH Sintered pads- makes a world of difference!

There are some very strong locally made crash bars available for the Versys-

Hi Tony,

Thanks. What tires do you recommend? I will mainly use the bike for the city and tour around when the opportunity comes. No off tracks.

Any idea on the price of the tires as well as the pads?

Cheers

It sounds like you're going to spend most of your time on pavement and that you don't need sport tires, yes?

In that case I'd recommend you have a look at the Bridgestone Battlax BT021 or new BT023 sport-touring tires. They're a good value here in Thailand at about 9000 Baht a set and offer a good balance of grip, feedback and longevity. Some other tires that I really like are the Pirelli Scorpion Trails- they're the swiss army knife of motorcycle tires- they can do just about anything except mud and sand. They're a bit more expensive, but IMO if you like to be able to take your Versys everywhere the Scorpion Trails can't be beat!

EBC HH Sintered Pads are available in the ThaiVisa classifieds: http://classifieds.t...r6n-144530.html

Ride On!

Tony

no need to rip the guy off tony

ebc hh brake pads are about 30 USD delivered from loads of ebay retailers,but then u knew that ,didnt you?

http://compare.ebay....&_lwgsi=y&cbt=y

Silly Wana,

Don't you know that the Versys has TWO calipers in the front?!

You claim to have an ER6n but don't know how many pads you need?!

Here's a pop quiz- how many pads in each caliper?

T

[BigBikeBKK]

If everything goes right, I should be the happy owner of the 2012 edition Versys that I bought during the Bangkok Motorbike Festival (Feb 2012). The dealer says that I should get it in ~ 2 months time as there were plenty of orders during the festival.

Could those who have the pleasure to own such a bike give any useful recommendation? I am already planning to buy an engine guard, anything else I should think of?

Thanks in advance for the useful recommendation.

Are you buying the 650 or 1000 Versys?

Kawasaki, Thailand doesn't sell the Versys 1000 in Thailand. Red Baron hasn't imported any as the Versys 1000 isn't sold in the US either...

[madjbs]

They do have a very nice Super Tenere though....

[wana]

bbk

front wheel or back? is there no more monkeys for you to scare in the forest ?

[BigBikeBKK]

I could be wrong but most seller in conti us will charge $30-50 per shipment of stuff to Asia. That is USPS standard medium to large box.

So 2 pairs will be about $70 plus shipping of $40. Total $110.

There should be some taxes in most countries.

So 4000b is fair.

there is plenty of sellers offering them for 30 odd USD with free worldwide shipping

like this one http://www.ebay.com/...0607#vi-content

4000b is at least double what theyre worth

are you allowed to register multiple accounts tony ?

You really can't read, can you?

Those are REAR pads ONLY for $33.99, and shipping to THAILAND is $34.25.

Do the math genius

[thai4me]

I could be wrong but most seller in conti us will charge $30-50 per shipment of stuff to Asia. That is USPS standard medium to large box.

So 2 pairs will be about $70 plus shipping of $40. Total $110.

There should be some taxes in most countries.

So 4000b is fair.

there is plenty of sellers offering them for 30 odd USD with free worldwide shipping

like this one http://www.ebay.com/itm/06-10-KAWASAKI-EX650-Ninja-650-R-Ninja-650R-EBC-Rear-HH-Brake-Pads-FA192HH-/400241590607#vi-content

4000b is at least double what theyre worth

are you allowed to register multiple accounts tony ?

Your link quotes shipping cost of $34.25 for a pair to asia. Free is usually for shipping in conti USA.

[wana]

I could be wrong but most seller in conti us will charge $30-50 per shipment of stuff to Asia. That is USPS standard medium to large box.

So 2 pairs will be about $70 plus shipping of $40. Total $110.

There should be some taxes in most countries.

So 4000b is fair.

there is plenty of sellers offering them for 30 odd USD with free worldwide shipping

like this one http://www.ebay.com/...0607#vi-content

4000b is at least double what theyre worth

are you allowed to register multiple accounts tony ?

You really can't read, can you?

Those are REAR pads ONLY for $33.99, and shipping to THAILAND is $34.25.

Do the math genius

worldwide shipping is free ,you just need an excuse to make some coins again

[madjbs]

Hey why doesn't Wana make his own thread where he can complain about BBBKK as much as he likes without polluting all the other bike threads! We got the point already.....

[BigBikeBKK]

bbk

front wheel or back? is there no more monkeys for you to scare in the forest ?

Do you have a reading disability?

What does "This ad is for a complete set of Front Brake Pads for Left and Right Calipers." mean to you???

[BigBikeBKK]

Worldwide shipping is free ,you just need an excuse to make some coins again

Wrong as usual- you posted the link to the eBay listing. Did you bother to actually READ it?

Shipping and handling

To Thailand

Service USPS Priority Mail International^TM

Estimated delivery* Between 8-12 business days

US $34.25

Edited February 12, 2012 by BigBikeBKK

[thai4me]

If everything goes right, I should be the happy owner of the 2012 edition Versys that I bought during the Bangkok Motorbike Festival (Feb 2012). The dealer says that I should get it in ~ 2 months time as there were plenty of orders during the festival.

Could those who have the pleasure to own such a bike give any useful recommendation? I am already planning to buy an engine guard, anything else I should think of?

Thanks in advance for the useful recommendation.

Are you buying the 650 or 1000 Versys?

Kawasaki, Thailand doesn't sell the Versys 1000 in Thailand. Red Baron hasn't imported any as the Versys 1000 isn't sold in the US either...

Malaysia launched the versys 1000 a month back. They are significantly larger than the 650, not having checked the dimensions, it does feel a lot larger when i got on the bike It uses the z1000 in line 4 engine. Should be lovely for long range touring.

[wana]

Hey why doesn't Wana make his own thread where he can complain about BBBKK as much as he likes without polluting all the other bike threads! We got the point already.....

irrelevant information in a thread ,that would be a first for the bike forum !

[nikster]

Don't you know that the Versys has TWO calipers in the front?!

You claim to have an ER6n but don't know how many pads you need?!

Here's a pop quiz- how many pads in each caliper?

T

EPIC own goal....

it's been a while but when I last bought the EBC HH sintered pads they cost pretty much the same as the original Kawasaki pads... since Kawa parts are generally cheap I didn't even bother with checking ebay... back then they were 1,500 baht / pair u need 2 in front and 1 on the back for a total of 4,500 BHT

I'd recommend getting these the first time you have to change your brake pads. The stock may not be great but they aren't terrible either. You'll probably take it easy in the beginning....

Thinking about the crash bars now actually... do these provide similar protection to engine sliders? Do you have engine sliders too, Tony?

I was up in Pai over the weekend and on the way I met a guy who'd just dropped his rental ER-6n (hi allen!) - just a short slide along the side of the bike, but it made a dent and caused a leak in the radiator! He had to wait for the next pick-up back to Chiang Mai... I remember when my ER-6n fell over at a standstill (yeah... oh well) it fell directly on the engine slider and bounced on the road on that. There was not a scratch on the bike.

[BigBikeBKK]

If everything goes right, I should be the happy owner of the 2012 edition Versys that I bought during the Bangkok Motorbike Festival (Feb 2012). The dealer says that I should get it in ~ 2 months time as there were plenty of orders during the festival.

Could those who have the pleasure to own such a bike give any useful recommendation? I am already planning to buy an engine guard, anything else I should think of?

Thanks in advance for the useful recommendation.

Are you buying the 650 or 1000 Versys?

Kawasaki, Thailand doesn't sell the Versys 1000 in Thailand. Red Baron hasn't imported any as the Versys 1000 isn't sold in the US either...

Malaysia launched the versys 1000 a month back. They are significantly larger than the 650, not having checked the dimensions, it does feel a lot larger when i got on the bike It uses the z1000 in line 4 engine. Should be lovely for long range touring.

Agree! It's the poor man's Multistrada!

The Z1000 engine pulls like a train and the Versys 1000 is loaded with all the latest tech- adjustable traction control, power modes and ABS. Can't wait to see a comparison review between the new Versys 1000 and the other big adventure bikes.

[BigBikeBKK]

Don't you know that the Versys has TWO calipers in the front?!

You claim to have an ER6n but don't know how many pads you need?!

Here's a pop quiz- how many pads in each caliper?

T

EPIC own goal....

it's been a while but when I last bought the EBC HH sintered pads they cost pretty much the same as the original Kawasaki pads... since Kawa parts are generally cheap I didn't even bother with checking ebay... back then they were 1,500 baht / pair u need 2 in front and 1 on the back for a total of 4,500 BHT

I'd recommend getting these the first time you have to change your brake pads. The stock may not be great but they aren't terrible either. You'll probably take it easy in the beginning....

Thinking about the crash bars now actually... do these provide similar protection to engine sliders? Do you have engine sliders too, Tony?

I was up in Pai over the weekend and on the way I met a guy who'd just dropped his rental ER-6n (hi allen!) - just a short slide along the side of the bike, but it made a dent and caused a leak in the radiator! He had to wait for the next pick-up back to Chiang Mai... I remember when my ER-6n fell over at a standstill (yeah... oh well) it fell directly on the engine slider and bounced on the road on that. There was not a scratch on the bike.

Cheers Nikster!

Bummer about the crashed rental ER6! At least the shops in CM don't seem to gouge their customers on repairs the way they do down in Pattaya and Phuket...

I take it the rental ER6 had no crash protection?

The ER6n and Versys can wear either crash bungs or engine guards-

These are the engine guards on my Versys-

They fit ER6n too and offer very good protection:

And there are the crash bungs that seem more popular on the ER6-

They can also fit on the Versys:

On ER6n:

Let the Good Times ROLL!

Tony

Edited February 12, 2012 by BigBikeBKK

[thai4me]

Comes with all the bells and whistles.

Multistradas are not doing to well in the reliability department here in Malaysia. Too many electrical problems with the hot humid climate.

[BigBikeBKK]

Comes with all the bells and whistles.

Multistradas are not doing to well in the reliability department here in Malaysia. Too many electrical problems with the hot humid climate.

That's a shame- the guys I know here in Thailand are all very happy with their Multi's.

Hell, Renzo even dropped his Multi in the Mekong while touring Laos- they fished it out, fired it up, and he completed the tour without any drama!

[skybluestu]

EBC HH pads can be bought from http://www.intobikes...cts?st=pt&pt=47 and are VAT free if sent to Thailand so much cheaper than buying here and shipping is cheap too, about 750baht when I last bought some and no import tax paid either :-)

Tyres from here http://www.tyrethail...x?cat=03B&src=0 or http://www.competizi...id=12&Itemid=57

If you want a louder exhaust with a few extra HP you could try here http://www.dan-moto....e-18_21_71.html maybe not as good quality as an Akrapovic or Yoshimura but much cheaper and pretty good reviews so far, shipping is cheap too.

Edited February 12, 2012 by skybluestu

[BigBikeBKK]

EBC HH pads can be bought from http://www.intobikes...cts?st=pt&pt=47 and are VAT free if sent to Thailand so much cheaper than buying here and shipping is cheap too, about 750baht when I last bought some and no import tax paid either :-)

Look like good prices but seems they don't stock pads for the EX650 or KLE650 or at least they don't appear on their site) and they don't tell you the shipping costs either...

Their shipping costs seem pretty steep though... Have you ordered from this site before?

From the site:

"You have chosen to have your order delivered to an address in Thailand. We need to calculate the price for delivery manually. Please place your order and we will let you know how much this will be by email. We will ask you to approve this amount before you will be charged anything."

Thailand can certainly charge duty and VAT on items imported from the UK...

"Goods shipped to countries outside of the EU may be subject to local taxes, import duties or customs charges prior to you being able to take posession of your package. We suggest you contact your local customs office for further information prior to placing your order. We cannot accept responsibility for charges levied by other countries as customs policies vary widely from country to country."

[wana]

EBC HH pads can be bought from http://www.intobikes...cts?st=pt&pt=47 and are VAT free if sent to Thailand so much cheaper than buying here and shipping is cheap too, about 750baht when I last bought some and no import tax paid either :-)

Look like good prices but seems they don't stock pads for the EX650 or KLE650 or at least they don't appear on their site) and they don't tell you the shipping costs either...

Their shipping costs seem pretty steep though... Have you ordered from this site before?

From the site:

"You have chosen to have your order delivered to an address in Thailand. We need to calculate the price for delivery manually. Please place your order and we will let you know how much this will be by email. We will ask you to approve this amount before you will be charged anything."

Thailand can certainly charge duty and VAT on items imported from the UK...

"Goods shipped to countries outside of the EU may be subject to local taxes, import duties or customs charges prior to you being able to take posession of your package. We suggest you contact your local customs office for further information prior to placing your order. We cannot accept responsibility for charges levied by other countries as customs policies vary widely from country to country."

youve completely ignored the part where he wrote "EBC HH pads can be bought from http://www.intobikes...cts?st=pt&pt=47 and are VAT free if sent to Thailand so much cheaper than buying here and shipping is cheap too, about 750baht when I last bought some and no import tax paid either :-) "

why dont you match those prices tony ?

[snowflake]

For heavens sake, Tony, Wana, can you take the bickering somewhere else? If Tony has a price on his brake pads, let him charge that, why do you really have to care so much?

I am sure that the people that will buy new brake pads are more than capable of searcing and making up their own minds...

I for once would rather buy it from someone here in Thailand, just because I don't know how to fit them and they could do that for me...

Now, OP, when are you getting your bike? Is it the yellow one? Ride safely and enjoy it...