just spotted in another thread someone expressing an interest so here's an update:
I got a Brown one
3000miles in and no problems. The lowdown:
It's tall, though not too tall (I'm 6'3" and can get my feet down flat no bother), comfy, brilliant seat, riding postion similar to the Wee but a bit more leg room. The screen has been replaced with a dark MRA which solves buffeting (though it was not as bad as the original Wee screen, it wasn't great, the MRA works well) , 5 months of rain has not revealed much in the way of build quality issues. It's fast. No scrap that, it's fecking fast
. It'll pretty much pull from 2000RPM in any gear and the only way I know I'm in 6th is that the response from 30mph isn't quite as instantaneous as it is in 2/3/4/5th gear.
Bells and whistles: ABS is not noticeably intrusive. There are 2 power modes,Full and Rain. I just use full all the time and the traction control seems to sort out any issues. It's only 118bhp. Traction control, 4 settings: sport, damp, pissing it down and off . I've never had it off (fnarr) but usually run in sport in the dry and damp if it's raining. Doesn't seem to cause any problems and does kick in occasionally in the wet
Pirelli Scorpions seem to handle nicely and aren't worn at 3000miles. I have not noticed any of the reported suspension issues although a few riders on the V1000 forum have fiddled with settings. The conclusion seems to be that for some the OE settings are too hard but at 14.5stone they seem fine for me
headlight not as good as the Wee
Fuel: I use mine daily for work which is a 7 mile commute + a few short stop-starts from cold each day. This seems to kill my mpg down to about 40 giving a tank range of 180miles. However, on a fast run it's returning 50 and 220miles so if you are looking at touring it'll be fine. Who commutes on a 1000cc bike anyway?
Service intervals are 7000miles or 12monthly
(though they have a brake inspection in the book at every 3500miles)
Do I like it? Yes
Am I glad I swapped? Yes, only because I fancied a bigger engined bike as I'd never owned one
Is it better than the Wee? Depends what you value as being better. I think it handles better than the old Wee but I never test-rode a Glee. It's not as frugal but the power is great. I do ride in a group occasionally and I used to think some of my mates on bigger bikes were making daft overtakes. I now realise that they were just using the power that the Wee doesn't have
I think I would consider going back to a Wee at some point but the Versys is a keeper for now. If Suzuki released a 1000cc Strom it'd be high on the list next time round
There is a very good review of the Versys in this months Adventure bike rider. Unlike the other mags they are classing it as an adventure style road based tourer (Kawasaki never said it was an off-roader) and not pitting it as an off-roader against GS and Triumph Adventurers (whilst failing to point out it's £4k cheaper)
Accessories are filtering through now so you can farkle to your hearts content. I like the brown but realise the colours are a bit boring though next yr it looks like a grey/blue and a black/orange will be released
And finally, Kawasaki dealers are prepared to negotiate, offer a decent part-ex and now are doing 0%. I paid £8900 new and got more than book price part-ex. I could've bought a Triumph Tiger 800 for less but I came away (after visiting 2 Triumph dealers) feeling that they were smug bastards who would not budge on price and took the piss on part-ex and no-one likes being ripped off do they? I really wanted to buy British as well but when it comes down to it I the dealers seem up themselves. Shame really
