The 2021 Kawasaki Versys 650 LT pairs Team Green’s engineering capabilities and proven reliability with simplicity in a go-anywhere-anytime platform. This middleweight Versys has been a staple of Kawasaki’s sport-touring lineup since its inception in 2009 and continues to prove its worth.
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Powered by the same 649cc parallel-twin engine as seen in Kawasaki’s Ninja 650 and Z650 models, the Versys packs a punch of approachable, yet engaging power delivery. Ran on the in-house Motorcyclist dyno, the Versys 650 LT produced 59.6 hp at 8,100 rpm and 41.6 pound-feet of torque at 7,200 rpm. Modest figures, for sure, but the linear delivery and tabletop-flat torque curve makes for tractable power in real-world testing and flexibility in gear selection. It does, however, have its shortcomings. An abrupt on/off throttle transition requires a delicate touch and can become an annoyance in slow-speed scenarios, and the six-speed gearbox requires serious effort to initiate gear changes.
An in-command rider triangle adds to an engaging riding experience aboard the Versys. The reach to the wide, one-piece motocross-style handlebar is relaxed and offers strong leverage, while the relatively sporty footpeg position finds a balance of an aggressive lower-body stance and comfort. Our 5-foot-7 tester found no issue with the measured 33.2-inch seat height, comfortably touching with both feet. The adjustable windscreen offers a smooth pocket of air at highway speeds, though on-the-fly adjustment would be welcomed...
Full story here: motorcyclistonline.com/story/reviews/2021-kawasaki-versys-650-lt-mc-commute/
Videography/edit: Bert Beltran
Photography: Jeff Allen
Motorcyclist Shirts: https://teespring.com/stores/motorcyclist
Shop Products We Use: https://www.amazon.com/shop/motorcyclistmagazine
See more from us: http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/
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Powered by the same 649cc parallel-twin engine as seen in Kawasaki’s Ninja 650 and Z650 models, the Versys packs a punch of approachable, yet engaging power delivery. Ran on the in-house Motorcyclist dyno, the Versys 650 LT produced 59.6 hp at 8,100 rpm and 41.6 pound-feet of torque at 7,200 rpm. Modest figures, for sure, but the linear delivery and tabletop-flat torque curve makes for tractable power in real-world testing and flexibility in gear selection. It does, however, have its shortcomings. An abrupt on/off throttle transition requires a delicate touch and can become an annoyance in slow-speed scenarios, and the six-speed gearbox requires serious effort to initiate gear changes.
An in-command rider triangle adds to an engaging riding experience aboard the Versys. The reach to the wide, one-piece motocross-style handlebar is relaxed and offers strong leverage, while the relatively sporty footpeg position finds a balance of an aggressive lower-body stance and comfort. Our 5-foot-7 tester found no issue with the measured 33.2-inch seat height, comfortably touching with both feet. The adjustable windscreen offers a smooth pocket of air at highway speeds, though on-the-fly adjustment would be welcomed...
Full story here: motorcyclistonline.com/story/reviews/2021-kawasaki-versys-650-lt-mc-commute/
Videography/edit: Bert Beltran
Photography: Jeff Allen
Motorcyclist Shirts: https://teespring.com/stores/motorcyclist
Shop Products We Use: https://www.amazon.com/shop/motorcyclistmagazine
See more from us: http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/
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SportsTranscript
00:00 Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of MC commute.
00:04 I am Michael Gilbert, the host of this week's episode.
00:07 And I'm so excited to be back with you guys
00:09 reviewing motorcycles as we ride to the office.
00:12 And today we are going to be reviewing
00:14 the 2021 Kawasaki versus 650 LT.
00:19 Now this is Kawasaki's up spec
00:22 middleweight sport touring machine
00:26 and I've grown quite fond of it.
00:28 So anyways, why don't we hit the road?
00:31 Let's talk about this thing.
00:33 Ladies and gentlemen, the 2021 Kawasaki versus 650 LT.
00:39 Now that LT stands for this being Kawasaki's
00:46 up spec sport touring model.
00:49 And that just really means that you're gonna get these
00:52 OE fitted 28 liter hard cases
00:56 and you're also gonna get Kawasaki's hand guards
00:59 for a little bit of a wind protection for your hands
01:03 as you're riding down the road.
01:05 Now the 650 is obviously powered
01:08 by Kawasaki's proven 649 CC parallel twin engine
01:13 that we'll talk about once we get out on the road.
01:16 It's a fairly good looking machine.
01:17 It is becoming a little bit dated.
01:20 This motorcycle was originally introduced in 2009,
01:23 got a major facelift in 2015 again
01:27 that we'll talk about a little bit later on.
01:29 But there is things like the halogen lighting setup,
01:34 maybe not LED, just kind of becoming a little bit dated.
01:39 Overall though, I think it's a fairly good looking machine.
01:42 So let's fire this thing up.
01:43 Let's get on the road.
01:44 Nice little parallel twin sounding machine.
01:49 We're gonna keep it a little quiet this morning.
01:51 We'll save the revs.
01:52 We're in Orange County, California's horse country
01:55 for the intro of this episode.
02:00 And I don't wanna run into trouble down here,
02:04 make any horses upset.
02:08 So we'll save those revs for the open road.
02:13 Kawasaki versus 650 LT,
02:16 originally introduced in 2009 as we mentioned,
02:19 got a major facelift in 2015.
02:23 And it got some functional changes too.
02:27 Obviously this motorcycle, as we had already mentioned,
02:30 is powered by that 649 CC parallel twin.
02:34 And then back in 2015, it got some ECU mapping updates
02:39 and also a new exhaust.
02:41 Some more functional updates, like a brake pad, I believe,
02:44 like a subframe for added payload, stuff like that.
02:49 But 649 CC, very basic,
02:52 rider friendly, approachable engine package
02:58 that I have really actually come to love
03:01 as we've seen it in other Team Green models as well,
03:07 like the Z650.
03:09 I think it's actually the same engine.
03:11 It should be the same engine in the Ninja 650.
03:13 Maybe it has a little bit different internals,
03:17 maybe probably some ECU mapping as well.
03:21 Anyways, thrown up on the motorcyclist dyno,
03:26 this versus 650 produced 59.6 horsepower
03:31 and 42 foot pounds of torque.
03:39 Now that's pretty modest power figures for sure.
03:46 Pretty modest power figures for sure,
03:51 but man, I actually love the sound of that parallel twin.
03:55 And it's an engaging experience.
03:58 You can look at those power figures, maybe scoff at it.
04:01 Maybe we need a little bit more entertainment.
04:03 We need some wheelies.
04:05 I don't know.
04:06 I think that this is a motorcycle that's engaging enough
04:09 to attract maybe excitement
04:14 attract maybe experienced riders, seasoned veterans,
04:19 but it's also a motorcycle that I could totally recommend
04:22 to a less experienced rider,
04:25 maybe even a beginner rider, a first time rider.
04:29 I think that this is a very approachable engine package,
04:34 super tractable power.
04:36 It's got a really flat torque curve
04:38 with a really linear power delivery
04:41 that makes this motorcycle really easy to use.
04:45 Now that's not to say that there aren't shortcomings
04:47 with this bike, with this engine,
04:50 one of those being the abrupt on off throttle application.
04:57 That's honestly kind of just a nuisance
05:01 when we get into slower speed riding,
05:05 parking lots or stoplights, stuff like that.
05:09 It's just a little bit jerky sometimes,
05:11 but overall it's manageable.
05:14 I wouldn't complain about it too much,
05:17 but I do want to point it out.
05:19 There are other things like the six speed gearbox.
05:23 I feel like the six speed gearbox is pretty well spaced
05:26 other than maybe first gear.
05:28 I find myself 99% of the time on this motorcycle
05:32 using second gear to launch away from stoplights
05:35 'cause I feel first is just a little bit too short.
05:39 And I'll show you that as we get going from this light.
05:42 Alrighty, we are off.
05:47 Try not to upset that horse, but we're going.
05:53 Now, pair that second gear with pretty good clutch feel,
05:59 and it really is no problem launching away
06:01 from the stoplights.
06:03 Man, it looks like we might actually have
06:04 a lot of practice of that today.
06:06 Let's check it out.
06:08 Second gear, here we go.
06:17 Of course, it goes green as soon as we stop.
06:20 Have to slip the clutch a little bit,
06:22 but overall, very easy.
06:24 The clutch feel is pretty good, like I said.
06:27 Not a big deal.
06:29 Jeez Louise today, guys.
06:32 Already? Come on.
06:34 Alrighty, we're putting the clutch to the test.
06:37 We're putting the brakes to the test.
06:39 We're putting it all to the test.
06:42 That's what we do here at MC Commute.
06:43 We put it all to the test.
06:44 No stone left unturned.
06:46 All right, we got a good stretch, I think, here now.
06:55 Let's try it out.
06:56 We'll get cruising along.
07:00 All right, Kawasaki Sport Tour, the Versys 650LT.
07:04 It sits in between the Kawasaki Versys X300
07:11 that we actually tested a few months ago,
07:15 if you guys remember.
07:16 And it also sits in between the more high-end
07:21 and bigger displacement Versys 1000LT.
07:26 Now, I think that it actually finds
07:28 a very comfortable spot in between those two machines.
07:32 As you remember with the Versys 300,
07:36 we found that you'll grow a little bit tired of it.
07:41 Just that small parallel twin engine just kinda,
07:46 I don't know, it's a good approachable engine
07:53 for a very first-time rider.
07:55 But I think that after a few months
07:57 that a lot of people would just grow tired of it.
07:59 I think that you grow out of it.
08:00 You want more performance, more capability,
08:04 a little bit more usable power.
08:07 But you don't wanna jump up to something,
08:10 or you don't wanna use the budget
08:12 to jump up to something like the Versys 1000.
08:15 Now, that's where the 650 kinda comes into play.
08:18 And I think that it's actually a pretty solid option.
08:22 I think that you're gonna have usable power,
08:24 you're gonna have more capability, handling.
08:28 Everything is pretty on par,
08:31 and we'll talk about that as we continue on.
08:34 But I think that it's a bike that, seriously,
08:36 I think riders of all skill levels can enjoy
08:40 and not grow tired of.
08:42 It's the Sport Tourer.
08:43 It's got a pretty upright ergonomics package.
08:47 Obviously, you got this one-piece
08:49 motocross-style handlebar up front.
08:52 Pretty easy, solid reach, too.
08:54 It's nice and wide.
08:55 Gives you that feeling of an in-command ride
08:58 with lots of leverage.
08:59 I like that.
09:00 Foot peg position is relatively sporty, actually.
09:03 I like it.
09:04 I would say that they're kinda mounted up and back
09:09 to where if you really get on the balls of your feet,
09:11 like you're in an aggressive stance,
09:14 and you wanna hammer this thing through the twisties,
09:17 it gives you the ability to utilize your leg muscle
09:20 in that position to hustle the motorcycle
09:24 through the turns.
09:25 I love it.
09:27 Along with the ergonomics, it has the 32,
09:30 the measured 32.3-inch seat height.
09:35 33.2, sorry, guys.
09:37 Oop, let's run through this.
09:39 Made it.
09:40 33.2-inch seat height that we measured
09:45 at the motorcyclist offices.
09:47 Now, it's a little bit tall.
09:49 I'm five foot seven, racer size, as I always joke.
09:53 And I can pretty comfortably touch the ground
09:59 with both feet.
10:00 I'm not nearly flat-footed.
10:02 Maybe if it was a little bit more narrow
10:05 in between the legs, I could flat foot
10:08 or get closer to flat footing.
10:09 But I have no problem touching the ground
10:11 and being comfortable in slow-speed scenarios.
10:15 Shorter riders or less experienced riders,
10:18 maybe we'd have a little bit of a hard time
10:20 just coming to stops or navigating traffic.
10:23 But for me, no biggie.
10:26 Now, this Versys 650 rides on an upside-down fork up front
10:31 that is rebound and preload adjustable.
10:34 Now, the shock is actually preload adjustable as well.
10:39 I would say that the ride quality is adequate.
10:44 I wouldn't say that it's amazing.
10:45 I think that small bump compliance,
10:48 like you feel a lot of what's going on in the asphalt,
10:52 but not in like a race-oriented way.
10:55 Like you kind of just, you feel all the little bumps
10:59 and it isn't the most comfortable ride in the world.
11:03 And it also struggles a little bit with big hit support.
11:08 Like when you really hit a G out section of road
11:11 or a big pothole, you really feel this motorcycle
11:16 actually hit the bottom of the stroke,
11:17 which is a little bit surprising.
11:19 I'll show you guys when we hit that roundabout
11:22 onto the freeway.
11:24 Decent suspension, decent brakes.
11:27 Those being the Nissan calipers up front,
11:32 the two-piston clamping the 300 millimeter discs.
11:36 Stopping power is pretty adequate, I would say.
11:39 Nothing super impressive, but not even lackluster either.
11:45 Now this motorcycle does come with ABS standard
11:49 and it has, you know, I haven't really had any situations
11:55 where the ABS is actually kicking in,
11:58 but I would say that the feel from the lever
12:01 could be improved slightly.
12:03 Just to give you a better understanding
12:05 of actually how much pressure is being applied
12:09 at the discs up front while you're pulling on it.
12:14 Initial bite is moderate.
12:16 I wouldn't say that it's too aggressive nor too soft.
12:19 It's just the feel.
12:20 I think the feel, I don't wanna call it wooden,
12:23 but it's just lacking.
12:25 And I always appreciate a lot of feel from a brake lever.
12:28 That's just a preference.
12:29 I think that probably most of you guys do as well.
12:32 If there was one big complaint, not big complaint,
12:36 but if there was one complaint about the chassis
12:40 and the handling of this versus 650,
12:43 it would probably be the Dunlop D222 tires
12:48 that are OE fitted to this motorcycle.
12:54 And that's really just,
12:55 it's kind of more of a lack of feel than anything.
12:59 And it also seems like that's a pretty common complaint
13:03 going around the versus 650 owner group.
13:07 As I've kind of done a little bit of research
13:10 on this motorcycle and seeing that come up
13:13 on different forms or comment sections
13:16 over even our own site.
13:17 So they just kinda, they sometimes do lack in grip
13:22 when the road is a little bit less than ideal.
13:26 Of course, no tire is gonna have perfect grip
13:28 when it gets a little bit dirty,
13:30 but these tires kind of really struggle in that regard
13:34 to give you full grip and therefore full confidence.
13:38 If it were me, I'd probably swap out the tires
13:41 and going back to the brakes,
13:42 I'd probably put a different brake pad in there
13:44 just to find a little bit more feel.
13:48 Jeez, little freaking wheeze guys.
13:50 There's so much traffic today.
13:52 We are honestly a little bit later
13:54 than normal on our MC commute here.
13:58 I'm not gonna lie to you guys.
14:00 I think I missed my alarm.
14:01 Don't tell my boss,
14:02 but I think I missed my alarm this morning.
14:04 So there's a little bit more traffic out on the road,
14:09 which is all good.
14:12 But I wanna be able to rip through this curve
14:14 and I don't think that we are going to get
14:18 some clear racetrack in front of us.
14:21 I wanna make sure this lady is not turning and we're in.
14:25 It looks like we got a light.
14:28 Jeez, we blew it guys.
14:30 Here's the bump.
14:32 (imitates car engine revving)
14:33 Kind of hits pretty hard
14:35 before we had to get on the brakes there.
14:38 Let's see, let's see.
14:40 Oh, green light.
14:41 Alrighty.
14:42 We are on the I-5 South headed to the Motorcyclist HQ.
14:47 And we're gonna shift up into top gear.
14:52 Now, what I've been finding about this motorcycle,
14:55 top gear on the highway is actually quite nice.
14:59 It spins relatively smooth.
15:02 With decent power, passing power left in reserve.
15:05 Should you need to jam by some automobiles
15:09 or get yourself in and out of situation.
15:11 Typically highway speeds here in California,
15:14 at least we're sitting at about 5,500 RPM.
15:18 Just kind of cruising, like I said.
15:22 This windscreen up front is adjustable, not on the fly,
15:27 which is a little bit of a disappointment.
15:29 Sometimes if you get into, I don't know,
15:31 some sort of weather condition or wind blast or rain,
15:35 you wanna be able to adjust it on the fly,
15:37 but you actually can't.
15:38 There's two knobs up in front of the screen
15:42 that you have to actually have to physically loosen,
15:44 push the screen up or down and then tighten back up.
15:48 Little bit of a bummer, but really it's all good.
15:50 Now, the Versys 650 also has this
15:59 analog tachometer and digital or LCD display
16:04 with your important writing information there.
16:09 It's definitely on the basic side of things.
16:11 I think that this Kawasaki is definitely starting
16:14 to really show its age.
16:15 It's starting to really show that the last major update
16:18 that happened to this machine was again in 2015.
16:22 It kind of looks it, it feels it,
16:26 little things like that set that off.
16:28 Even the windscreen, you know, in 2021,
16:32 I'd like to see maybe a different display,
16:35 but at the same time, it keeps things
16:38 reasonably well priced.
16:40 And it's a pretty simplistic structure, really.
16:43 I don't mind at all having simplicity.
16:48 You know, this motorcycle is bare bones.
16:52 It doesn't have any electronics,
16:54 hold for the ABS system that we've talked about.
16:58 But it's a pretty bare bone sport touring machine,
17:02 which is definitely likable in some cases.
17:06 But again, it is 2021.
17:09 Maybe it's time for an update.
17:11 It has grown a little long in the tubes,
17:14 but it's got a big, relatively big 5.5 gallon fuel tank
17:19 that we've measured getting about 42 miles of the gallon.
17:27 So realistically, you can look at trips of over 200 miles
17:31 should you're being a little bit conservative on fuel.
17:34 You know, you guys know I like ripping all these bikes.
17:38 So sometimes I go through fuel
17:39 a little bit faster than others,
17:42 but 42 miles a gallon on this versus 650, pretty good.
17:47 Really is pretty good.
17:48 Comfortable ride down the highway,
17:51 going back to that suspension, a little bit,
17:53 you know, you feel all of it.
17:54 It doesn't, you know, glide like a magic carpet
17:57 over all the bumps, but it also is a pretty comfortable
18:02 and versatile machine that I'm happy with
18:07 in almost all scenarios.
18:09 Throw a couple of modifications at it,
18:11 like the tires, the brake pad,
18:12 this bike would really rock.
18:16 And that kind of brings us back to what we were saying
18:19 is just a little bit of a general summary
18:23 of this versus 650 LT.
18:27 It's a pretty capable, do it all machine.
18:33 Doesn't really have all the gizmos and gadgets.
18:36 It's really simple, simplistic,
18:39 and it's ride is really pretty simplistic as well.
18:43 Yes, maybe the suspension could be updated a little bit.
18:45 Maybe the brake pad could be updated a little bit,
18:48 but overall, I really liked this bike.
18:50 I've enjoyed my time on it.
18:52 You know, it sits well within the versus lineup
18:57 as we also talked about.
18:59 I think that it's a really good middle ground.
19:01 I think that riders could use this
19:03 as a stepping stone from smaller bikes,
19:08 like maybe the versus X 300,
19:12 as they step up to bigger displacement bikes,
19:15 maybe work their way up the versus lineup
19:18 to the more expensive and more displacement
19:22 versus 1000 LT, which I believe is like $18,000.
19:27 Now to put that in perspective,
19:30 the base model versus without the hard bags
19:33 that I'll show you here in a second,
19:35 I wanna show you those bags
19:37 'cause I've always been fond of Kawasaki's setup
19:41 is $8,399.
19:44 So it's less than half the money of the 1000.
19:50 (motor rumbling)
19:53 And the LT model is $900 more,
19:57 so that'll be $9,299.
20:01 You know, considering when we look at its place
20:05 in the versus lineup, it's a little bit above the 300.
20:08 I think that you could totally suggest this motorcycle
20:11 as a first time machine to a lot of people.
20:13 I think that it could be a stepping stone, as we mentioned.
20:17 Looking at the amount of money,
20:19 the somewhat minimal, about $2,000 more,
20:24 if you can afford it over the versus 300,
20:26 I would definitely pick this machine
20:29 as I really don't think I would get so tired of it.
20:32 Whereas the versus 300, little displacement,
20:36 we already grew tired of it just in our MC commute review
20:40 the last time we did it.
20:41 So I think that this is a good middle ground
20:45 of the versus lineup and I'm happy with it.
20:47 I really did have a lot of fun on this motorcycle today,
20:50 as I have been pretty capable do it all machine.
20:54 Now, before we get going guys,
20:56 I did wanna show you the 28 liter hard cases from Kawasaki.
21:01 Now it uses the same key as the ignition, pretty simple.
21:09 Just pop this thing in, we're gonna unlock it,
21:12 click this up, boom.
21:14 Oop, you can see I had this done.
21:16 Actually threw a size small Arai Corsair X
21:21 in the saddle bag, no problem.
21:23 There's actually space left over
21:25 if I kinda wanted to jam some other stuff in.
21:27 I've always liked these bags for 900 bucks.
21:30 I would say it's a relatively decent value,
21:34 but it definitely does add cost to the motorcycle.
21:36 If you're looking to go touring a little bit,
21:39 I would definitely consider getting the LT model.
21:42 Alrighty guys, that's it for our time aboard
21:45 the 2021 Kawasaki versus 650 LT.
21:49 I had a lot of fun today.
21:51 I hope that you guys enjoyed the episode as much as I did.
21:54 Head over to MotorcyclistOnline.com to read the full story.
21:57 Like it on YouTube, comment we wanna hear from you
22:00 and subscribe to the Motorcyclist YouTube channel.
22:03 We're gonna keep doing this one.
22:05 So I hope to see you guys back.
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