It's a 2015 Kawasaki Versys 650 LT. The LT or Light Touring version of the Versys 650 comes with ABS, hand guards and matched luggage.
Why this bike? It's kind of a long and convoluted story, so hang with me:
Although I ended up liking the 2014 Suzuki V-Strom 1000 ABS ( Blog) after we made some easy modifications that made a huge difference, I never really did get on with its weight, height and tractor-like engine.
But I liked the concept - sort of an all-around sporty tourer with a hint of adventure-touring thrown in.
I'm done with the adventure-touring concept for now. It's back to the all-arounder for me.Although I will say that I almost never regret selling a motorcycle, but I did miss the Suzuki DR650 ( Blog) , with its narrow light( ish) weight and surprisingly good 650 cc single-cylinder engine.
It was probably too dual-sport focused for my normal riding routine, but it taught me a big lesson: smaller bikes can be ( lots) more fun than bigger bikes.Forget the anything under 1000cc or 100HP is a beginner's bike nonsense fostered by the motorcycle press. And even in 2015, you do not have to spend more than $10k to get huge grins.
Basically, I was looking for something like a cross between the DR650 and the big V-Strom. Kind of a lighter-weight V-Strom that I could flat-foot, that was more nimble and that wasn't as top heavy.
Also, I wanted a smaller, narrower engine - preferably a twin ( the perfect motorcycle engine size - another lesson) , but an engine that had a broader and more flexible powerband than the V-Strom.
Maybe something like.the Ducati Multistrada 620 ( Blog) , a four-motorcycles-ago webBikeWorld Project Bike. That bike had its own nest of quirks, but it was fun. And light.
And, of course, the next Project Bike had to be something new and interesting to webBikeWorlders.
Which brought me to the 2015 Versys 650.
I had always liked the idea of the original Kawasaki Versys ( review) from 2008. But that styling. Look up the word polarizing in the dictionary and you'll find a picture of the original Versys.
