Words: Séan Hendley, Kyle Lawrenson, Rene’ Swart.
Pics: Kyle Lawrenson, Black Rock photo’s
This is a big-ish bike in a little bike clothing.
What do we mean by that? Well, it boxes above its weight class in performance and is a bit like Doctor Who’s Tardis insomuch as it looks small but offers great comfort for the bigger rider as well as low enough seat height for the shorter rider…
We gave it to Séan, Rene’and Kyle from our office, pointed them at the horizon and told them to really investigate what the Versys-X 300 is all about and this is what they came back with… besides the silly grins in their helmets:
Séan says:
Yes, at 2m’s tall I do look ridiculous on any motorcycle, I’ve come to terms with that and this little bike is no different. However, I don’t look as silly as I might have expected or usually do on the more diminutive machines. There is a surprising amount of space in the cockpit with a nice recess in the tank for my knees to snuggle into comfortably. The stepped seat is wide and comfortable allowing for lateral movement and plenty of forward and backwards movement as well.
The handlebars are reasonably wide and fairly high making standing up a bit easier , but at 2 metres tall I was still a bit hunched over and had to squat backwards when riding more technical sections. Getting out on the tarmac and bumbling down the freeway at just under 130 kmh and overtaking slow moving traffic was as easy as rolling on to 150 kmh and then settling back down to cruising speed again.
Some of the steeper uphills into the wind did require dropping back to fifth gear and working the revs a bit more, but no real biggy. Tilting into the bends, c’mon let’s be realistic here, this isn’t a sport bike by any shake of the stick and you won’t be scratching anything, but it is still a hoot with decent stability and predictability under braking while cranked over.
The standard IRC tyres felt just fine both on tar and dirt.
I love the simple and uncluttered dashboard, which gives you enough of the information you need to know. For what it is and the price, there is nothing I can fault this bike on or dislike, I would happily spend a lot more time in the saddle exploring the far reaches of our beautiful land.
Kyle says: We have ridden a lot of the smaller adventure bikes in recent months, but this is the one that we really have been looking forward to. We had it for longer than we were originally allocated and we still haven’t given it back but it will be well worth dealing with the angry telephone call when it comes…
I love the looks of this bike, especially the matt/flatt green colour. I also love the fact that it looks like a bigger bike, depending on who is riding it.
If you dont know better you might mistake it for the new generation KLR650’s which aren’t actually available here.
You have to look twice to actually make sure or even realise that it is only a 300. Neither of us are small, lightweight guys and I was really, really surprised at how comfortable it was, you don’t feel like you are on a small bike. Talking about it being a small bike, let’s talk about the performance of this little guy… It has got such a big heart for such a small engine size.
It reminds me of Kawasaki’s old KIPPS motor from back in the day, yes I know that was a 2T and this is a 4T, but I’ll tell you why… at 7,000 rpm it sounds likes its screaming, but then you roll on more to 11,000 rpm and you go faster – and then you hit 12,000 rpm and it goes even faster and only at about 12,500 rpm does it start to take a little bit of strain, just like that KIPPS motor of old. The more you rev it the more it wants to rev.
We also got an unbelievable top speed out of it, 176 kmh… on a closed circuit of course.
176 kmh on this little 300cc, and when you are that high up in the rev range it doesn’t feel like it wants to shake itself to pieces, it actually feels like you got this excited little puppy that just wants to jump around and play endlessly.
On the open highways it happily cruises at 130, 140 kmh… maybe a bit faster, (nudge, nudge, wink, wink).
With that motor you have to have the suspension to keep you stuck to the ground. The suspension on this little bike is really, really good. It didn’t have a huge amount of flex or anything in the suspension or the chassis and it is very planted. We hit a couple of speed bumps a bit harder than we should have, and let’s be honest, which laaitie isn’t going to do that?
We also hit a couple of jumps and the suspension didn’t bottom out once. It’s very confidence inspiring, doesn’t throw your focus or concentration off in the corners, Igive any little wobbles or skittishness,. Properly planted.
Overall, it is a great all-around motorcycle, Tar or dirt.
It looks the part,rides the part,is the part.
Not trying to be something it’s not.
Then we gave the Versys-X to our regular Lady test rider René and this is what she had to say:
My personal bike is a 390 Duke which I love to bits and always keeps me entertained and excited, and ever since I tested the 390 Adventure, I’ve fallen in love with the idea of adventure biking.
When I first got on the green machine, my thoughts were; “This is not a KTM, it’s slower, not as punchy, basic tech and analogue dash…”
But the more I rode the more I understood it and I started to love this motorcycle.
The Versys 300 X is a fantastic piece of Japanese engineering, it might be a bit basic but it does the job exceptionally well. It is light to manoeuvre and I like that it is low enough for me as a novice rider to put my feet down comfortably.
On the tar, this is probably not the most exciting bike regarding torque but the adventure/touring riding position is comfortable and the gearbox is very smooth. You can however get enough punch out of it to zip past traffic and the parallel twin is very smooth low down and carries linear torque all through the rev range. One thing I would say is when you come to around 120 km/h you do feel some vibration through the bike.
On the other hand, if you take the Versys X off road it is completely fantastic even with the 80/20 style adventure tyres, I feel that in the dirt is where this bike really inspires confidence.
I had a blast on the gravel roads and the bike handles so well that even with my very limited experience on gravel I felt comfortable and completely at ease.
The mellow power output and the light weight makes gravel riding a lot less intimidating. The suspension absorbs just about anything, I went on a wide range of terrain from some sandy patches to loose rocks, bigger rocks and even a little bit of a hill climb.
The Versys 300 X strolled over it all without breaking a sweat.
This is the perfect adventure bike for anyone starting to learn to ride or if you want to start adventure riding more.
I am really happy to see more and more options for beginner adventure riders like myself. At the end of my weekend of adventuring my thoughts were; “Can I keep it….
Ah Please, pretty please with a cherry on top??”.
So – whats the recipe?
Engine:
The 296cc Kawasaki parallel twin cylinder power plant kicks out an impressive 29.3kw of power and 26 nm of torque. The parallel twin is the trick here, barring the CB500X every other bike in this “Small Adv” category is a single cylinder.
Why is that important?
It makes it a smoother engine right through the rev range, reducing vibrations through the handle bars, foot pegs and seat making for a more comfortable ride and much less mechanical sympathy.
The competitor from Bavaria at 310cc, (313cc in reality), puts out 25kw and 28nm, the Austrian option at 373cc, (390 badged), does 32.8kw and 37 nm with the red Japanese option at 471cc and a 500cc badge dropping 35kw’ and 43 nm’s.
So, the sub 300cc Versys-X mill fares extremely well in this esteemed company.
Couple that performance with 130mm front suspension travel and 148mm travel out back, an 845mm seat height and 180mm ground clearance all at a paltry 175kg’s and you have a bike that is more than capable both on the tar and in the dirt.
Check out our video to see how that suspension performs. Stick it on the tar bang it hard to its 12,000rpm redline and you will hit speeds easily in excess of 160 km/h. We maxed out at around 176 kmh. On a 300! How much faster would you like to go?
Ride it a bit more sensibly than we do and the 17-litre fuel tank should return you around 4.1 litres per 100 km which is around 24.5km’s per litre or about 420 km’s on a full tank of fuel – we like those figures…
And there you have it, the lion-hearted Kawasaki Versys-X 300 is great!
And just for your edification here is a quick look at the comparative chart.
For more info and to find your nearest dealer follow this link: https://kawasaki.co.za/product-details/versys-x-300-2023/
