Whenever you open up a motorcycle magazine that has the focus on adventure riding you see page after page of 800lb monster BMWs and Triumph Explorers or highly overpowered Dakar racing KTM bikes. When it comes to lighter bikes the Triumph Tigers make the pages and the so do the V Stroms but they as well are almost swept aside as bikes that play a second to the BMW/KTM bikes. Let’s think about this in a logical way these bikes are like an SUV. They are meant to do everything but nothing super well. The off road oriented bikes don’t excel on the road but don’t play like a dirt bike does in the dirt and the road bikes with off road aspirations perform better on the road than they do in the dirt. It is impossible to get the best of both worlds. As far as ghost rides go it’s pretty crucial to get a good balance because we take a lot of highway to get to a lot of gravel so it has to perform well on both.
After a hard decision to sell off my small collection of bikes the Suzuki GS750, GS400, Honda CB350 and Yamaha XT350 all found new homes. I will admit the CB350 and the GS750 were hard to let go of. I loved that GS750 and sold it out of my own ignorance really. I had it set up nicely for Ghost Rides but found it only moderate on the gravel. It was never intended for gravel but with the low wide super bars and Shinko 705 tires I hoped to get it as close to a vintage ADV as possible. If you look at the original scrambler style bikes they were just street bikes that had knobby tires and small mods to make them dirty worthy. The GS had all of that done and I was hoping it would make a really great gravel bike. James and I did the Victoria Trail in spring which was almost 165 kms of gravel and dirt. The bike did well but I felt like I was constantly fighting the bike. I was a little frustrated and when I got home the decision to sell it was made. Now I should have waited and rode it some more on the gravel because it wasn’t the bike it was the rider that wasn’t skilled enough. Hind sight is 20/20 and that is for sure. James and I both have a real love for old Suzuki’s. They are really great bikes that are super solid and very well made even for bikes from the late 70’s early 80’s. Unfortunately for me the bike sold within a day of being on the classifieds.....and so did the CB350....and so did the GS400....and so did the XT..
After a hard decision to sell off my small collection of bikes the Suzuki GS750, GS400, Honda CB350 and Yamaha XT350 all found new homes. I will admit the CB350 and the GS750 were hard to let go of. I loved that GS750 and sold it out of my own ignorance really. I had it set up nicely for Ghost Rides but found it only moderate on the gravel. It was never intended for gravel but with the low wide super bars and Shinko 705 tires I hoped to get it as close to a vintage ADV as possible. If you look at the original scrambler style bikes they were just street bikes that had knobby tires and small mods to make them dirty worthy. The GS had all of that done and I was hoping it would make a really great gravel bike. James and I did the Victoria Trail in spring which was almost 165 kms of gravel and dirt. The bike did well but I felt like I was constantly fighting the bike. I was a little frustrated and when I got home the decision to sell it was made. Now I should have waited and rode it some more on the gravel because it wasn’t the bike it was the rider that wasn’t skilled enough. Hind sight is 20/20 and that is for sure. James and I both have a real love for old Suzuki’s. They are really great bikes that are super solid and very well made even for bikes from the late 70’s early 80’s. Unfortunately for me the bike sold within a day of being on the classifieds.....and so did the CB350....and so did the GS400....and so did the XT..
Fast forward to all of these bikes being sold and for the first time in years only the Bonneville remained. At this time James too was experimenting with something a little more modern and had bought a really nice V Strom with no miles on it. He was trying to get accustomed to the bike but couldn’t really get it to fit. It was almost too nice to hit the gravel with and honestly it was terrible on gravel. It surprised us both that a bike so known for off road capability actually was pretty terrible at off road. I was looking at the V Stroms at the same time and since I trust James implicitly the V Strom search stopped. I started looking for a 955 Tiger which is another extremely capable and overlooked ADV motorcycle. At some point in my classifieds search a memory came back to me about the Versys I had demo’d about 5 years ago. I remembered how much I loved that bike, how fun that bike was and I started searching for one of those. Right away I found a very well priced 2007 with brand new Pirelli Scorpion Trail tires and under 10,000kms on the clock. Two phone calls later and a trip downtown the bike was mine.
The next day James I went out riding and did a big loop east of us. The engine was magic in the Versys but the transmission was hard to shift and the chain super noisy. The plastics buzzed and the windshield.....oh the dang windshield....generally I hate them and this windshield fit into my general hatred. It had to go. I took a trip to Home Depot for some sheet aluminum and I started making a few prototype windshields to keep the look but not the buffeting and turbulence. I also took all of the plastics off and polished them. They had a few years of pollution on them and they buffed back up perfectly. Some o rings on the bolts and replacing plastic clips with bolts cured the buzzing plastics. I made two designs for the windshield and the second one is spot on. My head is in the clean air and my shoulders protected. The hard shifting was easily solved with dumping the black as tar oil that was in the bike, replacing it with Motul 5100, lubricating the gear shift pivot and getting the chain set on the loose side of spec. This bike was just getting better and better.
The next day James I went out riding and did a big loop east of us. The engine was magic in the Versys but the transmission was hard to shift and the chain super noisy. The plastics buzzed and the windshield.....oh the dang windshield....generally I hate them and this windshield fit into my general hatred. It had to go. I took a trip to Home Depot for some sheet aluminum and I started making a few prototype windshields to keep the look but not the buffeting and turbulence. I also took all of the plastics off and polished them. They had a few years of pollution on them and they buffed back up perfectly. Some o rings on the bolts and replacing plastic clips with bolts cured the buzzing plastics. I made two designs for the windshield and the second one is spot on. My head is in the clean air and my shoulders protected. The hard shifting was easily solved with dumping the black as tar oil that was in the bike, replacing it with Motul 5100, lubricating the gear shift pivot and getting the chain set on the loose side of spec. This bike was just getting better and better.
I don’t understand why the Versys gets zero love in the ADV magazines and is pretty much ignored by the media. Its hard to tell you why in words but this bike is a brilliant bike. The looks are quirky but handsome in a running greyhound sort of way. The tank and plastics give the bike a nice clean and simple cockpit with decent protection from the elements. The sub frame can hold some decent weight and pack rails are easy to fabricate up for this bike. The seat like a shoe needed time to break in but when it did it became all day rideable. The seating position is absolutely perfect for comfort and usability which you can ride on the highway all day or be up on the pegs. The motor is lovely. I am a twin guy at heart and this 650cc twin is the real gem. Its slightly buzzy but revs to 10,000 rpm, has 60hp, cruises at 5400rpm at 120kph but where I felt it was really brilliant was off road. The motor excelled at the mountain passes of the Caribou Interior of BC. The engine breaking was perfect and the power was perfect. The suspension which is road based actually did very well and being weighted down with about 60lbs of gear the bike wasn’t fazed at all. You didn’t notice it was there. The under slung exhaust didn’t hamper any riding although a little skid plate will be a good idea.
The key to this bike is that it is lightweight, powerful, well slung and basic. It is a true riding experience with no computer interaction, no traction control and no ABS. This is an adventure bike for riders and doesn’t compromise the ride by being weighted down with gadgets. You can put heated grips on it and other gadgets but it doesn’t need it. It needs a rider who wants to ride. This bike will take you down a forest road at 90kph or carve the canyon curves with a knee down. I couldn’t have asked for a better bike to find this year. It got 8600kms on it this year with over 2500 being on gravel. This is a true ADV bike if you are in the market for one don’t pass up a chance to try one.
Michael
The key to this bike is that it is lightweight, powerful, well slung and basic. It is a true riding experience with no computer interaction, no traction control and no ABS. This is an adventure bike for riders and doesn’t compromise the ride by being weighted down with gadgets. You can put heated grips on it and other gadgets but it doesn’t need it. It needs a rider who wants to ride. This bike will take you down a forest road at 90kph or carve the canyon curves with a knee down. I couldn’t have asked for a better bike to find this year. It got 8600kms on it this year with over 2500 being on gravel. This is a true ADV bike if you are in the market for one don’t pass up a chance to try one.
Michael