2019 Kawasaki Versys 1000 SE review

I'm not the world's biggest fan of sports tourers (or adventure tourers if an extra inch of travel qualifies as a new category). Great if your sole purpose is to chew up as many kilometres in a day as possible getting from A to B – like some masochistic contest between the increasing pain in your backside versus the escalating numbers on the odometer – but I predominantly ride motorcycles to get the best out of the bendy bits in between.

Well, happily the 2019 Kawasaki Versys 1000 SE caters for both possibilities – and even does a bit of light off-roading should the need arise.

MORE: 2019 Kawasaki Versys 1000 SE

Packed with rider aids and technology (including the fastest-refreshing semi-active suspension on the market), superb ergonomics, very effective wind protection and seat-foam a mile-deep, this might well be the most cosseting touring motorcycle I've ever hoisted a leg over.

Not only that but the chassis lets you make the most of its 118hp and 50 degrees of lean angle whenever the chance presents itself without tying itself in knots or behaving in any way like a custard-based dessert.

Let's not pretend this is an out-and-out sportsbike, though, and I was always mindful of its 257kg kerb weight which only goes up as the panniers and topbox are attached, and then goes up some more when you fill 'em with camping gear and clothes.

This was especially front of mind when I stalled it a couple of times making slow, feet-up u-turns for camera passes and, if not for my Zeus-like thighs, would have surely ended in an embarrassing call to Kawasaki Australia enquiring as to the price of indicators and brake levers.

MORE: 2015 Kawasaki Versys 1000 review

In all seriousness, with a light-feeling flywheel and a clutch with an almost instantaneous bite point, the engine does have a propensity to stop when making those sorts of manoeuvres if you don't keep an unseemly amount of revs on – which of course has nothing to do with any skill deficit on my part you understand…

The upside of the low-inertia flywheel is that it allows the motor to spin up quickly, making the mid-range feel strong and the 102Nm on offer widely spread, the low 10,000rpm redline telling you this engine is more about good drive than crazy top-end. By way of comparison a ZX-10 hits the stops at 14,000rpm.

Our test bike was like a rolling catalogue of extras, including the large, low-mounted driving/fog lights (which I must say seemed to annoy a few drivers coming the other way), heated grips, chrome rad guard, tank protector, crash bungs on the front axle and engine as well as the aforementioned and thoughtfully designed luggage.

This system is extremely easy to use, and it's no exaggeration to say that removing both panniers and the top-box is the work of about 30-seconds, and putting it all back on not much more. This means stripping the bike back for a bit of commuting is never a pain, and turns it into a surprisingly good work-a-day weapon.

Our luggage came with the optional waterproof internal soft bags, and they are shaped to allow for maximum storage capacity. The beauty of this is that when packing at the start of the trip or unpacking at the destination, you don't need to clunk around the house or the hotel with acres of hard luggage in your hand, chipping paint off door frames or errant children off their feet..which is appreciated by home owners and parents alike.

The internal bags even have shoulder straps to make transporting them a hands-free affair. What's more, once the 47-litre topbox is empty, you can fit two full-face lids and your gloves in there so you don't need to carry that lot either.

All in all a well executed arrangement.

Electronically, the Versys is right up there, pride of place being the semi-active boingers at each end. The damping rates and preload adjust themselves accordingly for each selected map: Rain, Road or Sport. In addition, you can tell the bike who and what's on board from one person and no luggage to two people and full luggage and it will dial up preload to suit.

Finally, you can go into any parameter and fine tune to your liking. The Rider map allows you to fully customise the settings on the bike from power, to traction control to every element of the suspension and store it as your own personal map. We did this in minutes to good effect and it became my go-to map when I wanted the bike to feel as sporty as possible.

Our short foray onto the dirt showed how the long-travel suspension and Rain mode were good companions, the TC light being on almost constantly in the pouring rain and slippery mud. It also highlighted how good the bike is ergonomically when standing on the pegs, the wide bars offering particularly good control. It even has ‘self-healing’ paint – yes, really – for when the undergrowth whips across the bodywork as you slither through the ruts.

If all that isn't enough for you to play with, download Kawasaki's Rideology app and Bluetooth your smartphone to the bike. Within the app you can track, save and review your rides, adjust bike setup, see where you are via GPS and monitor all your bike's stats like fuel consumption, average speed and even when your next service is due. We customised our Rider settings within the app and downloaded them to the bike while stood next to it in the garage. It's kinda cool to hear all the servos doing their thing to the suspension as you hit the Send button. If you want to see it in action type Rideology the App into You Tube, sit back and enjoy the hideous music track.

There are two versions of the Versys out there (try saying that after two pints of Babycham) but we'll only be getting the SE in Australia, which has some included extras such as a centrestand and bi-directional quickshifter.

Before I rode it I questioned why Kawasaki would bother with something that seemed like a slower version of the H2 SX SE, which I tested last year.

MORE: Kawasaki H2 SX SE review

Now I've ridden it I get it. The H2 is like a sports tourer with afterburners and will appeal to a certain demographic because of its performance rather than its long-distance ability, while the $22,499 (plus on-road costs) Versys is pretty much the opposite. That's not to say it's dull to ride – it'll pick the front wheel up on the throttle if you turn the traction control off – it's just that its main function isn't about ballistic speeds but rather long days in the saddle on any surface you encounter.

Given this thing has at least a 400km tank range you can get from Sydney to Melbourne with only one wee break. What's more, push the screen all the way up, switch the cruise control on and, if it's cold, the three-position heated grips and you'll feel as comfortable doing so as on any bike I can bring to mind: talking of cold you should probably go via the mountains anyway.

In the space of a couple of weeks I commuted on it, went camping on it, rode for a whole day out into the countryside and then blasted back along the freeway the next. In turn I got rained on, muddy as all buggery and boiled to death in 100 per cent humidity (which reminds me there is a bit of heat coming off the right side of the engine) and could have happily turned round and done it all again.

If I wanted a bike to take me over the hills and far away it'd be hard not to give this a very good looking at.

ENGINE
Type: Liquid-cooled, 16-valve, DOHC inline four-cylinder
Capacity: 1043cc
Bore x stroke: 77mm x 56mm
Compression ratio: 10.3:1
Fuel system: Electronic fuel injection

PERFORMANCE
Claimed maximum power: 118hp (88.2kW) at 9000rpm
Claimed maximum torque: 102Nm at 7500rpm

TRANSMISSION
Type: Six-speed
Clutch: Wet multi-disc slipper clutch
Final drive: Chain

CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR
Frame: Aluminium twin tube
Front suspension: 43mm upside-down forks with KECS-controlled compression and rebound damping, manual spring preload adjustability, 150mm travel
Rear suspension: Horizontal back-link, BFRC lite gas-charged shock with piggyback reservoir, KECS-controlled compression and rebound damping, and electronic spring preload adjustability, 152mm travel
Front brakes: Dual semi-floating 310mm petal discs with radial-mount four-piston calipers, ABS
Rear brake: 250mm petal disc, with single-piston caliper, ABS
Wheels: Aluminium-alloy, front 3.50 x 17, rear 5.50 x 17
Tyres: 120/70-17 front, 180/55-17 rear

DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES
Rake: 27 degrees
Trail: 106mm
Wheelbase: 1520mm
Seat height: 840mm
Ground clearance: 150mm
Claimed curb weight: 257kg
Fuel capacity: 21 litres

OTHER STUFF
Price: $22,499 plus on-road costs
Colors: Emerald Blazed Green with Pearl Storm Gray
Bike supplied by: Kawasaki Motors Australia
Warranty: 24 months unlimited kilometres