FIRST RIDE: Kawasaki Versys-X 250 Malaysian review – RM24k

Hi everyone, this is Mohan from paultan. org and we are here today with the Versys-X 250Now the 250 scene in Malaysia is fairly crowdedyou’ve got naked bikes, you’ve got sports bikes and now you have Kawasaki’sdual-purpose sports touring bikeNow the quarter-litre class is very popular in Malaysia simply because youonly need a B2 license to ride it, and almost everyone has a B2 license anywaySo in this case for the Versys-X 250, Kawasaki is positioning it as a commuter bikeas a bike you can take long and short trips on. At RM23,789the Versys-X 250 comes in right with the Ninja 250 in Kawasaki’s rangeWhat is different is you get a 19-inch front wheel and taller suspension which givesthe bike an entirely different character despite the fact that both bikes use the same engineThe Versys-X 250 carries a 249 cc parallel-twin which puts out 34 PSand 21. 7 Nm of torque. Gearbox is a 6-speed affair and at thefront you can see that the exhaust pipes take a very weird bend – this is becausethe engine is tuned for torque more than top-end horsepowerThe Versys-X 250 follows the design language of the other Versys bikes in the range – the 1,000 and the 650Up front you’ve got a single halogen headlight, nothing fancy herewith LEDs or DRLs. You’ve got a non-adjustable windshieldwhich does provide a fair amount of wind protection when you’re ridingThere’s only one colour option for the Versys-X 250 – the green that you see here and it doeslook a lot larger than it is for a 250. The plastic fairing molds into the 17-litrefuel tank and we found that the fuel tank does give us a fair amount ofrange – almost close to 400 km. The Versys-X 250 comes with something most250s don’t have – a centre stand. At the back you’ve got a bracket and a rack whichmakes the Versys-X ready to accept a top box. The brakes on the Versys-X do not have ABSwhich we feel is a bit of a shortcoming at this price pointNissin calipers do the job up front, grabbing 295 mm petal discThe front suspension is non adjustable, conventional telescopic forks while therear monoshock is adjustable for preload. The seat on the Versys-X is fairlycomfortable and there’s a reasonable amount of fore and aft spaceThere’s adequate support for the riders behind and seat height is 815 millimetersThe cockpit of the Versys-X is conventionalyou’ve got an analogue tachometer and a digital speedometer, together with an LCDreadout giving you the odometer, fuel gauge, clock, etc. The handlebar pods onthe X 250 are conventional, however there’s the inclusion of a hazard light switchOne thing we did like about the X 250 were the mirrors – they give a verygood view of the back and eliminate a lot of the blind spotsInside the instrument panel you will find two blanks: on the left for the 12-volt power socketand on the right for the riding lights – neither of which are fitted for the Malaysian marketSo that’s the numbers, that’s the technical detailsthat’s the fit out for the Versys-X 250. But what is this bike like to ride?Set up as a commuter machine, as an all-around machine, we expect a lot from itSetting off on the Versys-X 250 is easy as. The clutch effort is very verylight and the six-speed gearbox is smooth – there are no false neutrals to befound in this box and every gear clicks in with confidence. The Versys-X 250needs to be revved to get the best out of it – the red line is at 12,000 rpm andthings only start happening in the engine room above 7,000 rpm. The fuel injection on the Versys-X 250 is smooth and power delivery is linear. It’s verycontrollable and it’s good if you’re new to bikes. The handling on the X 250 tookus by surprise – high speed work, low speed work, therewere no complaints from us about the way the bike handled. Dropping it intocorners at highway speeds, the bike felt fairly stable and there was no weave orwobble to be felt. When we built the speed up a bit we found the X 250 to bestable in a straight line and fairly comfortable actually. For a dual-purposesports tourer the X 250 puts the rider in a commanding position which is verycomfortable over medium distances. Vibration on the X 250 was quite goodthere was a certain amount of buzz in the handlebars and the pegs but it wassomething we could live with. Braking effort from the single front disc wasadequate – we did wish for a little bit more stopping power but at this pricepoint you can’t really ask for muchAnd that’s our review of the 2017 Kawasaki Versys-X 250. So who needs aquarter-liter dual-purpose sports tourer? If you’re new to the sport or comingback after a long layoff, or if you are just looking for something to run abouttown on, the X 250 makes a very good choice – it’s got fairly good handlingit’s got good comfort and reasonable braking. However, it’s a shame it doesn’tcome with ABS, otherwise it would score a lot higher on our listI’m Mohan, thank you for watching, please read the full review on paultan. org

source https://cardetailingphoenix.com/index.php/2018/09/15/first-ride-kawasaki-versys-x-250-malaysian-review-rm24k-2/