Kawasaki Versys X 300 India Launch This Year: But Does It Make Sense?

Another day, another adventure bike coming to India. And this time, it’s the relaunch of the Kawasaki Versys X 300. It was spotted being tested in India earlier this year and now it has been reported that Kawasaki will launch it towards the end of 2024. This time around though, the bike will reportedly be heavily localised in India, making it the third “made-in-India” Kawasaki bike after the Ninja 300 and the W175. 

But the question is…is this news exciting? We don’t think so. For starters, the 296cc liquid-cooled, parallel-twin engine, powering the Ninja 300 and the Versys X 300 is very dated. When it was launched in 2018, the Kawasaki Ninja 400 was supposed to replace the Ninja 300 but for some reason, Kawasaki decided to continue with the Ninja 300 in India. But now with even the Kawasaki Ninja 500 finally launched in India, it’s safe to say that the Versys X 300 doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense thanks to its now ancient motor. 

Plus, in this day and age, when bikes in this segment have moved onto LED lighting, fancy TFT screens and plenty of electronic rider aids, the Versys X 300’s semi-digital console, lack of LEDs and lack of features feels like a step back in time. Now yes, while it will be a locally assembled bike with many components manufactured in India, it’s unlikely that the bike will be priced in the cutthroat, high value-for-money manner that Royal Enfield bikes are. Back when the Ninja 300 started being locally assembled, it got a Rs 62,000 price drop. The funny thing though, is that the Versys X 300 cost an eye-watering Rs 4.69 lakh (ex-showroom) back in 2018. So even if you factor in the same kind of discount, Rs 4 lakh for the X 300 makes no sense today. Heck, even if Kawasaki is somehow able to give it a near-3 lakh price tag, it doesn’t make sense given the kind of options you get in the form of the Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 (Rs 2.85 lakh onwards) and the KTM 390 Adventure (Rs 3,38,746).

If you’re on a budget, the Hero XPulse 200 4V and the Suzuki V-Strom SX are two lovely bikes and if you want something premium, you have all the options in the world, with the Honda XL750 Transalp, Suzuki V-Strom 800 DE and of course the Tigers and GS’ of the world.   

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So while it’s nice to see Kawasaki bring more products to India, the baby Versys isn’t exactly a bike we’re very thrilled about. And all of this just makes us think…why isn’t there a Versys X 400 or even a Versys X 500 already? Why Kawasaki?  

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