Kawasaki Versys 650 launched at Rs 6.60 lakh

Kawasaki India launched it second motorcycle offering for the Indian market for 2015 as it rode in the new Kawasaki Versys 650 adventure motorcycle. The new Kawasaki bike has been priced at Rs 6.60 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The Kawasaki Versys 650 is the fifth CKD offering after the Kawasaki Ninja 650, ER-6n and the Kawasaki Ninja 300 and the Z250. The Japanese bikemaker had faced lots of flack from consumers for not providing even as an optional extra on its CKD offerings in India. Kawasaki has taken notice of this fact and the new Versys 650 has been equipped with ABS as standard fitment. The addition of the ABS is the primary reason for the new Versys 650 being the most expensive CKD motorcycle sold by the Japanese two-wheeler manufacturer in India. 

The styling of the Kawasaki Versys 650 is similar to its litre-class sibling with a dual headlamps and a quarter fairing while the LED tail lamp has been inspired from the Kawasaki Z1000 street bike. Powering the bike is the same 650cc motor as seen on the Ninja 650 and the ER-6n but the engine has been tuned to better suit the dual purpose nature of the Versys 650. The 649cc parallel-twin has been retuned to increase performance further up in the rev range whilst improving fuel efficiency at the same time. The twin-pot mill develops 69PS of power and 64Nm of peak torque. Power is transmitted to the rear-wheel via a 6-speed gearbox. The windscreen on the Kawasaki Ninja 650 can be manually adjusted whereas a stronger subrframe allows the use of clean-mount panniers. Aside from the inclusion of ABS, the Versys 650 will also come with adjustable suspension springs up front as well as at the back and it is also the cheapest performance adventure motorcycle on sale in the country.