Kawasaki will be launching the Versys 650 next month and will finally offer ABS on its middle-weight offering that primarily rivals against the Benelli TNT 600 GT in the segment.
The touring scene is catching up in India with Triumph and Benelli benefitting the most with their dedicated offerings. The latest motorcycle maker to join this bandwagon will be Kawasaki that plans to introduce the Versys 650 in India as early as next month. The interesting part however, is the fact that the Japanese adventure tourer will be the first CKD offering from Kwacker to get Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) as standard.
While Kawasaki already retails the Versys 1000 in India, the 650 version is the leaner yet powerful tourer that goes easy on the pocket as well. In terms of styling, the model resembles closely to the litre-class Versys while the underpinnings are shared with the Ninja 650 and ER-6n middle-weight motorcycles. The automaker received a lot of criticism for not providing ABS on its CKD models that include the Z250, Ninja 300 and the middle-weight offerings but we could finally see that change starting with the Versys 650.
Doing a quick recap of the specifications, the Kawasaki Versys 650 is powered by a 649cc parallel-twin cylinder, liquid-cooled motor tuned to produce 72 PS of power and 66 Nm of torque, mated to a 6-speed transmission. The tourer gets adjustable suspension springs at the front and rear while the tyres are said to be different from the ones seen on the Ninja 650 and ER-6n. Other salient bits include a tall windscreen, quarter fairing, raised handlebars, distinctive dual headlamps and LED tail lamps.
The Kawasaki Versys 650 is expected to be launched with a price of Rs. 6.00 lakhs (on-road, Mumbai) and will only be available in black. The tourer’s main rival will be the Benelli TNT 600 GT that uses a four-cylinder motor along with the Triumph Tiger 800 series. We could see the company introduce ABS equipped models throughout 2016 and are keeping our hopes high for the Ninja 300 ABS to be launched as well.
