Contour design

The Versys 1000 continues the family's mighty design of this series, which may feel nothing when you look at the photo alone, but when you really stand in front of the car, you will be shocked by its momentum. The shape of the vehicle is larger than 650 but it does not appear bloated, mainly because the body proportion is more coordinated, the angular lines are thinner, and the tone is weakened.

The first impression of the side of the body is that the front will be relatively heavy, and the center of gravity may be closer to the front; In fact, the frame and engine components are similar to the Z1000, and the center of gravity of the vehicle is a little bit ahead of the foot. The head of the vehicle is relatively thick, and the width is larger than the water tank on both sides, coupled with the relatively high windshield and the front, the momentum of the whole front leg is big and round.

The visual connection between the front and the body is also more interesting, and both inside and outside the double-layer structure fairing are connected. The engine is not connected to the cover, the advantage of exposure is that the mechanical feeling is stronger, and the cylinder machine also needs to heat.

The fuel tank of 21L is not large in the whole car body, and the shape design is also the same curve extension treatment as the cover. The seat looks like a separate design, but it is actually an integral, and the visual experience of the entire seat cushion will be thicker.

Exhaust this also made some compromises, it is reasonable to say that such a large model, the exhaust shape and then rise, longer, the momentum will have. However, the Versys 1000 exhaust is relatively strong and short, mainly because of some trade-offs and the need to have a side box.

Visually, some people may also tease, such an overpowering car, but the front and back wheels actually used 17 inch aluminum alloy wheels, you look at the non-double, water birds these 21 inch big wheels with more strength; Kawasaki did this is also related to the positioning of the Versys 1000, and we will talk about it later.

Power, configuration

The Versys 1000 is powered by a 1,043cc in-line, water-cooled four-cylinder engine with a maximum power of 83.8kW@8900rpm(114 HP) and a maximum torque of 99.9N·m@6500rpm.

This figure is worse than the Ninja 1000SX and Z1000 on the same platform, mainly because of the car's long-distance motorcycle positioning, its compression ratio is 10.3:1, and the other two engines are 11.8:1. Although some extreme performance is lost, it brings better stability, which is still necessary for positioning a car in this way.

Braking is front radial four-piston caliper + double floating disc, rear piston caliper + single disc; Front shock absorber 43mm inverted front fork (adjustable rebound damping), rear multi-link structure with gas tank side single gun shock absorber (preload, adjustable rebound).

The auxiliary system has an electronic throttle based on the 6-axis IMU, corner management, KTRC traction control, cruise control and power mode, which are all available, but the mechanical +LCD dial is really a little plain, and the display content is limited. Other aspects: fuel tank capacity 21 liters, maintenance mass 250kg, wheelbase 1520mm, seat height 820mm, ground clearance 150mm.

Riding experience

The Versys 1000 is relatively large, with a seat height of 820mm and a height of 175cm, with two toes that can just touch the ground. 250kg body is also very heavy, for the average person to see this car will have no small psychological pressure.

The riding triangle is close to the street car sitting position, the butt can be a little bit back, and the upper body will be relatively more relaxed. Foot and brake are more inclined to street cars, wear ADV boots or relatively hard boots to mount the gear to have a process of adaptation.

The large and wrapped head, in the rider's perspective of the whole vehicle head shape is also a major feature of the Versys series, which makes people have a psychological hint that it will be very safe, and the other is to reduce the wind directly into the rider's body.

The most obvious is that after we ride the bike, tilt our head slightly to the side, and obviously feel the wind blowing on the helmet; When you sit upright, the head is completely relaxed with the body, which is very suitable for long-distance riding, on the one hand, it will let your upper body in a relatively relaxed state, but also reduce the physical consumption of long-distance riding.

After the cold car starts, the idle speed is about 1,500 RPM, which is not stable at this time, and when the engine temperature increases, the idle speed will be maintained at about 1,200 RPM. Amazingly, the Versys 1000 allows you to do 1234 gear starts without even using the throttle and the clutch control alone.

On the one hand, it shows that the same speed range, the four-cylinder car is indeed faster than the two-cylinder car. On the other hand, Kawasaki has made a lot of optimization for the daily use of this car, improving the fault tolerance at low speed and low torque.

The gear ratio of first gear as the starting gear is set, so that the acceleration feeling in the second half of the throttle is not so strong. In addition, the silky slip of the clutch power connection is also relatively linear, and how much strength is loosened; But the clutch feels a little heavy, in the downtown stop-and-go will test the strength of the finger grip.

The speed is between 1,500 and 5,000 RPM, the power can basically cover most of the daily use of the scene, then the throttle is linear silky, the power is stable and not rushed. A little throttle is unequivocally forward, but not as aggressive as sports models, or belongs to a stable and powerful feeling.

Between 5,000 and 7,000 revolutions, the vibration is more obvious, and the vibration is transmitted from the feet, the seat and the handlebars as the speed increases, and it is very dense and uncomfortable; The vibration gradually disappears when the speed is above 7,000 RPM. Kawasaki's default shift reminder is at 5,000 RPM, another is that the vibration in the first three gears is also very uncomfortable, and the vibration will be better as the gear is raised.

Second gear more than 6,000 RPM to vigorously oil, you will find that the feeling of boa constrictor back, but because of the riding triangle and coupled with the front of the wind resistance protection, so although you accelerate very strong, the body feeling may be slightly weak.

The red zone of the Versys 1000 speed is between 10,000 and 14,000 RPM, in fact, the oil will be cut off when the throttle is turned to 10,000 RPM. We used to ride in the car as long as the oil is cut off, more or less there will be a sense of frustration, but this car only hears the engine roar, no frustration, the body is very stable.

Let's talk about the fuel consumption of this car, from full fuel running to the fuel indicator flashing fuel, a total of 250 kilometers (plus 18.5 liters), the test fuel consumption is about seven oil; Because our test situation is more radical, daily riding or normal running at high speed, I think the fuel consumption should be about 5.

First of all, I think the biggest problem is human-computer interaction, and the controllable space displayed on the instrument is relatively small, and the display is also very simple. Like the full power, low power of the two power modes, the engine noise and power output will be significantly different, other aspects of the electronic control perception is not so obvious.

Just like we talked about its smooth corner, braking, body stability, corner control, traction control actually play a role, but it is not on the surface can let you feel.

Cruise in the third gear above, more than 35km/h to start, other times you can not set; This is actually understandable, because in the low gear high speed for 4 cylinder cars, cruise is actually a very self-harming thing.

Another thing I feel more regretful is that Versys 1000, as a long-distance motorcycle positioning model, it has an electronic throttle, there are so many electronic control things, and there is no electronic two-way fast exhaust, which is a little pity.

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