"I went out for a ride, and I never came back." Immortal words sung by Mr Springsteen in his 1980 hit Hungry Heart and a line that featured in high rotation in my noggin every time I left my driveway on Kawasaki's new Versys 1100 S. You see, the Versys is so supremely comfortable, and its inline-four powerplant so delicious, I just wanted to stuff my gear in the optional top box and bugger off and chase the horizon.
2025 has seen a bunch of updates for Kawasaki's flagship sports tourer mainly focussed on the powerplant. The headline change is given away by the name change, with capacity increasing from 1043 cc to 1099 cc with a consequential increase in power, which grows from 88.2 kW to 99 kW. Max torque has also increased from 102 Nm to 112 Nm, which is achieved 100 rpm higher in the rev range. Kawasaki has made some of the best engines to have ever siphoned a fuel tank, and the inline-four in the Versys is, I think, one of the best donks the Japanese manufacturer has ever made. It is beautifully refined yet retains a character that other fours just can't match.
The Versys is fitted with a quickshifter as standard, and it now operates lower in the rev range. It is near on flawless in its duty of assisting you in banging through the 1100's sweet, sweet six-speed gearbox.
The suspension duties are handled by a set of 43 mm USD forks with rebound and preload adjustability on the front, and a rebound-adjustable rear shock that also offers preload adjustability via an external adjuster knob - handy for jacking up the tension when you're loaded up. Suspension performance is on the magic carpet ride rather than the rigid and racy side of the spectrum and perfectly suited for the type of riding the Versys was designed for and for our shitty Australian roads.
The front brakes are Kawasaki-branded (don't tell anyone they are Tokicos) radial-mounted calipers grabbing a set of 310 mm standard-style discs (no more wavy, petal-style discs) on the front and a single-piston caliper on the rear gripping a 260 mm disc. You couldn't want more from the rear; it's on point. The front stoppers are great - they lack the ferocity of the euro bikes, but they are more than up to the task at hand.
Cosmetically and ergonomically the Versys remains virtually unchanged - not necessarily a bad thing as the Versys has always been a gloriously comfortable motorcycle. The large, and some might say slightly awkward-looking, fairing (beauty is in the eye of the beholder) and massive manually adjustable screen provide a level of protection from the saltiness of the elements that few sports tourers can match. I'm 186 cm tall and generous of proportion, and even I'm beautifully encapsulated in a bubble of stillness and silence behind the bars of the Versys.
The Versys' expansive level of protection and long legs may come at the cost of accessibility for smaller or less experienced riders. It is undeniably a large vessel, with the Versys weighing in at a portly 257 kg with its 21-litre tank full. Seat height is 840 mm off the ground so it's a relatively high perch as well. With that said, I offer the following points for your consideration. Firstly, the Versys carries its weight well. It doesn't feel top-heavy and is a beautifully balanced bike; it's only when you're yanking it up onto its centrestand that you really notice its bulk. Secondly, at just over six-foot tall, I had no issue getting my feet flat on the floor.
The Versys is not the rolling tech-fest that some of its European ilk are, but it also lacks the eye-watering price tag of that bunch. For around $24,000 you get a serious chunk of tech. Let's break it down a bit: IMU-controlled cornering traction control and ABS, a gaggle of ride modes, cruise control, heated grips, a full deck of LED lighting including cornering lights so you can see where you're pointed through corners, and a TFT and analogue tacho combo dash. Unless you're specifically after adaptive cruise or the like, do you really need any more? The Versys also gets a bar-mounted USB-C charging port for 2025, the design and placement of which lack both imagination and finesse.
The 2025 Versys is more evolution than revolution and that's just fine. There was very little, if anything, to dislike about the Versys 1000 - and who doesn't like more ponies? If you think that there is a bike that combines this level of comfort with such a brilliant engine at such an attractive price point, then I'm happy to hear your thoughts, but it would be a tough argument to make. If you just love punching out big miles and don't want to engage the services of a physiotherapist when you arrive at your destination, then the Versys 1100 S should be on your test-ride list.
