Kawasaki Discontinues Versys 1000 For India

Kawasaki has removed the Versys 1000 from its India website. Additionally, an official response from Kawasaki states that the litre-class ADV has been discontinued in the country for now. Kawasaki further says that it wishes to focus on the Versys 650 and Versys-X 300. The Versys 1000 had not been quite successful in terms of sales in India. As Kawasaki has sold out the last of its CBU lot in the country, it does not intend to import another batch owing to dismal sales.

The Versys 1000 was Kawasaki’s answer to the Triumph Tiger 1200 and Ducati’s new Multistrada 1260. It came with a 1043cc inline-four motor borrowed from the Kawasaki Z1000. The motor was detuned for better low-end grunt and made 120PS of power and 102Nm of torque. It got two power modes, High and Low, and a 4-stage traction control system that could be switched off. While the motor lost quite a bit of power compared to the Z1000, it could muster enough grunt to sustain 150kmph speeds on highways.

It had an aluminium twin-tube frame with 43mm semi-adjustable upside down forks up front and a fully-adjustable monoshock at the rear. Its 17-inch alloy wheels at both ends were shod with road-biased Bridgestone Battlax tyres. Braking duties were handled by Tokico front disc brakes and a rear disc with ABS as standard.

Priced at Rs 12.85 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), the Versys 1000 was more affordable than the competition, but fell short on a few fronts. The 840mm seat height and high 250kg kerb weight made it quite a task to negotiate slow speed turns. That and the lack of electronics meant the competition was far superior, especially off the tarmac.

Nonetheless, Kawasaki has not completely written off the Versys 1000 yet. The bikemaker states that if there’s a demand for the litre-class ADV, it might consider resurrecting it for India.