2007 Kawasaki Versys 650

Let us start with the number, because you have already seen it. This Versys has covered 122,496 km, and we are not going to pretend otherwise. Here is why that is a less frightening figure than it looks. The 649cc parallel twin in this bike is the same unit Kawasaki put in the ER-6, and it has one of the best reputations for longevity of any middleweight engine ever built. These motors regularly go well past two hundred thousand kilometres with nothing more than oil, filters and valve clearances done when they are due. A Versys with high mileage is not a bike that has been abused. It is a bike that has been used for what it was designed to do. That is the whole point of a Versys. It was built to be ridden all the time and everywhere, and someone clearly did exactly that. The riding position is a large part of why. You sit tall and upright, with wide bars and a seat you can stay on for a long day without complaint. Long travel suspension soaks up the sort of surfaces that would have you standing on the pegs on anything sportier, which matters a great deal on Irish back roads. And the parallel twin makes its power low down and in the middle, so it pulls out of corners without any drama and sits happily at motorway speed. It comes ready for the job. There is a screen up front, a top box fitted on a rear rack for a helmet, a jacket or the shopping, and a centre stand for chain maintenance. That is most of what you would want to add to one of these already taken care of. Some of the highlights: 649cc liquid cooled parallel twin Upright riding position with wide bars Long travel suspension Twin front discs Adjustable screen Rear rack with top box fitted Centre stand 122,496 km showing We would be straight with anyone looking at this. It is not a bike to buy if you want something that has barely turned a wheel and will sit gleaming in a garage. It is a bike to buy if you want a lot of usable motorcycle for sensible money, and you understand that a well maintained high mileage twin is often a better bet than a low mileage bike that has sat still for a decade with the fuel going stale in it. If that sounds like you, come down and have a proper look. Take your time with it, ask us whatever you want to ask, and we will tell you exactly what we know about it.