2019 KAWAS AKI VERS Y S 1000 SE LT+
P98
F I R S T R E V I E W
BY RENNIE SCAYSBROOK PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEVIN WING
The venerable Kawasaki Versys 1000 has come
in for a substantial facelift in 2019. Does the nip,
tuck and pull make for a better bike?
SMOOTH
Operator
Never has the Kawasaki Versys
1000 been considered the best
bike in its class. It's by no means
been a lousy motorcycle, but
compared to a few of its more
spirited Euro competitors, the
Versys 1000 had the perfor-
mance of a mid-40s balding man
who was once a promising track
and field star.
For a long time, too, the
Versys 1000 was about as
old-school as you could get.
Electronics like cruise control
and a quickshifter were not on
the radar, let alone electronically
adjustable suspension and ABS
and cornering lights.
However, the middle of a new
year brings with it a new ma-
chine, one that aims to give the
Versys 1000 moniker a touch of
much-needed style and sophis-
tication to go with its legendary,
tax-man-like reliability.
The 2019 Kawasaki Versys
1000 SE LT+ (to give it its full
and confusing name) is not
an entirely new design, but
it's not far off it. Faced with an
onslaught of competition in the
big-bore sport touring segment
from BMW, Yamaha, Ducati, and
KTM, Kawasaki has come to
the game ready to play in 2019.
They're aiming to strike a more
harmonious balance between
sport and touring, as most of the
European competition—which
currently dominates the seg-
It's a big Bertha,
but the Kawasaki
is surprisingly
good in the
twisties at a
medium pace.
