Kawasaki Versys-X 300

Tag says seat concepts I believe. So I less someone modified it even more, it should be familiar.

Baby bike brigade

How is your GF enjoying the VX ? Have you had a chance to ride it enough to do a comparo ?

She is loving it. Unfortunately so much i havent had a chance to ride it!

She is a smart lady!

...ken...

The right mirror on the Versys works for hanging her helmet on the same way as your mirror on the 390, you would have to knock the Versys over to get the helmet to fall off and she will hardly ever have to re adjust the mirror. There is a good spot to stash gloves in front of the gas tank just behind the bars when parked, not when riding, they may blow out. There is also a good spot along side of the gas tank on the right side under the plastic behind the radiator over flow bottle, where she can stash a rain jacker or light weight fleece. On the left side of the tank there is not as much room, but you could stash an extra pair of gloves or something smaller, ride safe.

I have the VX3 at the Florida Panhandle this week. My wife has begun riding on the back. After riding it for a couple of hundred miles, I was surprised what a capable two up bike it is. I think I’m going to send the seat back to Russell to add a back rest for the rider, and have the pillion seat made.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that the brakes have really improved with a few miles on them.

I've been wondering how capable it is 2 up for "normal" sized wife and I. The KLR is fun for me, but my wife and daughter don't seem really thrilled to be there. It's fun to thrash around solo on gravel roads... I'd hate to miss that.

I went through the complete 7,600 mile maintenance service, and replacement of head bearings and races, at a well-known dealership. The total bill exceeded $1,900.00, paid mostly with the $1,200 stim check. The steering head had been loose from the factory and head shake occurred once, which I worked around (see my old posts here), but returned as a noticeable clunk when braking suddenly.

I blame these charges on the lack of quality in the manufacturing done in Thailand, with the valve-check schedule as Kawasaki's attempt to make up for this deficiency. The head-shake is a known issue that deserves a factory recall.

Caveat Emptor.

Dude, that's 40% of the price of the bike. That's just insane. I'd ask your insurance to total it out. That is bullshit. Sorry, I feel your pain, as I've been there with a former Subaru Outback and the stupid valve burning issue, but that pisses me off for you.

I didn't crash. Just rode normally. I love riding the bike, so I didn't sell it to someone who loves doing the mechanical work themselves. That would've been my choice if not for the stim check.

I know you didn't crash, but if it tipped over, and you submitted a claim the price would have exceeded the value of the bike. I'm not advocating that, just that a repair outside of an engine/gearbox teardown shouldn't be that high. My brother just had a bill that large on his BMW 800ST. They also charged him like 300 to add heated grips and a phone charger that he bought. Insane. I'm a hands on guy but that valve check puts me off of the bike a bit. Maybe I'm just a screw and locknut guy. I'll delve into that self introspection over some honey & jalapeno bourbon.

I'm not committing insurance fraud. The bike has tipped over in a bad storm and the damage was minimal, I fixed myself. The dealer was in NJ which has much of NYC's price inflation. They went strictly by the rate schedule supposedly. The bill also includes flat-bed transportation of the bike to and from my home in PA, since I didn't want to risk Uber with Covid-19.

I get that. I wasn't suggesting that you (or anyone) do that. I was illustrating what I felt was an exorbitant bill is all. Apologies if I didn't make that clear. Anyway, the clock just struck midnight here, happy Thanksgiving to all!

I'd just be curious which particular service required the most hours of labor cost, the valves or the steering head? I've done the shim & bucket valves on my V-Strom a couple of times now, and that easily consumes a whole weekend, given my shade-tree mechanic skill level. And just last month I replaced the steering head bearings, (pretty well-notched), at 59,000 miles. That job was equally as labor-intensive, with lots of disassembly, and also lacking some of the dedicated tools that would've made my life easier.

So I can definitely see your service fees being "in the ballpark," so to speak. Which is why I do my own maintenance- if I had to foot those kinds of bills, I probably wouldn't be able to afford owning a motorcycle in the first place! Probably a good choice regarding an insurance claim. Making any claim like that, in and of itself, would likely raise your rates down the line, not to mention that you'd have to pay some type of deductible, and they'd knock off some value for depreciation, too. Glad you at least have your bike back in good condition now, and ready to roll!

NOOOOO, I obviously did not make myself clear. Allow me to, and put the issue to rest. The analogy I was attempting to make was that the bike is X dollars new, say 5K. The depreciation sets the replacement value at $3800-4K right after you own it and ride it. IF (here is the analogy part) it were damaged in an accident, and the repair value was half the price, it'd be a total loss and would be taken away to be parted out, crushed, whatever.. You'd get a check from the insurance. I was not saying to submit a claim. I was saying that short of an engine rebuild or replacement, or catastrophic issue, your repair seemed high TO ME.

Maybe it is ballpark money. Bikes are advanced machines now, and there's a lot of mechanics and tech engineered into a very small space. My Vstrom was a beast to even change the air filter on, if I remember it correctly. My former 1250 Bandit? forget those valves too. XT225/DR650 start to finish, my coffee is still hot.

Ha, had to chuckle regarding your Bandit. One of my main reasons to keep it down to a maximum of two cylinders, these days! I had an FJR-1300 for a couple of years, nice bike. But it was about due for a valve check; 16 shims, and all that bodywork to remove. :O
I wasn't about to devote the time & effort, or the money, into that job, and it was a second bike that I really didn't need anyway. So I sold it, but did advise the buyer that a valve check was due. He wasn't really worried about it...

$1900 USD!? At $100/hr shop rate that's 2 days of labour plus $300 for parts and taxes. I am no expert but I consider myself reasonably-capable DIY mechanic. On Versys-X 300, I have checked (and adjusted) vale clearances (several times), cleaned/lubed the steering head bearings, replaced fork fluid, cleaned and lubed swingarm and rear shock linkage pivots, etc. IMO it should not take anywhere near 2 days to service the valves and replace the steering head bearings.

Well I'm over due for my 3th valve check. The small local shop that I used to go to closed, so while I was at the big city Kaw. shop I asked how much. They charge $105 an hr. and have a fixed rate of $300 to check the valves and another $ 200 if they need to adjust them. It takes quiet a bit longer to adjust them. I guess that's not to bad. I think the towing costs must of run your bill up a bit. Maybe next time you can find out how much it costs before you take it in, and find out if they have loaner bikes or if they will rent you a used one to get home on. they will probably do it if you have bike insurance being how your such a good customer.

David JM, $500 isn't bad. I would be ok with that. Yeah, that Bandit I was like...