Kawasaki Versys-X 300 Two-Pot Screamer

For the newbie riders this bike offers a lot. For the experienced rider who knows how to get the best from a small-bore, the Versys-X 300 offers even more.

 

Kawasaki has jumped into the small-bore dual-sport market with a new addition to the Versys range. Alongside the 1000 and 650 there now sits a Versys-X 300.

We enjoyed the other two, but for sheer hoot value and grins-per-cc, the 300 leaves the others in its neat, angular little shadow.

Doing the math

Covering off the technical side of the bike first, the motor is a 296cc, liquid-cooled, DOHC, parallel twin and a six-speed box drives a chain via a cable-operated, assisted slipper clutch. Kawasaki BottomLink Uni Trak suspension allows about 15cm of travel at the rear and the 41mm right-side-uppers at the front around 13cm. Wheels are a 19/17-inch combo front/rear, fuel capacity 17 litres and kerb mass 175kg.

For the newbie riders this bike offers a lot. For the experienced rider who knows how to get the best from a small-bore, the Versys-X 300 offers even more.

The figures that will form most people’s opinion there are a small motor – with a modest compression ratio of 10.6:1, by the way – short suspension travel and a 19-inch front wheel. To most readers the numbers will add up to ‘learner’s bike’. Add in a seat height of 815mm and the whole thing will be resolved to ‘girls’ bike!’

We admit that’s how things looked to us. Aside from the numbers were a low front guard, road-oriented tyres, preload-only adjustment on the suspension and a general ‘roadie’ look.

But in this case the numbers don’t add up. At least, they don’t give a true measurement of the performance and versatility of the Versys-X 300. Once this bike starts doing its thing all that spec-sheet palaver disappears in a turbine-smooth, hard-revving motor and a blurred backdrop of passing scenery.

Real world