2017 Versys 650 Grand Tourer - ongoing review

[Cav]

I do 18k a year in my car and I used to do anywhere from 3-6k a year on the bike solely from pleasure use.. My yearly fuel use is pretty high

[Kwacky]

248 miles between fill ups. Looks like the new chain has improved fuel consumption.

[Cav]

You got over 180miles from a tank?! :O

[kiwikrasher]

That’s pretty impressive even from a 21 L tank!

[Rossgo]

Kwacky thats cracking milegage, that bike is serving you well as a commuter

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[Kwacky]

I've booked the bike in with All Year Biker for a scrub and ACF50 bath. There's still salt on the roads and I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle trying to keep on top of looking after the bike during the winter months. I'm cleaning the bike when I can but having a professional fully degrease the bike, clean it and cover it with ACF50 should make it look like new again.

[Rossgo]

Defo a wise decision mate and it will keep for a couple months until the better weather sets in so should dave you a lot of time if you are having to wash it a fair bit

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[Kwacky]

New rear Z8 ordered. This one has done just over 7,000 miles. I was expecting more to be honest but I got it fitted at the end of July and the bike has only been used for commuting since the Isle of Man, so it's nicely squared off and the handling is crap.

[Kwacky]

The bike is booked in for this Saturday. I'll have to see how the weather is. I don't really want a new tyre on a bike without TC when it's snowing.

[Blade]

TC won't help you backing it in though

[Rossgo]

Bloody hope the weather doesn't stay like this until the weekend. Bugger off snow!

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[Kwacky]

It's postponed for a couple of weeks. I'm not riding in this

[Kwacky]

The bike was doing well this winter, until a few weeks ago. Now it looks pretty crap on the lower parts. Some of the metalwork is badly marked.

Things seemed to change when the roads were constantly wet and the council kept gritting. The bike still looked like new before then. The frequent salt baths have really done their work, despite the ACF50 treatment I've been giving the bike.

I think I may have shot myself in the foot by giving the bike a really good clean. I should have just left a layer of dirt and grime on it to act as a barrier.

Oh well, it gets the All Year Biker treatment in a couple of weeks. I'll have a chat with Andy to see what he says I can do to bring it back to looking like new

[duke63]

Weather has been really rough this last month.

Councils have put a lot of salt on the roads, i guess they like to use what they have so they get the same budget next year yet early in the winter they didn't seem to keen to lay grit down.

[Kwacky]

All Year Biker started to wash the bike but there was ice forming on it. He had to give up. He's going to pick the bike up on Wednesday from work and take it back to his place. Top service.

New rear tyre fitted. The old one had done just under 8,000 miles. It had grip but it was too square to continue using, handling was crap.

[Kwacky]

It's going in tomorrow for some work. The brake light is playing up, it doesn't always come on and then when it does it sticks on or flickers.

[duke63]

Didn't that problem surface before or was it the SX?

[Kwacky]

It was the rear brake on the Versys.

[Kwacky]

The plunger on the rear brake had corroded and was sticking. The mechanic said it's in a bad postion as it's really hard to get to, so you can't check it and you can't maintain it unless you strip half of the right side away.

[duke63]

Would a can of WD40 with the extension on the nozzle reach?