Hi folks. I'm shopping for a new commuter bike as my C14 is getting up in miles and I'm trying to save it for longer road trips. I've narrowed down my choices to the Versys or Ninja 1000s and can't make up my mind. As an added bonus, I work in a Kawasaki dealership on Saturdays and get dealer pricing on all new bikes, so either would be a good deal and the price difference is only $600 between the two, though the owner said he'd take another $500 off because he likes me.
The Versys is a tall, comfy tourer with soft suspension and strong brakes that also has standard hard saddlebags, which I probably won't use, since I can legally lane split in California and have quite a bit of traffic to contend with. It can double as a backup long-distance tourer and has a centre stand for easy chain maintenance.
The Ninja is fast, sexy, comfortable, and can be fitted with a trunk and saddlebags if desired (though it's expensive for all the parts...) The handling is purported to be excellent and IIRC, a magazine article noted that the Ninja 1k was faster in real world conditions than a ZX-10R due to having better midrange power.
I've been using a 2005 KLR650 as my daily beater and though I love Ms. Klara, she's far too slow for California freeways. I top out at ~85mph and can't go any faster! With 35bhp and only one cylinder, overtaking is easier with my VW Passat 5 cylinder than it is with this bike. Which brings me to my two replacement choices.
Versys 1000: 118bhp - ~48mpg
Ninja 1000: 138bhp - ~41mpg
Tough call. So, of these two, which would you folks choose? I'm convinced I'd be happy with either, but can only choose one!