OK, just got back. 5 days, 9 States, 2100 miles. Didn't make it to Nova Scotia but instead slabbed out to Niagara Falls, then south to Virginia through the national parks, then across to Kentucky and back to Chicago.
Initial impressions:
Good:
Engine is wonderful. Tractable everywhere, plenty of power, loves to rev, and completely smooth at freeway speeds. 90 mph all day long is no big deal, which is as fast as I really ever want to go.
Tank range is unreal. 300 miles a tank if you're keeping it to back roads, 200+ if you're on the freeway with bags.
Suspension is fully adjustable, with a preload knob. The settings really work and the forks are both plush and responsive respectively when they need to be.
The bags are large, secure, and simple to use.
Wind/weather protection was usable, adjustable, and offered plenty of clean air. Couple of pop-up thunderstorms and I stayed dry.
Seating position was nice and open, with plenty of leg room.
Tach and instrument cluster offer some really useful info and it's laid out well. Tank range, estimated mpg (instant and trip), and a gear indicator. The LED speedo never washed out in the sun.
Plenty of lean angle and confidence-inspiring when turned over. It's a very lightweight bike and transitioning side to side was easy.
Very, very little heat comes from the engine or exhaust to the rider. It's all way below you at the bottom of the bike.
For such a tall and light bike, it handles crosswinds well (my personal Kryptonite).
Bad:
The seat is wide, but very soft. It's also covered in grippy material, where I'm used to a slippery sportbike seat. Seats are a personal preference but I was hating it after about two hours, which is bad because the tank can go for three or four. I do not care for the seat.
Gas mileage varies wildly and drops significantly at freeway speeds, as you can see from 300 miles on back roads but 100 miles less on the slab. The bags probably don't help. I also found the "estimated remaining range" info would drop from 100 miles to 30 without much warning, so it's probably not to be relied upon.
Fueling at parking lot speeds is snatchy and uneven, which is made worse by the very, very light throttle springs.
The plastics are extraordinarily fragile. I've already lost half the front wheel cowl.
Niggles:
With all of the information available on the dash cluster, I found myself cycling through the tabs fairly often to calculate when/where to stop. It'd be better for the rider (and probably longevity of the dash) to have a handlebar-mounted toggle instead of a single button up front.
I'm used to a low-slung sportbike, so the towering stance took a lot of getting used to in twisty roads. The Versys is plenty capable, but I hesitated a bit in getting it leaned over and will probably still struggle for a while. The locals were blowing by me pretty regularly, if your ego cares about such a thing.
The adjustable windscreen can only be adjusted off the bike. I left it at its lowest position and it was fine.
The grab rails are incompatible with a bungee net. Bring Rockstraps.
In short, I've never owned a new bike, but this one is a keeper. It's incredibly capable, easy to ride, and can do a little bit of everything well. Based on Jadzia's Ninja, ownership, reliability, tire life, and general ease of use look to be pretty positive and (relatively) affordable. Nothing about the bike bummed me out this trip; it just ran and ran.
