There are bikes that aspire to be all things to all riders - and most of them fall ignominiously between two stools.
Some, like BMW's incredibly capable GS beetle-crusher, are just too big to commute on. Others, like the Ducati Multistrada and Triumph 1050 Tiger, are tarmac warriors only despite their macho styling.
Then there are a few - a very few - light and nimble enough to be rideable on gravel roads if not goat tracks, comfortable enough to tour all day on, and with enough grunt to be fun on those crisp spring mornings when you feel like turning the world on its ear.
One of these is Kawasaki's KLE650 Versys, a slim, compact 649cc parallel twin in a long-legged, distinctly insectoid chassis.
Yes, Cyril, it shares its engine and diamond-shaped, high-tensile, tubular-steel mainframe with the ER-6n urban warrior and ER-6f sports-tourer but that's where the similarity ends.
The engine has been detuned from 53kW at 8500rpm to 47kW at 8000, but with a more accessible 61Nm at 6000 revs.
This bike is all about mid-range and punches well above its weight from 3500 to 8000rpm, running incredibly smoothly thanks to two balance shafts.
After that the power tails off rapidly although it will happily spin to well above nine if all you want is some interesting vibration.
The Versys (it's short for Ver
satile Sys
tem) went up to 180km/h very smartly indeed and topped out at 190 only 500m further with a needle's width less than 9000rpm showing on the analogue rev-counter.
Yet it averaged little more than five litres/100km across the review period - including performance testing and a brisk, 110km, freeway night run - and should give less ham-fisted riders than myself at least 360km out of each 19-litre tank of fuel.
The clutch is typical Kawasaki: firm and positive with a definite take-up point. The gearbox, however, isn't - it's a lot slicker than most Kawasaki transmissions, which are built with extra clearance in the dogs so you never miss a shift.
This one is as crisp as fresh lettuce, with a commendably short lever throw; after the first ten minutes the clutch was dispensed with for upshifts.
The best of both worlds
Long-travel, off-road suspension soaks up uneven terrain but gives a mushy ride at higher speeds on tar, whereas sports-bike suspension is great on smooth surfaces such as racetracks but doesn't cope well with the real world.
Kawasaki has tried to bring together the best of both worlds on the Versys by fitting long-travel suspension with stiff springs and damping. The result is a chassis that remains surefooted on surprisingly rough gravel roads - although the ride is a little harsh - but still holds its line when thrown into a long fast corner.
The Versys is not an off-road bike - it has 17" cast wheels front and rear - but its unusual suspension system enables it to cope with almost any gravel road, taking the rider to places he or she would never otherwise think of visiting.
And long trips are no problem; the relaxed, slightly forward-leaning seating position, wide bars and deeply padded seat make it unusually comfortable for what is actually quite a small bike.
Adjustable screen
Most of its body panels are clustered round a very odd-looking, mushroom-shaped headlight but they combine with a neat little fly-screen that can be adjusted for height by mounting it in one of three possible positions (all you need is a 4mm Allen hex key) to provide more protection from the weather than you'd expect from such a minimalist motorcycle.
The instrument panel is a neat, symmetrical pod with a panel of warning icons (the makers don't like us calling them idiot lights, Cyril) on the left, a superbly legible, white-faced, central rev-counter and an LCD screen on the right that gives you speed, fuel level, the time, an odometer and two trip meters.
There's rather a lot of tubular-steel subframe - all of it in straight sections - under the saddle that looks a little incongruous until you realise it's a classic Warren truss (invented by the eponymous Mr Warren to hold up bridges) that supports the pillion and the (optional) quick-detachable Givi panniers with the minimum of flex.
The Versys is unexpectedly comfortable, handles better than it has any right to, thanks to clever compromises in its suspension settings, yet is slim and agile enough slice through weekday traffic.
There are those for whom every Fiday is "The Great Escape" - this may just be the ideal tool for the job.
Price:
R64 500.
- Test bike from Kawasaki South, Cape Town.