Well, of course, the Versys has 17" front wheels, and everybody knows that this makes a bike absolutely incapable of going off pavement!
My V-Strom has 36000km, about 35995km on pavement, and oh boy, I certainly wouldn't have survived those 5km of light gravel and dirt if it wasn't for the 19" front wheels! Certainly couldn't do it on a Versys.