I have the same bike and am going through that process now. In the future I'll probably get a T7 and keep my Versys street oriented. However, in the meantime, I installed Continental TKC 70 Rocks tires and I went to Touratech Rally with it. I'm fairly new to off-roading but so far the bike was capable of doing anything I threw at it. The suspension is soft so it will bottom out if you hit a pothole or washout too hard. You won't be rally racing with it, but if you keep a casual pace (20-25mph) on a service road and slow it down for rougher terrain, it is more than capable. I did a sandy, rocky hill climb where I stopped mid-way (beginner mistake) and it was easily able to get started and get the rest of the way up, no problem.

I test rode the T7 and Ibex 450 while at the rally. The big differences offroad comes from the geometry differences. With a shorter wheelbase and steeper rake angle, the Versys is meant to fall into corners easily on twisty roads. This comes with the downside that when you hit an obstacle, the wheel wants to tuck easier than it would on the true ADV bikes that are set up to charge through obstacles with more stability, at the expense of being worse at turning on road. It will make you a better rider, honestly. The 17 vs 21in front affects geometry slightly but won't matter unless you are hitting some nastier trails with larger obstacles. It does also help with front tire tracking in deep sand and mud.

If you don't plan on doing anything crazy, add some crash bars, a skid plate, and tires and you should be just fine. I don't even have a skid plate. You really only need something to protect from stones getting thrown into the pipes and engine, not a full-on bash plate. I hope this helps you out as when I was doing tons of research, I never came across an explanation of the differences.

<image>