[Talking Heads]

When I look at this excellent example of a naked curvy it strikes me that something has been lost and heads need banging together at the design department.


Compare the look of this Curvy with the current SV.
On the Curvy the tank looks like it was made to fit on the frame, the AL7 needs a plethora of plastic covers to hide the mismatch in the shape of the tank with the lines of the frame. This despite the fact that the AL7 tank is a new design made specifically for the AL7.

The Curvy has a functioning grabrail and if you look closely you can see bungee hooks. AL7 has replaced these functioning items with utterly useless fabric straps.
Curvy has nicely finished clocks and headlamp mount, AL7 has yet more plastic shrouding.
The frame on the Curvy is a major design feature of the bike and boldly on display.
AL7 trellis frame actually looks quite good imo but has yet more plastic shrouding.
Curvy has really nice pillion footrest/exhaust hangers, AL7 has cheap tube and pressed steel jobs.


The SV has come a long way and for me there are two areas in which the AL7 is undoubtedly superior (ABS, fuel economy) but in many ways I feel the aesthetics and functionality of the original design were better.
Suzuki are to be congratulated for the styling improvement of the AL7 over the Gladius, but it looks to me like its been one step forward and two steps back.


Still love my AL7 but looking at the Curvy I realise it could have been so much better.