sv650, time for a fresh model suzuki

[Bibio]

3 grand more than an SV. for that extra cash you could make the SV much better.

[Sir Trev]

I can see the new CB500 family being the model for the next few years for "stepping stone" bikes. Although we all know the SV is way more than one it's aimed at that market as said above. A simple parallel twin in street, adventure and sports versions works from a number crunching perspective while still giving choice. Add a bigger version as the next step (such as the NC700) and then wave the keys to the test ride Blade under their nose. Hate to say it but I think Honda has the right marketing and model line up right now for newer riders.

[Nutsinatin]

Originally Posted by Sir Trev

I can see the new CB500 family being the model for the next few years for "stepping stone" bikes. Although we all know the SV is way more than one it's aimed at that market as said above. A simple parallel twin in street, adventure and sports versions works from a number crunching perspective while still giving choice. Add a bigger version as the next step (such as the NC700) and then wave the keys to the test ride Blade under their nose. Hate to say it but I think Honda has the right marketing and model line up right now for newer riders.

+1 to that
They just need more twins, put a V in the CBR600F and I'd be sold! The Blade's looking a bit dated now though isn't it, maybe there's hope!

I'll play devils advocate here and say I quite like the SFV. It's a great little bike which shares the great V-twin we all know and love.

It is, dare I say it, a little more effeminate than the SV though which I think could possibly be it's downfall, I also found that it seems to be much less of a sport bias and more upright in it's position but also managing to have a lower seat height (I don't know if it is or not, but it certainly felt like it). The gear change indicator was a good addition, and it comes in some great colours.

Very similar I imagine to the non faired version of the SV without clip-ons etc.

I wouldn't swap my SV for one though I don't think. Needs a little more of a sporting edge to it and a bigger bike feel without being too much of a handful.

[Jayneflakes]

A friend of mine bought a new Gladius after passing her test and it is a lovely looking bike, with purple wheels and lots of shiny bits. It has a lovely riding position and she loves her bike nearly as much as I love my SV.

As for a newer version of the SV, it needs nicer wheels and better looking exhaust. I have modified mine so much that it reminds me of a fazer and this could be a route for Suzuki to take. A bikini fairing with riser bars and a position for day long comfort could make the SV a real contender in the market for street bikes.
Just a thought and I am pretty sure that it will never happen though.

[aesmith]

I'm sure the SV would benefit from some modernising all round, but one thing that I wondered about was why it was specified to such a low price. I mean they had the Bandit as a cheap no-frills 600, then a big price hike up to the full sports bikes. Why did they decide to put the SV right down at the bottom, surely a few hundred more could have been put into the forks in particular without treading on GSXR toes.

A modernised SV, fully faired, with decent partially adjustable suspension (not USD) would make a nice option, and nothing else obviously fits that niche.

[Mauler]

As much as I'm with SH on Suzuki needing to drop the pointy nonsene and bring out a new, better curvy SV I'm wondering what's wrong with the Gladius?

I've never ridden one but they look good and seem similar to the SV...

[aesmith]

Originally Posted by Mauler

what's wrong with the Gladius?

It might be a replacement for the naked bike, but compared to the SV650S it's heavier, with the wrong riding position and no fairing. It's a different bike, and apart from being a V twin doesn't really have anything in common. You might as well ask what's wrong with a Deauville?

(Also it has goofy styling in my eyes)

The gladius is a totally different ride to the SV, It's a more upright street bike than a sports bike like the SV.

[squirrel_hunter]

Originally Posted by Mauler

I'm wondering what's wrong with the Gladius?

Having actually ridden a Gladius I found the engine lacking in VTwin character. Yes its a budget bike and its suspension isn't the best, but then that's the same as the SV. Its a more relaxed ride but all that can be changed if you want to.

I think the biggest problem the Gladius suffers from is the Metrosexual advertising that it was launched with, added to that the colour schemes and some of the bulbous plastic and foot rests it just doesn't look like I bike I'd be happy to see in the garage.

However remove the additional tat, put it in race trim with some good suspension, a proper set of pegs, an exhaust, a little bit of paint work, and you have a bike that would be worth ridding. Have a look at some of the modified Gladius machines that are out there on the road or track and they look good. I'd be happy to have one of them in my garage. Trouble is I'm not going to buy a new bike and then completely change it just to get it to a level I'd be happy with, I'd just stick with my SV.

So my predication, in a few years time the Gladius will be a bike worth having. Production would have stopped but the modifications wont.