Suzuki SV650 Review
I must admit that I have a soft spot for the little Suzuki SV650 pictured here. You see, if you trace the bike’s lineage back and follow the model’s family tree far enough, with a few creative connections, it’s the distant descendant of my first big bike – an only slightly muffled and very antisocial TL1000S. The TLS later became the SV1000, which was the 650’s big brother.
Suzuki’s SV650. The great-grandchild twice removed of my first big bike.
That TLS was big and loud, had a novel rotary-style rear damper, handled like a maniac, and wheelied like one as well. Which couldn’t be more dissimilar from today’s little SV. Which is relatively small, quiet and impeccably well-mannered.
Black bikes always look good in minimal lighting!
And yet, despite being vastly different from its great-grandfather twice removed, there is a lot to like about the SV650.
Understated, restrained styling will appeal to many.
It reminds me of how easy it is to underestimate Suzuki. To ignore the fact that, despite missing out on most of the flashy headlines, Suzuki does bolt together some impeccably good drivelines from time to time. While the GSX-R and Hayabusas of the world might grab the laurels, there’s an unmistakable class about the driveline here.
Tried and trued. That V-Twin is a ripper.
That 645 cc V-twin is wonderfully smooth, near perfectly fuelled and has just the right mix of refinement and character. The engine never lugs, just grunts away with a nice little exhaust note and a terrific intake growl. Emissions laws make the exhaust note so well-mannered that it’s barely audible at highway speeds – but you know that a slip-on would wake that up nicely…
A tasteful aftermarket muffler would add some aural pleasure to the ensemble.
Very well behaved off the bottom, really singing by 3,000 – the SV650 does its best work in that meaty midrange. 75 ponies are pumping out by 8,500 revs, and with peak torque kicking in just a few hundred revs earlier, you have an ample band of about 6,000 revs where the bike is really happy to play.
In fact, once you get tuned into that engine, smooth, slow-speed manoeuvring through traffic becomes something to relish. Use a little of that beautiful soft rear brake and a little clutch to smooth things out here and there, and you feel like a bit of a wizard, scything through traffic with the ease of a master craftsman.
Lovely engine for both urban and open road duties.
While I’m on the engine, the only other V-twin naked street bike I can think of available in Oz is the Ducati Monster. All the others have moved to parallel configurations for the improved packaging of that engine format. However, it’s certainly hard to beat the V-twin configuration from a balancing and refinement perspective.
Long live the small(ish) capacity V-Twin.
The other notable callout is the super slick gearbox. Lovely. Even with next to no kays on this bike, you can shift up and down without a clutch if you know what you’re doing. Without a quick-shifter. It’s one of those boxes that you instantly trust. Such a delight. Outstanding feel from the lever. If, like me, you love pedalling a nice set of cogs, you’re in for a treat here.
That gearbox is a thing of beauty. Typical Suzuki smooth shifting goodness.
First gear is super short, however. Unnecessarily so. It’s not the spacing between gears, though; that’s fine – the whole final ratio seems short. I’d throw another tooth on the front sprocket at least.
But mechanically, other than that, the SV650 is a great little bike. Only a couple of simple tweaks away from being damn near perfect, actually…
The first change I’d make is one that you feel almost as soon as you sit on the bike. Those bars seem quite narrow and higher than I thought necessary. Very sit up and beg. I’d be throwing a set of flatter, wider bars on there pronto. I’m only a touch over 181 cm, so not exactly a giant, but the bars made me feel a little cramped.
Begging for a set of lower, flatter bars if you’re anything over 170 cm I’m thinking.
Moving the bars forward and down a little would also alleviate the second thing I’d want to tweak, which is the seat shape. I found it overly curved towards the rear of the seat. So much so that it doesn’t really allow you to move your butt back as much as I’d like.
Curved seat shape stopped me from sitting as far back as I’d have liked.
Now, if you’re a shorter person and/or narrower of shoulder than I, this might suit you down to the ground. But I think a different bar and seat shape would be all that’s needed for medium-sized folks to feel right at home.
Those bars really put your hands in quite a narrow and high position.
The seat height is a very low 785 mm, and when combined with its narrow width between the knees, makes it extremely easy to get your feet flat on the deck. In truth, it feels a little like the ergos have been designed for smaller bodies, but the aforementioned bar swap would be a fast and cheap way to get that sorted.
Very neutral riding position.
The standard ride position is very neutral and relaxed. Quite upright, and I don’t think flattening those bars a touch would hurt things from a comfort point of view.
Suspension and handling-wise, I have no complaints either in terms of bump control. The 41 mm conventional forks might seem basic on paper, but they’re up to the task and mated to that shock quite well. I didn’t need to adjust the preload, even at my current weight of just under 90 kg, not including carrying a backpack with a laptop inside while commuting.
Nice bump control from the suspension spec, but mid corner bumps unsettled the bike when pushing harder.
What I did find when wicking up for some spirited riding was a lack of feel from the front end. And a bit of flightiness when hitting bumps mid-corner. The pics show me punting the SV650 about as quickly as I was willing to push things on what was an admittedly dirty surface.
The bike didn’t feel planted there at all. Which… and I’m going to sound like a broken record here… would be resolved by, you guessed it, some flatter bars to get a little more weight and feel over the front. For me, it’s a no-brainer.
Cornering composure would also be helped with some flatter, lower bars. Getting a little more weight over the front.
I quite like the styling, but it must be said that it’s simple and restrained. There are some quite nice finishes here and there – I particularly like the trellis frame’s paint colour, which matches the wheels. Subtle. Me likey.
Love a good trellis frame.
The only other thing worth noting is that the dash is a relatively low-tech LCD that, in certain lighting conditions, can be a bit tricky to read the smaller details. And the fuel warning flash is not as easy to notice as it should be. Not a deal breaker – the important stuff is legible.
Simple LCD dash could do with a better fuel reserve warning.
Which brings us to price. Eleven and a half big ones ride away seems pretty good value, I’d have thought, for the build quality and what is a well-proven, bulletproof driveline. It’s also available as a LAMs-approved version for the same price (although I believe the LAMs model is only available in blue).
So there you have it. I rate the SV650. Throw a muffler and some wider, flatter bars, and I reckon you’re on to a winner.
Giddy Up!
SV650 Hits:
One of the last small capacity V-twins still available. And what a ripper it is.
One of the best buttery smooth gearboxes available.
Suzuki’s enviable build quality and engine longevity.
All at a great price. What’s not to like?
SV650 Misses:
Those bars are a bit too sit-up-and-beg for my liking. A little unnecessarily narrow and high, which does impact front-end feel when hustling along.
The seat shape doesn’t allow you to sit back much (although that would be addressed with a seat swap).
The fuel warning on the LCD dash can be easy to miss when you’re busy dodging cagers.
The SV650 looks pretty flash under lights too eh?
Suzuki SV650 Specifications
Suzuki SV650 Specifications
90° V-twin, liquid-cooled, DOHC
Link type, rear shock with adjustable spring preload
Tokico four-piston calipers, dual 290mm discs with ABS
Nissin single-piston caliper, 240mm disc with ABS
120/70ZR17M/C (58W), tubeless
160/60ZR17M/C (69W), tubeless
3 Year Unlimited Kilometre (2 Year Std + 1 Year Bonus)
I also want to give a quick wrap-up on the Falco boots I’ve just bought recently. They’re the Liberty 3.0 touring boots. Waterproof with D30 ankle protection. I had a pair of the older Oxygen boots, but I didn’t find them to be all that comfortable for prolonged wearing.
These are feeling much better after a few rides to bed-in. They’re a mid-height road boot that fit nicely under jeans if you want that look. Pretty sturdy and they are lighter, smaller (and cheaper) than the Avantour adventure boots that are often my go-to boot, though they aren’t able to match the Avantours in the comfort stakes. Those Avantour boots are pretty damn nice…
Worth checking out. They feel a little slim for sizing when you first try them on, but have stretched in quite nicely.
Suzuki SV650 Images
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