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<\/a>Suzuki\u2019s SV650. The great-grandchild twice removed of my first big bike.<\/p>\nThat TLS was big and loud, had a novel rotary-style rear damper, handled like a maniac, and wheelied like one as well. Which couldn\u2019t be more dissimilar from today\u2019s little SV. Which is relatively small, quiet and impeccably well-mannered.<\/p>\n
And yet, despite being vastly different from its great-grandfather twice removed, there is a lot to like about the SV650.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s an unmistakable class about the driveline here.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s barely audible at highway speeds \u2013 but you know that a slip-on would wake that up nicely\u2026<\/p>\n Very well behaved off the bottom, really singing by 3,000 \u2013 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n While I\u2019m 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\u2019s certainly hard to beat the V-twin configuration from a balancing and refinement perspective.<\/p>\n 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\u2019re doing. Without a quick-shifter. It\u2019s 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\u2019re in for a treat here.<\/p>\n First gear is super short, however. Unnecessarily so. It\u2019s not the spacing between gears, though; that\u2019s fine \u2013 the whole final ratio seems short. I\u2019d throw another tooth on the front sprocket at least.<\/p>\n 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\u2026<\/p>\n The first change I\u2019d 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\u2019d be throwing a set of flatter, wider bars on there pronto. I\u2019m only a touch over 181 cm, so not exactly a giant, but the bars made me feel a little cramped.<\/p>\n Moving the bars forward and down a little would also alleviate the second thing I\u2019d 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\u2019t really allow you to move your butt back as much as I\u2019d like.<\/p>\n Now, if you\u2019re 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\u2019s needed for medium-sized folks to feel right at home.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The standard ride position is very neutral and relaxed. Quite upright, and I don\u2019t think flattening those bars a touch would hurt things from a comfort point of view.<\/p>\n 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\u2019re up to the task and mated to that shock quite well. I didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The bike didn\u2019t feel planted there at all. Which\u2026 and I\u2019m going to sound like a broken record here\u2026 would be resolved by, you guessed it, some flatter bars to get a little more weight and feel over the front. For me, it\u2019s a no-brainer.<\/p>\n I quite like the styling, but it must be said that it\u2019s simple and restrained. There are some quite nice finishes here and there \u2013 I particularly like the trellis frame\u2019s paint colour, which matches the wheels. Subtle. Me likey.<\/p>\n 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 \u2013 the important stuff is legible.<\/p>\n Which brings us to price. Eleven and a half big ones ride away seems pretty good value, I\u2019d have thought, for the build quality and what is a well-proven, bulletproof driveline. It\u2019s also available as a LAMs-approved version for the same price (although I believe the LAMs model is only available in blue).<\/p>\n So there you have it. I rate the SV650. Throw a muffler and some wider, flatter bars, and I reckon you\u2019re on to a winner.<\/p>\n One of the last small capacity V-twins still available. And what a ripper it is. SV650 Misses:<\/p>\n 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. Suzuki SV650 Specifications<\/p>\n 90\u00b0 V-twin, liquid-cooled, DOHC<\/p>\n Link type, rear shock with adjustable spring preload<\/p>\n Tokico four-piston calipers, dual 290mm discs with ABS<\/p>\n Nissin single-piston caliper, 240mm disc with ABS<\/p>\n 120\/70ZR17M\/C (58W), tubeless<\/p>\n 160\/60ZR17M\/C (69W), tubeless<\/p>\n 3 Year Unlimited Kilometre (2 Year Std + 1 Year Bonus)<\/p>\n I also want to give a quick wrap-up on the Falco boots I\u2019ve just bought recently. They\u2019re the Liberty 3.0 touring boots. Waterproof with D30 ankle protection. I had a pair of the older Oxygen boots, but I didn\u2019t find them to be all that comfortable for prolonged wearing.<\/p>\n These are feeling much better after a few rides to bed-in. They\u2019re 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\u2019t able to match the Avantours in the comfort stakes. Those Avantour boots are pretty damn nice\u2026<\/p>\n Worth checking out. They feel a little slim for sizing when you first try them on, but have stretched in quite nicely.<\/p>\n Suzuki SV650 Images<\/p>\n \t\t 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-51<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-12<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-16<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-11<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-7<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-15<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-14<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-1<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-13<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-3<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-4<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-10<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-8<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-6<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-9<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-5<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-2<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-50<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-49<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-48<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-47<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-46<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-45<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-44<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-43<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-42<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-41<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-40<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-39<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-38<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-37<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-36<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-35<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-34<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-33<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-32<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-31<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-30<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-29<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-28<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-27<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-26<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-25<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-24<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-23<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-22<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-21<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-20<\/p>\n 2025-Suzuki-SV650-Review-19<\/p>\n<\/a>Black bikes always look good in minimal lighting!<\/p>\n<\/a>Understated, restrained styling will appeal to many.<\/p>\n<\/a>Tried and trued. That V-Twin is a ripper.<\/p>\n<\/a>A tasteful aftermarket muffler would add some aural pleasure to the ensemble.<\/p>\n<\/a>Lovely engine for both urban and open road duties.<\/p>\n<\/a>Long live the small(ish) capacity V-Twin.<\/p>\n<\/a>That gearbox is a thing of beauty. Typical Suzuki smooth shifting goodness.<\/p>\n<\/a>Begging for a set of lower, flatter bars if you\u2019re anything over 170 cm I\u2019m thinking.<\/p>\n<\/a>Curved seat shape stopped me from sitting as far back as I\u2019d have liked.<\/p>\n<\/a>Those bars really put your hands in quite a narrow and high position.<\/p>\n<\/a>Very neutral riding position.<\/p>\n<\/a>Nice bump control from the suspension spec, but mid corner bumps unsettled the bike when pushing harder.<\/p>\n<\/a>Cornering composure would also be helped with some flatter, lower bars. Getting a little more weight over the front.<\/p>\n<\/a>Love a good trellis frame.<\/p>\n<\/a>Simple LCD dash could do with a better fuel reserve warning.<\/p>\n<\/a>Giddy Up!
\nSV650 Hits:<\/p>\n
\nOne of the best buttery smooth gearboxes available.
\nSuzuki\u2019s enviable build quality and engine longevity.
\nAll at a great price. What\u2019s not to like?<\/p>\n
\nThe seat shape doesn\u2019t allow you to sit back much (although that would be addressed with a seat swap).
\nThe fuel warning on the LCD dash can be easy to miss when you\u2019re busy dodging cagers.<\/p>\n<\/a>The SV650 looks pretty flash under lights too eh?
\nSuzuki SV650 Specifications<\/p>\n