It’s smooth but also
delivers a little dose of
pugnacious spirit that’s
missing from so many
motorcycles these days.
Hallelujah
The frustrating delay so common now in
fly-by-wire systems that s-l-o-w-l-y open
the throttle butterflies after deeming that
the speed of your inputs can’t be trusted, is
not evident in this latest SV because it uses
a throttle cable rather than an electronic
nanny. This above anything else, really
helped endear the SV650X in to a favourable
part of my consciousness. It’s smooth but
also delivers a little dose of pugnacious spirit
that’s missing from so many motorcycles
these days. Hallelujah.
The 41mm forks offer adjustable preload
and proved fairly responsive through their
125mm stroke. Preload is also adjustable at
the rear and works well enough for this price
point. A pair of 290mm discs are clamped by
Tokico twin-piston calipers backed up by a
contemporary Nissin built ABS system. They
offer good bite and reasonable feel through
the lever. No complaints.
The fuel tank has grown marginally to
14.5 litres while claimed fuel economy has
improved to 3.9 litres per 100 kilometres
thanks to the Euro4 engine changes.
The fan assisted radiator not only controls
40 KIWI RIDER
the coolant temperature but also supplies
an oil cooler for the three-litre wet sump,
ensuring the SV doesn’t get hot and
bothered.
Instrumentation is by way of a fully featured
LCD cluster complete with range to empty
in addition to a fuel gauge and gear position
indicator. It all works.
Aesthetically it is obvious that the the X
treatment is to present the SV650 more
favourably to a younger demographic.
Traditionally the SV650 has also been quite
popular with women riders with up to 20 per
cent of SV machines ending up between the
legs of the fairer sex.
A tuckroll seat is more than just eye candy,
cosseting the loins of all who straddle it quite
well. And at 790mm that can happily include
shorter folk as the reach to the clip-on bars
is far from onerous, while a narrow fuel tank
aids ingress.
The small headlight cowling is more form
than function but is done quite well. The
small vents break up the effect and I reckon
Suzuki’s designers have largely hit the mark
this time around.