Suzuki's midrange vee-twin has been around for a couple of years now and apart from some early camchain hassles (fixed under warranty) has developed a good reputation for reliability and longevity. No major upgrades nor any significant improvements... it was pretty good when it came out of the mould, being perhaps the most sophisticated of the various smaller vee's, combining a reasonable lack of mass with a sterling amount of power and midrange grunt.
Perversely, there's the same kind of blending of low rev torque with a willingness to rev to the red when the going gets tough that Honda's old twins defined in the sixties; albeit much magnified in effect, held together by an extremely strong alloy frame and a modicum of suspension compliance at each end. More than anything else, though, the defining beat of the SV, a reasonable ticket price that puts ancient and ageing devices like CB500's and GPZ500's firmly in their place... and quite rightly as both are insults to the ethos of the vertical twin (the CB in its criminal lack of power and the GPZ in its antique hyvoid primary chain, among other things).
Ultimately, the suspension turns a bit soft, especially after the bike has twenty thou or more under its wheels. Nothing frightening, just a slight dislocation from the straight and narrow. Ride through it, either on the gears or the back of the mill's torque, and you'll come out of the other side of it without a speed wobble. At least there are no frightening fight backs when the going gets slippery, though the bike could do with a tad more feedback from the tyres - a long held complaint against a myriad of Suzuki models.
Sorry, but I don't believe the engine is making 65 horses. Even in the faired version it wholly lacks the useful 100-120mph kick of, say, the sveltely faired (and 60hp) GPZ500; the naked SV doesn't really want to kick arse much beyond 110mph - which given the mad lust of local police forces for the skin of speeding motorcyclists is either a good or bad thing (certainly bad if you can't outrun them!).
An obvious comparison, to things like Ducati Monsters, merely shows up the ancient, air-cooled Italain vee-twins as being past their prime; though back to back, the 900 will kill the SV, as long as its clutch or electrics don't go bananas... basically, the people who buy Wop bikes probably aren't going to be interested in Jap iron and vice-versa; the two can happily coexist.
The faired version has slightly taller gearing and can ultimately hit 125mph. The lower bars lead to a deal of discomfort under normal riding conditions and the fairing lacks much of the useful protection of the GPZ500's plastic during rainy weather. Despite its relative lack of high speed nous, most people enjoy the naked SV more, at least at speeds up to 90mph.
Despite the easy grunt, there's no sign of modernity in the mill's efficiency when used mildly, a best of 45mpg; 30-40mpg much more normal. The seat's a CAD dream, weighs little more than its plastic base... and wholly lacks comfort after 50 miles. The position of the bars is slightly out relative to the pegs on the naked version but easy enough to upgrade to whatever personal whims the rider exhibits.
Back yard tuners... er, sorry, specialist engineers, have taken the engine out to more than 800cc and 85-odd horses, which sounds like a whole lot more fun and just what the SV needs to make it in the modern world of easy kicks and minimal effort. Suzuki, themselves, should have dumped the TL and upped the SV to 900cc at minimal cost increase... as it stands, the quality budget option but could do with some extra grunt.
Mark Thompson
Perversely, there's the same kind of blending of low rev torque with a willingness to rev to the red when the going gets tough that Honda's old twins defined in the sixties; albeit much magnified in effect, held together by an extremely strong alloy frame and a modicum of suspension compliance at each end. More than anything else, though, the defining beat of the SV, a reasonable ticket price that puts ancient and ageing devices like CB500's and GPZ500's firmly in their place... and quite rightly as both are insults to the ethos of the vertical twin (the CB in its criminal lack of power and the GPZ in its antique hyvoid primary chain, among other things).
Ultimately, the suspension turns a bit soft, especially after the bike has twenty thou or more under its wheels. Nothing frightening, just a slight dislocation from the straight and narrow. Ride through it, either on the gears or the back of the mill's torque, and you'll come out of the other side of it without a speed wobble. At least there are no frightening fight backs when the going gets slippery, though the bike could do with a tad more feedback from the tyres - a long held complaint against a myriad of Suzuki models.
Sorry, but I don't believe the engine is making 65 horses. Even in the faired version it wholly lacks the useful 100-120mph kick of, say, the sveltely faired (and 60hp) GPZ500; the naked SV doesn't really want to kick arse much beyond 110mph - which given the mad lust of local police forces for the skin of speeding motorcyclists is either a good or bad thing (certainly bad if you can't outrun them!).
An obvious comparison, to things like Ducati Monsters, merely shows up the ancient, air-cooled Italain vee-twins as being past their prime; though back to back, the 900 will kill the SV, as long as its clutch or electrics don't go bananas... basically, the people who buy Wop bikes probably aren't going to be interested in Jap iron and vice-versa; the two can happily coexist.
The faired version has slightly taller gearing and can ultimately hit 125mph. The lower bars lead to a deal of discomfort under normal riding conditions and the fairing lacks much of the useful protection of the GPZ500's plastic during rainy weather. Despite its relative lack of high speed nous, most people enjoy the naked SV more, at least at speeds up to 90mph.
Despite the easy grunt, there's no sign of modernity in the mill's efficiency when used mildly, a best of 45mpg; 30-40mpg much more normal. The seat's a CAD dream, weighs little more than its plastic base... and wholly lacks comfort after 50 miles. The position of the bars is slightly out relative to the pegs on the naked version but easy enough to upgrade to whatever personal whims the rider exhibits.
Back yard tuners... er, sorry, specialist engineers, have taken the engine out to more than 800cc and 85-odd horses, which sounds like a whole lot more fun and just what the SV needs to make it in the modern world of easy kicks and minimal effort. Suzuki, themselves, should have dumped the TL and upped the SV to 900cc at minimal cost increase... as it stands, the quality budget option but could do with some extra grunt.
Mark Thompson