FUNNY how things work out, isn’t it? I’ve spent years steering clear of Suzuki’s budget V-twin. It’s not that I meant to be rude, I just didn’t fancy her much. The tags “great novice bike”, “frugal” and “easy to handle” had sunk my Belgrano early doors. I’m more a fan of “razor-sharp”, “Ohlins”, and “GSX-R”. But with a surprisingly aggressive riding position and a silky-smooth motor, the SV650 S has ruled this middleweight sector of the market since 1999. Time to find out what I’ve been missing…

My first ride home, however, appeared to back up my initial fears. Basic suspension, soft brakes, and a general feeling of raucousness were all I gleaned on a particularly damp trip up the M32. It’s still better than being in a car, I thought, but why would I buy one? And had that been the only chance I got to ride the SV, then this review could have been altogether different. For I would have missed out on what a marvellous bike the SV really is. Spend a week in its company and you’ll find a bike that’s a real exhilaration for the senses. Cheap and basic it may be, but it has all the right ingredients. It’s so light, so accurate, so uncomplicated. And the engine is an absolute peach.

The torquey V-twin compares favourably with its European rivals, running sweetly through town and more than keeping pace on the motorway while the half fairing keeps the worst of the wind and rain off. But the best part is that it’s so rev-happy, you can thrash the living daylights out of it on the back roads without being unkind. Redlining at 11,000 rpm from one gear to the next fails to stress the motor at all, it just gets on with the task at hand, while you clamber all over the bulbous tank and hang off the sides for rapid shifts in weight distribution. The aluminium trellis frame provides a chassis that is so taut it can really be thrown around from one apex to the next. Beginner’s bike? My God, this is fun…

A true sports bike will blow the SV650 away on the straights, there’s no doubt about that. But it’s still good for 130mph, and that, officer, should be plenty fast enough for anyone in this country. Back to its practical nature though. There‘s no getting away from the fact that it makes for an ideal first ‘big’ bike. It has a budget initial price and the running costs are indeed low with good fuel consumption and all mechanical parts easily accessible. Insurance comes in at a lowly Group 10, which helps enormously if you are short on no-claims bonus! The good news for novices, too, is that it refuses to wheelie on throttle alone in any gear. The good news for stunt monkeys, however, is that all it takes is a dip of the clutch…

The SV is certainly on the basic side with the forks and shocks offering firm rather than plush damping. The seat is well padded and as well as a grab rail and a clock, you get vibe-free mirrors and natty bungee points that are pre-formed parts of the rear footpeg hangers. The twin-piston brakes on the front were much slower to kick in than I would have liked with very little sense of progression, while the rear brake locked up far too easily. Although had I not been hooning round quite so much then they may have deserved to be called adequate rather than poor. Having said that, I’ve never had so much fun sliding a Dunlop Sportmax into corners as I did on the little SV!

Given that it’s ‘only’ a 650, you will find its performance limitations sooner rather than later, but it’s faultless in its delivery of cheap thrills. The fact that there are an awful lot of high mileage SV650s on the market is proof alone of their outstanding durability. This is the S model. The base SV650 does without the top fairing and has slightly higher bars, while top of the range is the SV650 Sport, which benefits from full fairing lowers and an alarm. Fowlers currently have a great offer on the Sport model. Give them a call on 0117 977 0466 and take one out for a (lengthy!) test ride.

Beginner or expert rider, I guarantee you’ll fall in love with this nifty 650, and at just £4,199 your bank manager won‘t mind too much either. The SV really is Super Value.

Article written: July 12, 2007

The Suzuki SV650 S was kindly loaned by Fowlers Motorcycles of Bath Road, Bristol. For more information about test rides, call Fowlers on 0117 977 0466.

OUR STEER ON THE SV650 S

Price: £4,199 

Engine: 645cc, 90 deg V-twin

Top speed 130mph

Power: 69bhp at 8,800 rpm

Torque: 45ft lb at 7,200 rpm

Transmission: six-speed

Weight: 172 kg

Fuel capacity: 17 litres

Seat height: 800 mm

by Jon Bennett