Spotted this on the road recently. Well you couldn't really miss it could you?  I spoke to the owner about the colour. Apparently a friend was having a rally car sprayed Dyno-Rod orange and has some spare paint. The SV had been dropped and it seemed like a good opportunity to have a unique colour scheme. John

Gladius review added to the Articles and Reviews section

Hi John, Thanks very much for keeping the site up and running. Congrats on 10yrs !!!

I read over the difference between the models and the intro in the FAQ - I think someone needs to define what the diff between a 'curvy' and a 'pointy' is. I'd assumed that it was naked v's 650S. But then I read on wikipediea I think that its to do with the 2003+ model.

Anyway, I see the terms used a lot on the forums - I just think it would be great if you or someone could define it in the FAQs.

Cheers Vic.

Vic, just goes to show that what you think is common knowledge isn't common at all. Yep the Curvy is the mark1 Sv produced from 1999 to 2002. The mark2 is known as the Pointy and appeared in 2003 and is still with us.  The names obviously point to the styling, but if you only ever saw the naked versions then it's not so obvious. John

Hi John,

Perhaps one question for your FAQ. Is SV an acronym? Or is it just 2 letters? In that case, why SV? I'm just curious. Perhaps you might know... :)

I'm new to the world of motorbikes and got myself a naked red SV '99. As for know, I wouldn't buy a different bike, even if I win the lottery! :)

Regards,
Remert
 

Remert

Suzuki V twin

The TL1000 was Transverse L twin

The Japanese tend to use the phrase L twin for a 90 degree V twin. They then realised that L twin didn't mean much to European riders which is why the SV650 wasn't called the TL650.

I might be completely wrong but I'm happy to be corrected.

John

Hi,

I use your site quite a lot to look for SV650 related products and I don't remember seeing this link:

http://alpha-sports.com

on there. This is a general link. They are a US based company that sell all official products for both Suzuki motorcycles and ATV's. The link above will load the main page and you need to click on the word 'Suzuki' which will be in yellow in the centre of the screen, or this link below:

http://alpha-sports.com/suzuki_parts.htm

When the above link loads there should be two icons, 'motorcycle' and 'ATV' obviously click the motorcycle one and then on the left of the screen will load a list of years (right from 1965 up to 2009). You can then click on the year of your motorcycle and it will load (in the centre of the screen) all bikes; motorcross etc, you then need to click on your motorcycle and you can then look for the section you need i.e. clutch, chassis etc and it then loads a blown up diagram of the parts and you can then order each individual part.

Just thought I'd share this website with you as I'm going to use it soon (they do post to the UK (with optional postal insurance)) as it is not only for SV650's but for all Suzuki motorcycles.

Thanks Greg

Cheers for that Greg, Let us know how you get on. Meantime I'll take a look myself

It is a not uncommon practice in road cars to use an oil to water cooler, my old sierra 4x4 has one, and like the Gladius, its smaller than the oil filter , and fits between the filter and the block. Its an easy "afterthought" type mod for the manufacturer.

They have some advantages over an oil to air cooler. 1) more compact, as the heat carrying capacity of water is much higher than air, the liquid/liquid oil cooler is much more compact, and as a result much less easily damaged.

2) Oil is actually the primary cooling medium in a 4 stroke engine, in that it bathes the metal parts, and help to transfer heat to the block, where it is removed by the cooling water. so actually the oil in the engine is hotter than the cooling water, and so a useful reduction in oil temperature is possible with oil to water cooling. If the water cooling system is thermostatically controlled, then indirectly so is the oil temperature, and probably the whole system reaches optimum temperature more quickly than with a separate oil to air cooler.

The ideal for an engine is to be fed oil at a temperature such that it flows easily through all the engines nooks and crannies, but not so hot that the lubricating film strength is reduced. Oil to water cooling keeps the temperature range to that of the cooling water, rather than being directly affected by air temperature which can vary widely.

Disadvantages.

The problem of actually getting rid of the heat from the oil is just passed on to the water /air cooler i.e. radiator, this needs to be bigger to achieve the same overall cooling as a smaller rad and oil/air cooler.

As previously mentioned , oil is the primary cooling medium, with a separate and still functioning oil/air cooler, loss of the water cooling system would mean that there would be a short time before damage occurred, with the all in one system, the engine would be toast very fast.

As I have only just got my first bike (SV650SK3) and am in the process of trying to renovate it before going to the NW200 on it. I haven't established whether there is thermostat control of the oil temperature on the SV650, so the above comments are general.

As a result of the state of my bike , I am setting up to do some home plaiting, why is the corrosion resistance so poor on the SV650?, another 10 minutes in the plating bath would have made all the difference!

Hope this help

Derek Bell

I've done a lot to the bike since buying it new in Sept o8 ( its a 58 reg ). First was a tail tidy followed by the Scorpion Street Extreme exhaust ( which I had my mate ride for me the other day and it sounds awesome ). I've fitted a front guard extension (even though I'm going to be a fair weather rider I still want to take extra care and the standard guard is useless ) I've fitted a darkened double bubble screen and a pyramid hugger. The rim tape is Day-Glo and looks cool under the light at night, the rest of the stickers I've had made, the GSV R and the 650 rear stickers are custom made by a local sticker shop.

This is my first bike and I love it, I went into York Suzuki and was talked into the SV for a first bike and they where right, its awesome, handles great and is cheap to insure, the V Twin is excellent as well !!

Thanks

Stephen

www.banditmania.co.uk

From TSM (Ricardo)

Greetings,

I saw this on MCN Motorcyclist news. It looks like they loved the bike, lots of red stars. I do not particularly like the styling (not many do). Have a close look at the picture attached. See the water hoses running from the water pump to a cooler attached to the oil filter…… interesting. It sounds as if the motor has had some work done to it.

Regards, Dave Loubser

Meantime here's the review

MCN overall verdict

The old SV650 was a good bike and to be honest Suzuki didn’t have to do much to make it a great bike once more. But they have gone one better and given us an excellent bike. Obvious improved looks but the real beauty it’s under the skin, the lovely fuelled, smooth, punchy, little V-Twin. As an added extra bonus it’s easy to ride, yet still fun at the same time.

Engine

Suzuki has made the new engine 10% more efficient and it’s instantly noticeable. It’s smoother, revs quicker as friction has been reduced, which give the Gladius more midrange. The fuelling very similar to the GSX-R range with a ten hole fuel injector and twin butterflies is near perfect.

Ride and Handling

The new Suzuki Gladius carries on the traits of the old SV650, which means it’s still easy to ride for new riders as an entry level bike, but still fun enough for more experienced riders. There’re no shocks are surprises, it’s very forgiving. Even with the pegs scraping it’s still compliant. Brakes are relatively budget but have excellent feel and only lack when ridden hard two up.

Equipment

As the price tag suggests it’s straightforward, no slipper clutch or multi adjustable suspension. However, casting a critical eye of the level of finish it’s hard to see where Suzuki have cut costs as it feel and look quality. Its been designed and sculpted to take the more pricier Ducati 696 head on, which it does but at Ł1000 less. Compare and buy parts for the Suzuki Gladius in the MCN Shop.

Quality and Reliability

The old SV650 was solid, reliable an even raced competitively in the Mini Twin race series without any major problems. The old engine could take a real hammering as the Mini Twin race series proved without any major mechanical shocks, therefore the new engine should prove just as reliable. The level of finish on the new Gladius is also much higher than the old SV.

Value

The new Gladius offers real value for money and for $4500 it’s a real bargain bike for 2009. It appeals to huge audience from new riders to experienced riders who may actually want to race in the popular Mini Twin race series. It certainly doesn’t feel nor look like a $4500 budget commuter bike, and is almost on par with the much pricier Ducati 696 but without the flash labels. But for value for money makes much more sense. The bargain bike of 2009, possibly?

New price $4,500 Engine size 645cc Power 75.9bhp Top speed 135mph Insurance group 10

I've just found two magazines that I bought with the intention of scanning and pasting on this website. One is from Used Bike Guide and is from 2004. Nice article on the top ten mods you can make to an SV. Features John from Banditmania.

The other is the article that appeared in Two magazine last year.

Both are in the Articles and Review section

John

Weeks of work have finally been completed and my SV looks just the same as it did beforehand, but hopefully running better and MOT proofed. Click here to read.

John