Suzuki SV - From light to shade.

when Suzuki launched the 650 SV in 1999, it sent out a duo that was an instant hit. Not only are the N roadster and its sporty S sibling cute as a button, light and easy to handle, but it's on the engine side that the Suzette pulls its biggest joker. The twin is a real success story, and a major contributor to its success. Very playful, torquey and furious, it has it all. The frame is a tubular aluminum trellis that's very appreciable. The only shortcomings are the sparse equipment and overly soft damping.

in 2003, the SVs were upgraded. The twin adopts fuel injection and a few more horses, the frame is completely new and the design features more angular lines. That same year, an almost identical 1000 version, except for the engine taken from the 1000 TLS, offered the same container with many more watts, but the exhilaration didn't live up to expectations. The SV 1000 N and S will not be renewed after a few years.

the 3rd generation SV takes the name Gladius. Suzuki tried a different approach with a smoother, almost feminine design, which proved to be a stone in the shoe. The bike lacked the charm of the old SVs, and sales suffered.

after the Gladius opus, the SV returned to its original name and benefited from a few minor improvements. The silhouette was closer to its beginnings, and the SV 650 IV seemed to return to the recipe that had made it such a success in the first place. It continued its career in this way, slowly fading away. Still, it's a good bike, with a well-adjusted price tag and qualities that haven't changed. But here's the problem. The SV is not keeping pace with the competition, which is asserting itself and modernizing at breakneck speed. The V-twin has lost a little power, is still very much alive, but everyone (except Ducati) has switched to the parallel twin. It's like that for everything: the motorcycle seems stuck in its fundamentals of 20 years ago, even though it's a fun and sensible choice. A certain injustice that Suzuki doesn't seem to want to correct.