Suzuki SV 650A

The Suzuki SV 650 has tried to appear as a balanced blend of both the worlds of retro design theme and modern take on roadsters. However, in this attempt, it has not been able to succeed in either of them, as the motorcycle neither looks too detailed in its appeal in either retro or modern take. It looks bland and with negligible changes in its design all these years, it now looks dated as well.

Nevertheless, the overall basic theme is keeping the stuff simple, which is where Suzuki has succeeded pretty well. The round headlamp at the front with round turn indicators make you remind that the motorcycle harks back from the era of an early generation of naked roadsters, and give that basic and timeless appeal to the bike. There is a small cowl placed just above the headlamp, which hides the speedometer behind it.

From the sides too, the simple appeal of the Suzuki SV 650 has been kept pretty intact, with a large and bulky fuel tank with basic knee recesses and the exposed trellis frame, the latter of which adds some aggression to the design. Even the five-spoke alloy wheels look simple. The engine is given an all-black treatment. The bulky looking exhaust with silver-finished cowl and the end part is perhaps the most modern-looking bit on this motorcycle after its instrument console (more on that later).

The rear side body panels of the Suzuki SV 650 look sleek and long and end up in a small tailpiece, which has a nice looking LED tail lamp. The motorcycle comes with a single long seat and a proper rear fender, which looks inspired from that of its now-defunct Bandit 1250 tourer. 

The best and most contemporary-looking bit of the Suzuki SV 650 has to its fully digital instrument console, which looks inspired by the unit of the Suzuki GSX-S 750. The fully digital panel has display for speedometer, tachometer, fuel gauge, temperature gauge, odometer, trip meters, clock, gear indicator and other data on board. While the unit looks fresh and very informative, it also looks a bit too modern for the very basic styling of the SV 650.

The overall simple personality of the Suzuki SV 650 lies in its engineering under the skin, with the motorcycle getting simple conventional hydraulic telescopic forks at the front and a fully adjustable mono-shock at the back. The suspension is on a softer edge, and with the relatively light kerb weight of the SV 650, it feels an ideal too for making your city commute quite comfortable.

Powering the Suzuki SV 650 is a four-stroke, V-twin, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, 650cc engine, which makes the SV 650 one of the most affordable twin-cylinder motorcycles on sale in the country right now. The engine is coupled to a 6-speed gearbox and pumps out a maximum power output of 76 PS and a peak torque output of 64 Nm. These figures do make the SV 650 a decently powerful motorcycle with punchy mid-range performance.

The only modern-day safety feature present in the Suzuki SV 650 is the dual-channel ABS, which again amplifies its core simple appeal.

For loving the Suzuki SV 650, you need to keep your hunger of asking for more and more technological advancements and features aside and just love it for its simplicity. Apart from the digital instrument console, there is nothing much to write about this motorcycle. However, at the price at which it is offered, it is sheer value for money buy, providing an unadulterated middleweight motorcycling experience.