![]() If this engine wasn’t as reliable and durable as I say it is, surely you would have heard different elsewhere by now. On that note, the SV650 is only coming to Australia in the learner-approved, low-power version - for now. It also features in the V-Strom 650 in both learner-approved and full-power models. In 2003 the boxier-styled SV featured the engine with fuel injection and carried it until it was updated in the Gladius. ![]() The first was the faired SV650S, followed by the naked bike a year later. The heart of the SV is an evolution of the original powerplant that has featured in no less than 410,000 units. Although it is small in its proportions - something short and novice riders will appreciate when manoeuvring the bike - it is still a striking-looking machine. Most noticeable about the new SV650 is that the styling has gone back to the classic naked bike look with round headlight and minimal bodywork over a trellis frame carrying a 90-degree V-twin engine. Compared to the Gladius it replaces, it is $1500 cheaper, has ABS as standard, is lighter, has better handling, is better performing and better looking too - and not many people will argue. You couldn’t buy the original machine and register it for that price, so it is better than the original already. ![]() So how has Suzuki done just that? First, with price, at $9990 ride away. Our market share has declined over the last few years as we decided to pull back on the SFV650, but with this new bike we hope to reclaim a lot of that market share as the new SV650 goes back to what made the original so good.” “The mid-size learner market has grown - in Australia it has nearly doubled since 2013. “The factory, in terms of the design concept, has gone full circle and the bike has gone back to its origins,” says Suzuki Australia’s Lewis Croft. When Suzuki moved to the Gladius, it was a step in a gentler direction, a move away from the core of what made the SV650 so successful, but on the new model all that changes again. Thankfully it returns to the fray this year in place of the stylish and interestingly named Gladius. If there’s one machine that has been missed from this market segment of late, it would have to be the SV650. The restricted machines typically are those that cause more of a fuss based on the reputation their full-powered versions give them. The larger-capacity end of the market is the most hotly contested, with the range of machinery to choose from including both tailor-made machines for learners with optimised power and handling characteristics and restricted machinery based on full-power machines around the 650cc mark. There are more than a few riders looking for a motorcycle today who have just got their licence, are capable riders and want to buy a new bike that they can use on their Ls and Ps and ride happily ever after. This end of the learner market has a lot of machines to choose from, and for good reason. A big deal? Not really, but another small detail that makes for an easier bike to live with. On the SV650, all you need to do is press the starter button once. When starting the engine on most motorcycles, the rider needs to press and hold the starter button until the engine fires up. The SV650 features the new Suzuki Easy Start system, first featured on the GSX-S1000. Where it did lack was in the choice of new, big-capacity machines built for learners, but that isn’t the case any longer. There was everything from 650 motards to 400 enduros and mid-capacity scooters and road bikes. Then seemingly overnight, the menu for learners around Australia had a style to satisfy every taste. I was too old when New South Wales adopted the Learner Approved Motorcycle Scheme (LAMS) in 2002, but was envious of the choice of bikes that new riders could have. I can say that because when I was one, the choice of bikes to legally ride was fairly limited.
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