2008 Suzuki SV650S
May 14th, 2011 | 
Author: 2008 Suzuki SV650S
Sometimes a perfectly good motorcycle can be adversely affected by one badly designed component. An uncomfortable seat misplaced shift levers or poorly thoughtout handlebars can ruin an otherwise nice ride and leave you scratching your head or rubbing other parts of your anatomy at the end of the day.
Thats the case with Suzukis SV650S and this is as much a story about this bikes handlebars as it is about the bike itself. My tester came with racing style clipon bars and it was all I could do to stretch myself across the tank to reach them. I realize handlebars can be replaced but clipons were originally designed for flatout racing bikes and have no place on a midrange city street/sport motorcycle. They may look cool but theyre impractical uncomfortable and I would argue unsafe because they affect the riders ability to see straight ahead and stay focused for any length of time. In case you hadnt noticed I hated these handlebars so much I was seriously contemplating removing them and buying some regular dragstyle bars just so I could ride this bike in relative comfort. In short unless you plan on going racing or enjoy pain do not choose the clipon handlebars with the SV650S.
As to the bike itself this model received a minor tweaking for 08. The engine has been breathed upon and its a bit livelier than its predecessors. Not to be confused with the “nonS” SV650 my tester has a framemounted fairing a different headlight arrangement and different paint combos. Its less of a hooligan bike and more of caf racer.
Both are powered by a 90degree Vtwin that is liquidcooled with four valves and two spark plugs per cylinder electronic fuel injection and a pair of camshafts. Its mated to a sixspeed transmission and final drive is chain. Suzuki doesnt release official numbers on horsepower and/or torque but whatever the engines output is its enough to give this bike very lively performance and a top speed of about 225 km/h. It only weighs 169 kilograms dry so the powertoweight ratio is obviously more than decent. The fact that an engine of this displacement can belt out so much power never ceases to amaze. Instrumentation is one level above basic: rev counter speedometer/odometer temperature gauge and low fuel warning light. Theres also a little clock which I found kind of amusing. The fuel tank contain 17 litres and this is one bike that needs the good stuff.
My tester had a pretty cool colour scheme of “Hero” white with a red seat and pillion and definitely stood out in a crowd. Most bikes of this ilk have graphics and scallops and whatnot all over them but my test bike looked pretty clean. One of the cooler things about it is the LED tailights located under the rear body section. I also like the fact that the pillion can be lifted off to accommodate small very small items such as a cell phone or wallet as does the saddle.
The SV650S offers a different riding experience than Suzukis other popular middle of the range offering the GSX650F. For one thing it has half as many cylinders and the engine configuration is completely different. This bike is actually kind of roughrunning and lacks the smooth linear power delivery of its stablemate. In a drag race itd be tough to call but the SV650S has slightly less offtheline snap and doesnt seem to flow as nicely as the GSX650F. It is 47 kilos lighter however. In a nutshell I really enjoyed riding the GSX650F but basically just endured the SV650S. I concede that this could be because of those wretched handlebars. Some might say that the SV650S just has more personality but there you go. One thing both bikes have in common is a beautifully engineered gearbox and shift mechanism. Precise unambiguous wellspaced….they dont come any better.
This version of the SV650 also has ABS as standard equipment and the brakes are a pair of floating discs up front and a single disc in back. More than enough. Seat height is 800 mm so for smaller riders its a bit of a reach which is kind of strange because this bike is aimed at female riders.
But regardless of who rides it the SV650S serves up the sport bike experience in spades. Its tossable nimble lively and has a generous fun quotient. A bit buzzy at sustained highway speeds though and not that comfortable in bumpertobumper traffic but I know some riders who consider it to be one of the best midsize sport bikes on the market period and its certainly maintained its popularity over the years. For its just under 8800 base price it delivers a stylish and entertaining riding experience.
About the writer: Ted is a famous writer who writes on the topics related to cars review car reviews used consumer car reviews for Driverseat.
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