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Bob Pickett gets to grips with a pair of twins... in the form of Suzuki's SV650 and SV650S

Once upon a time the middleweight allrounder class was the domain of 500cc bikes, all pretty old and with not much to choose between them. Then Suzuki tore up the rulebook in 1995 with the introduction of their parts-bin success story, the Bandit. It tooka few years for the rest to cotton on, but gradually the opposition brought their own competitors into the arena - notably the Hornet and Fazer appeared to make the Bandit look what it was, a bit old and wheezy when set against bikes not cobbled out of leftovers.

So what did Suzuki do to fight back? Reinvent the wheel once again. Where everyone else went the four-cylinder route (presumably to top the Bandit), Suzuki came up with a pair of V-Twins, the naked SV650 and the faired SV650S.

Essentially they are the same bike, but the naked SV has bars instead of clip-ons, more forward-set footpegs and a larger rear cog to compensate for the lack of wind protection. Top as a town tool, but the faired 'S' version is the more practical all-round option, so what follows will be concentrating on that version. The SV650S ran in it's original guise up to 2002 with only a minor styling change, and this is the model we rode.

1999 SV650S - now THAT is a fine looking bike The first thing that hits you about the original version of the SV is it's looks. If you are on a budget but still want a bike that can turn heads, then this is the one for you. The styling, borrowed to a large extent from the TL1000 is almost (but not quite) reminiscent of a 1970's Ducati. Nice lines, good finish and attractive colours all make for a good looking set of wheels. The overall effect is slightly spolied by the cheapo plastic inner fairing, but we are talking about a bike built to a budget so compromises had to be made.

Looks are all well and good, but does the performance match up to the aesthetics?

Take the SV off it's sidestand (no centrestand, adding to the sporty pretentions) and the lack of weight is instantly noticeable. At 169kg, it is 10kg lighter than the Hornet, 20kg lighter than the Fazer and would fit in older brother Bandit's shirt pocket. It is actually lighter than some 500's out there, due to the aluminium truss frame holding it together.

The friendly 90 degree V-twin engine is a delight, pulling cleanly at just about any revs and a power curve flatter than a Japanese girl's bottom, with an upwards kick at about 4 thou. The power builds until a gear change at just shy of 6,000 revs. Of the bikes we have mentioned here, the SV's engine is one of the least powerful, but compensates with lashings of torque (40lb-ft at 9,400 revs).

Anyone wanting a raucous, fruity noise from their wheels should put aside enough pennies to buy a replacement end can or whole exhaust system though (and this seems to be the most popular SV mod) - the OE setup is quieter than a Very Quiet Thing, add that to the relaxed "phut phut" from the Vee and the SV can sound like an annoyed lawnmower at times!

If you read the glossies, a common complaint in reviews is the lack of top end - who cares? Riding a Vee is all about the midrange and the little Suzuki has it in spades.

Getting the best out of a motor requires a decent chassis and suspension and Suzuki got this just about spot on. Suspension is quite firm, making the handling spot on when working hard (we'll come back to this in a moment), but soft enough to handle everyday road surfaces and still supply decent feedback from the tyres.

Talking tyres, if you have some spare cash set aside, replace the stock MEZ4's as soon as possible - don't wait for them to wear out, they never will. Buy your SV in Summer and you will have no idea why I am so against them - Summer heat gets them warmed up quickly and they seem like grippy, responsive rubber, but go out on them on a cold, wet Winter day and it is a very different story - no feedback, they take an eternity to warm up and the first few times you have to brake are a journey into the unknown.

Back at the suspension, the budget build is exposed here as well, with no adjustment possible to the 41mm front forks, but the rear does have a seven-point preload.

The brakes, when teamed up with some more responsive tyres, are not the best in class - they're not in the same league as the (pre-emission cull) Fazer's superb setup for example, but they're strong enough to haul up the light weight of the SV - in fact a good haul on the anchors will produce a top-notch stoppie, if that is your cup of Darjeeling.

The SV makes for a cracking little track day toy as well Handling is sweet, with the firm(ish) setup combining with the short wheelbase (1420mm) and tall rake (24.8 degrees/1000mm) for the class. If the bend turns out to be tighter than expected, the handling, combined with excellent ground clearance means you can tip it right over with total confidence in the bike to get you out of trouble.

So we're happy with the going, turning and stopping, so lets take a look at the rest of the package. Instant feedback from your clocks is always a bonus and the SV's dash excels, with large, clear clocks, two digital trip switches and a reserve light which comes on in good time to allow you to run for the nearest garage without worries, unless you live in the middle of nowhere.

Economy, unless you spend your time thrashing the engine (which it will happily accept all day) is excellent as well. Riding the A-roads will see you getting a return of 160 miles, dropping to about 120 miles on the commuter run.

For such a small bike, there is a lot of room to shift about in the saddle, making life a lot easier on your back, with the aches only starting to kick in around filling-up time. Despite the SV650S being a relatively sporty bike, the pegs are not set that far back and the clip-ons are fairly high, reducing the aches and pains normally associated with a 'sports' riding position, although struggling slowly through traffic can see the wrists start to suffer.

Hauling your goods and chattels around is no problem either, with four bungee points under the pillion perch and enough space underseat storage for a lock and some sarnies as well.

Talking pillions, if you take one out on a regular basis, then the SV really is not the bike for you. OK, it has a decent grabrail, buut the pillion sits very tall, meaning they get all the windblast - combine this with the small pillion pad (the SV comes with separate seats for rider and pillion) and your passenger will be begging you to pull over for a rest way, way more often than with something like a Bandit (best seat going), Hornet or Fazer. But if you're in the market for an SV, the pillion issue really isn't that important - the SV is a selfish purchase. £65 or so will get you a rear cowling, improve the looks and remove any ideas the other half might have about jumping on the back.

All in all, if this was yet another one of those "Lets all review the same four bikes within three months of each other" reviews, then the Fazer would edge out the SV overall, as it does enough things that little bit better than the SV. But if you want your bike to look good, have bundles of character and give you sharp enough handling to embarass the jockies on their out-and-out sports tools when the mood takes you, then Suzuki has put together the package to provide this in spades.

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