Suzuki SV 650X

The Suzuki SV-650 might be a boring motorcycle to begin with, but with the SV-650X, Suzuki has tried to make it look visually more appealing and closer to its retro design ethos. Suzuki has achieved this by adding a few panels here and there, with substantial focus at the front. However, all these changes do little in uplifting the overall appeal of the Suzuki SV-650X in terms of modernity.

At the front, the Suzuki SV-650X shares the round headlamp in a black casing with the standard SV-650. However, a big change appears here in the form of the heavy-looking curved cowl around the main headlamp unit. This headlamp cowl gels well with the additional slim and curved tank extensions placed adjacent to the well-contoured fuel tank with long knee recesses. While the Suzuki SV-650X too gets clear lens turn indicators from the SV-650, the former gets clip-on handlebars to make it look and feel like a proper café racer.

From the side, save for the additional panels around the headlamp and fuel tank extensions, the entire motorcycle is the same as the standard SV-650. The exposed engine, as well as trellis frame, makes the motorcycle look a bit aggressive, and the Suzuki SV-650X also gets different padding for the rider seat, which looks cool and has better cushioning too. 

The slim and curved rear side body panels, as well as fuel tank of the Suzuki SV-650X, get dual-tone body decal treatment to further differentiate it from the standard SV-650. The split design for the tail lamp, along with the angular rear fender and clear lens turn indicators are lift-offs from the SV-650.

Another major component which has been shared with the standard SV-650 is the fully digital instrument console, which here too gets blue backlit theme. The unit is well informative with details like speedometer, tachometer, odometer, trip meters, gear indicator, fuel gauge, temperature gauge and MID on offer. The presence of clip-on handlebars does make a world of difference over the standard SV-650 when it comes to riding posture.

Like the engine, the rest of the mechanical setup on the Suzuki SV-650X is the same as that in the Suzuki SV-650. However, thanks to mildly rear-set footpegs, clip-on handlebars and different rider seat, the ergonomics of the Suzuki SV-650X  do witness a change over the SV-650 and are much sportier in this café racer iteration. 

The suspension setup of the Suzuki SV-650X is a combination of conventional hydraulic telescopic forks at the front and an adjustable link-type monoshock at the rear. In terms of brakes, the Suzuki SV-650X gets a pair of disc brakes at the front and a single disc at the rear.

The Suzuki SV-650X shares its four-stroke, V-twin, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, 650cc engine with the standard SV-650 and that too in the same state of tune. A derivative of the engine of the V-Strom 650 adventure tourer, the Suzuki SV-650X’s engine makes 75.6 PS of peak power output. The torque figure of this engine has been kept under wraps, but the same engine makes 62 Nm in the V-Strom 650, suggesting that the torque output of Suzuki SV-650X is in the same ballpark. 

Except a non-switchable dual-channel ABS, the Suzuki SV-650X doesn’t get any other prominent safety aid, which strengthens its old school appeal even more.

The Suzuki SV-650X tries to hide the bare-bones appeal of the SV-650, a motorcycle on which it is based on, with the minutely revised styling, and to a minute extent, it succeeds in doing so. The motorcycle might be lacking in terms of features, but it makes up with a very tractable engine and the easy-to-ride character it has.