new name and no girlie colors same bike http://www.suzukicycles.com/Product Lines/Cycles/Products/Gladius/2013/SFV650.aspx
SFV650 is to Gladius what VFR800 is to Interceptor. The name's the same as it ever was and it will continue to be an ugly, underwhelming, poor selling bike.
On their website under features they call the headlight "stylish". I call it fucking ugly. Replace it with a standard looking SV650 headlight and you're back in the game.
Too much plastic on it I want a cheap, light, midsized "roadster", dammit! (with ABS, of course. and options for luggage and a tall screen). So many "almosts".
Looks like Hyosung is about to take over the 650 class: Hyosung and SVF650 to Make 2013 Year of the 650 V-Twin? IMO, the FI SV650s never got as good as teh original carb'ed SV650s, the Gladius sorted out some of the aluminum frame caused handling characters, make the ride much better. FI on the Gladius seems better than the 03-09 SV650s, especially the on/off throttle response. Gladius/SFV650 is a fantastic bike for the price and performance, well over the SV650s in the past. ABS? who needs brakes, they only slow you down.
Amen.... between Triumph's fugly bug eyed setup on their street triples, Kawi's Versys cyclops, and this gladdy "thing, what is up with the amazingly ugly styling these days? Some how these bikes are making normally ugly bikes like the GS and my Vstrom look good. I thought the original SV650 was a nice looking bike, bring back that "normal" styling and put the updated gladdy motor in it. It kinda mirrors truck designs and more than a few cars. Once upon a time styling was supposed to produce attractive things, these days it appears as though "stylists" go to great pains to produce unattractive things.
Does anybody make footpeg mounts for it? Replace those ugly things along with that muffler and pull the plastic covers off of the frame and it wouldn't be too bad. Better yet, BRING BACK THE SV650!
took my buddy about 45 minutes to remove the covers, put on a nice sounding $160 exhaust, and put an undertail on his gladius. Transformed it
All that ^ The 650 Suzuki twin is turning into one of their all time great engines, and the bikes they wrap around it are going to be tomorrow's mod bases. I don't see what the big problem is. It's a cheap bike. If you don't like something on it, just change it. Don't be a little bitch and complain because a global corporation rolled a bike out that a wage slave can afford and didn't build it exactly for you.
You can't blame people for being upset about the beating Suzuki gave the SV 650 with the ugly stick. The Gladius will probably put a 650 Versys or a Hyosung in my garage someday. Both bikes are within the reach of a "wage slave". Honestly I don't know how much better the Gladius is over an SV because the first time I saw it, I imediately googled something else.
What have they done? Ugh, the latest incarnation makes my ole sv look amazingly good Steve 05 st3 00 sv6fity