+ Click to Enlarge SINFULLY SEXY: The SV1000S is Suzuki's truly European sports bike. Pictures: DAVE ABRAHAMS

July 8, 2003
By Dave Abrahams

When the sinfully sexy Suzuki SV650 was introduced in 1999 it surprised a lot of people. Hamamatsu's first attempt at a truly European motorcycle succeeded way beyond even its maker's expectations and became something of a cult bike, especially in Britain.

Inevitably, someone asked: "What would happen if they dropped the motor from the bulky but undeniably muscular TL1000 motor into the svelte, minimalist Verlicchi frame of the SV?" They did. It's called the SV1000S. It's a honey.

The well-proven 90º L-twin, with its chrome-molybdenum alloy steel con rods side by side on a common crankpin, has been cleaned up a little with lighter forged, pistons and L-shaped upper piston ringss.

The compression ratio for this application is 11.3:1, fed via reduced diameter inlet valves and revised camshaft profiles for better low and mid-range response.

The motor also benefits from Suzuki's dual-throttle valve system, smoothing out the on-off jerkiness common to most fuel-injected motors and making the bike much easier to ride in traffic without sacrificing the instant response to big throttle inputs that makes spritzers so exciting to ride.

The result is solid V-twin torque anywhere from just above idle; there's strong power-thudding up to just under 4000rpm but after that, although the typical twin vibration never really goes away, it's not intrusive other than under hard acceleration.

The bike pulls hard enough to get your attention from four but, as the spec figures suggest, the real stomp is between eight and 10.

Big V-twins have a lazy way of gathering momentum without really seeming to accelerate; above 8000 revs, however, the SV pulls like a race bike, its power delivery hard-edged and able to catch you unawares. For all that it feels like a pussycat around town, Suzuki's minimal marvel has teeth when it gets going.

Suzuki has captured perfectly the signature Ducati drone - and the brassy blare from the air box when things start to get exciting; just like on the red bikes from Bologna, you always seem to be going faster than you think. It's a quintessentially European show of strength and is the basis of this bike's character.

Unlike some Continental machinery, however, the SV also delivers the big numbers; the test bike went up a genuine 256km/h without any detectable stress, the motor spinning just below the power peak at 9500rpm, in just over 2200m.

It was also reassuringly steady at that speed, the basic (non-adjustable) steering damper – which sits where it should be inside the fairing, across the forks – doing its job of keeping the bike on line without any fuss.

The only time the bike shook its head was during full-throttle upshifts - and I suspect that was because the front tyre was losing touch with Mother Earth.

Notchy transmission

The lever pull on the hydraulic clutch is surprisingly light but the take-up is firm and positive, going home with a definite thump when it's really hot.

The back-torque limiting system, commonly known as a slipper clutch, lightens the pressure on the clutch plates on the overrun, helping to prevent rear-wheel hopping. It also tightens up under acceleration, which allows lighter clutch springs.

Suzukis in general are known for very slick gearboxes; this one, to the contrary, is distinctly notchy at all speeds, with or without the clutch. In fact, given that there is a lot of lash in the final drive, the SV1000S is one of the few bikes I've ridden recently that changes up better with the clutch than without.

I was unable to master a seamless upshift during the review period.

Given a longer period to learn the bike's foibles I could probably have done better, but it's also worth noting that the Suzuki didn't miss a shift, up or down, during the time I rode it and that is more important than the slickest mechanism.

As on the Yamaha R6, which is notorious for its grotty gearbox, it's well worth putting up with, so good is the rest of the package.

Verlicchi frame

The chassis is based on the traditional Verlicchi trellis design with its double row of trusses running across the top of the motor. In this case however, rather than being fabricated from tubing, the frame is constructed from seven high-vacuum aluminium alloy castings, making the frame geometry both more rigid and more consistent on a production basis.

The rear sub-frame is more conventional, being made up of round and square aluminium tubing, while the swing-arm is fabricated from a large central casting and two rectangular extrusions. It's supported by a fully tuneable, piggyback rear shock and progressive link.

The front wheel is guided by a pair of RWU (right way up, Cyril) 46mm forks with adjustable preload, compression and rebound damping. As IOL got it, the front end on the test bike was set up on the firm side of comfortable, to counteract a tendency to nose-dive under braking which was commented upon by more than one rider at the world launch in Spain.

The front brakes are four-pot Tokicos on big 310mm platters, lifted untouched from last year's GSX-R750; they may not be the state of the art, but in this application they deliver fuss-free stopping in impressively short distances, due to something the bike doesn't have: weight.

When the brakes are used very hard, the bike still has a tendency to compress the forks despite the firmer settings and I soon learned to get my braking done before turning in.

The rear brake is soft and a little remote but works well enough around parking lots and on hill-starts, as well as for setting the bike up for turns in the rain.

Balanced seating position

The seating position is near-ideal, throwing equal weight on bars, foot pegs and saddle; it's relaxed enough not to become cramped in traffic, comfortable enough for me to ride almost 220km without feeling the need for a comfort stop but perfectly balanced for hard cornering.

The rear of the 17-litre fuel tank is sculpted to accommodate the rider's thighs - just right for steering with your knees.

If you hammer this bike up to corner and fling it on its ear, American-style, the front end will get a little squirrelly and you'll lose mid-corner velocity while you get the chassis settled. Rather ride it Italian-style, do the braking while you set up the perfect entry and turn in a little early.

The SV will reward you by hunkering down on its suspension and accelerating, rock steady, through the apex like it's reaching for the moon – you'll come out harder than you expected and, thanks to generous cornering clearance, nothing touches down this side of the race-track.

Bumps and cracks in the tar don't seem to bother the bike once it's lined up and the slightly lazy steering makes it responsive to rider input without getting twitchy. The SV rapidly builds confidence, especially among more adult riders who didn't grow up on 400cc race replicas.

The only detail of the cycle parts that doesn't work for me is the side stand; its operating lever, long and inelegant though it is, is still hidden behind the left foot-peg and difficult to use.

Stunningly minimalist styling

Suzuki's latest big twin captures the "bird of prey" styling concept better than any of its previous efforts – probably because there's so little of it. From the front the abbreviated fairing is practically all screen and fierce-looking headlights, with the merest suggestion of a falcon's beak between them.

The fairing is sharply cut off just above the radiator, which has neatly pressed alloy end covers to pretty it up for display. There's a pointed little chin fairing, a tiny pair of black side covers and lozenge shaped seat-tail unit – and that's it.

The neatly finned L-twin engine and trellis frame dominate the side view as if to emphasize the bike's European heritage and Suzuki has resisted the temptation to indulge in plastic covers and fancy graphics. It's all about the bike as a riding machine, pared down to the basics for the serious rider.

That little fairing is surprisingly effective, however, keeping most of the weather off the rider's torso and dealing effectively with a gusty quartering wind at one stage during the test period. In the wet the screen also kept the rain out of my face when I had to ride with my visor up to find a place I hadn't visited before in the dark; full marks to Suzuki there.

No Continental sport bike is worth its salt unless it has one really weird styling quirk; on the SV1000S it's the tail light - two rows of incredibly bright little LEDs marching up the overhang between the mudguard and the rear edge of the tailpiece.

At first it looks unfinished, after a while it grows on you – unlike the clumsy black plastic number plate holder, which remains what it's intended to be, an afterthought.

Remove it and you discover that the rear section of the bodywork is fully lined with a neat body-coloured panel, elegantly finishing the back of the bike, although it can look a little too short from some angles.

And finally to the fascia, possibly the bike's defining feature. Suzuki has taken style guru Pierre Terreblanche's vertical layout, slimmed and trimmed it, discarded the chrome and bar-graph fuel gauge and produced a lozenge-shaped work of art.

It's also practical and easy to read at a glance with its single red needle, which just happens to be pointing straight up at the moment when the big rumbling motor comes on song.

The warning lights are sensibly laid out, with the reserve light on the bottom right, where you need it rather too often; big twins are not renowned for fuel economy and the SV's 17-litre capacity will only give you about 90 minutes of real ear-'oling – or about 220km of gran turismo.

The SV1000S won't stand comparison with the Ducati 999 or Aprilia RSV Mille; it's not intended to. It will hold its own, however, against the Aprilia Falco, the Ducati ST2 and the gorgeous new Ducati 1000DS – all much more expensive.

Sad to say, nothing from Japan even comes close, except possibly the Honda SP-2 at nearly double the price.

With its second and probably definitive attempt to produce a truly European sport bike, Suzuki has got it absolutely right, from the understatedly muscular power delivery to the rock steady, slightly slower handling and the stunningly minimalist styling. If you're looking for a big V-twin, ride this one last.

Thanks to Nibs Cragg at Suzuki South in Cape Town for the test bike. A new one will cost R83 000.

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Specifications:

Motor: Liquid-cooled 90-degree four-stroke V-twin.
Capacity: 996cc.
Bore x stroke: 98 x 66mm.
Valvegear: DOHC with four overhead valves per cylinder and twin-swirl combustion chambers.
Compression ratio: 11.3:1.
Power: 86kW at 9800rpm
Torque: 87.3Nm at 8000rpm.
Induction: Suzuki dual-throttle valve fuel injection with 52mm throttle bodies.
Ignition: Transistorised electronic.
Starting: Electric.
Clutch: Hydraulically actuated, multiplate wet clutch.
Transmission: Six-speed constant-mesh gearbox with chain final drive.
Suspension: 46mm conventional cartridge forks at front adjustable for preload, compression and rebound damping, monoshock adjustable for preload, compression and rebound damping at rear.
Brakes: Two 310mm discs with Tokico four-pot opposed piston callipers at front, 220mm disc with Nissin single-piston floating calliper at rear.
Tyres: Front: 120/70-ZR17 tubeless radial. Rear: 180/55-ZR17 tubeless radial.
Wheelbase: 1435mm.
Seat height: 810mm.
Dry weight: 189kg.
Fuel capacity: 17 litres.
Price: R83 000.

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