Motorcycle specifications SuzukiSV 650 X 2018 Café Rally Racer

After a timid Café Racer version (100 units) and an irrelevant Scrambler version, Suzuki continues the seduction operation for its new SV650, which is struggling to find its audience. With its unassuming looks and simple updating of the 1999 version, this SV is slow to win over young licensees attracted by much bolder competition. And yet this Suzette is not lacking in qualities, with its timeless twin that has lulled a whole generation to sleep. Fun, accessible and well-balanced, all it needs is a less consensual personality to revitalize the machine after a dull Gladius episode.

So here's the SV 650 X, which may well find its audience at a time when manufacturers are banking heavily on the neo-retro trend.

so what does this X version bring to the SV?
Mechanically, it's simple: nothing at all. The V-twin's 76hp and generous torque have more than proved their worth in the face of changing circumstances. The frills that appeared when it was reborn in 2016, such as Low RPM Assist (starting and driving assistance at low revs) and the Suzuki Easy Start System (no need to keep your hand on the starter), are still there.

suzuki has therefore focused on packaging and a touch of sportiness to give its roadster more flair.

and if you're curious about the face, it's not surprising. This SV 650 X takes up the essentials of the SV 650 Rally Concept presented at Osaka in 2016. Starting with its black and grey color scheme.
An 'old-school' two-tone fork head then nicely wraps around the top of the headlight, and small side scoops placed in the extension of this cladding give the impression that a half fairing has been grafted on. A café-racer spirit is guaranteed, all the more so as this X also adopts half handlebars to complete its transformation. As a result, the riding position, which is more forward-facing, has been modified for a more sporty feel. In the same spirit, the fork now features a preload adjustment feature absent on the standard SV. The rear monoshock is identical, but comfort should be enhanced by the adoption of a more qualitative and, of course, more 'retro' padded seat.

in terms of looks, the driver and passenger footpegs are now dressed in black. The top of the fuel tank is also in ebony, with a very old-school red border separating the black from the grey. What's more, the usual 'S' logo on the sides of the tank has been replaced by 'SUZUKI', just like in the good old days.

already present on the Rally-Concept as a tribute to the road rally cars of the '70s, two long LED beacons give this SV 650 X a little more character. Unfortunately, these are not part of the standard equipment, and you'd have to go through the options catalog to benefit from these additional double-optics... Too bad.

in the end, this SV650X leaves a little taste of unfinished business. The idea is pretty good, but we'd have liked to see the Hamamatsu company go a step further and fit a specific exhaust system (the double muffler of the café-racer version would have been perfect!), placing the mirrors at the end of the handlebars, or adopting different rims from the standard SV... for example.

but this SV 650 X nevertheless has the merit of offering an alternative to the ever-expanding choice of classico-modern-machin-truc roadsters (I can no longer hear the word neo-retro...).
And finally, who better than the SV to lead the way in the revival of old-school machines, which were already making their mark almost 20 years ago?