Want 650

[Porkchop]

Originally Posted by derf

They replaced it with the gladius, which is way down there with the standards. Since I have never seen one in the wild, I am assuming that it sold rather crapily and really was just a way for suzuki bean counters to take an otherwise decent bike and make it cheaper to build thus also making it crappier and stealing its soul

The mags loved the gladius when it came out.

[derf]

Originally Posted by Porkchop

The mags loved the gladius when it came out.

How many have you seen on the road compared to SV's? I never said it was a bad bike but my impression from pictures is that the frame looks cheaper, uglier, and not as refined as the SV.

The SV was a great bike, but the switch to the gladius style and name was a bad one. Magazines could have loved it but if its ugly the market wont

[Porkchop]

Originally Posted by derf

How many have you seen on the road compared to SV's? I never said it was a bad bike but my impression from pictures is that the frame looks cheaper, uglier, and not as refined as the SV.

The SV was a great bike, but the switch to the gladius style and name was a bad one. Magazines could have loved it but if its ugly the market wont

A handful. But its only been out for two years, versus the ten-ish for the SV. I think a bike with no faired option is suicide in the US anyway. How many naked sv's do you see? The gladius is a budget bike. Its built and priced as such. I have the same feeling about the fz6r vs the fz6. Cheap frame, cheap suspension.

[Particle Man]

Originally Posted by Porkchop

How many naked sv's do you see?

During riding season, usually 2-3 per day.

[Porkchop]

Originally Posted by Particle Man

During riding season, usually 2-3 per day.

Not around here you don't.

[Particle Man]

Originally Posted by Porkchop

Not around here you don't.

And now you're seeing the tail of the market

[derf]

Originally Posted by goof2

No kidding Suzuki, does it come with tires and a seat too?

Optional Extras





I totally agree that the SV could have used some updating, but there are other ways of doing it rather than a ground up crap design. Between the hideous exhaust, the huge and ugly rear passenger peg supports, faux aluminium frame insert. They didnt even bother doing anything signifigant to the suspension, its a 90% visual upgrade.

Instead of spending a but load of money re-designing the system they could have used the same frame & engine, upgrade the exhaust to be DOT compatible, replace the gauges, upgrade the bodywork to match the modern suzuki lineup, and use last (or 2 ago) generation GSX-R watered down suspension. The bike was a solid bike, and didnt need that much of an upgrade to stay ahead of the rest of its class, unfortunately they ruined a cheap, solid platform that had a cult like following and sold fairly well.



And I'm still convinced that the bean counters had a big hand in the re-design of the bike. Its just that ugly it couldnt have been driven by function alone