SUZUKI SV650 New to trackdays?
T he great thing about choosing a track bike is that pretty much anything works, with the Suzuki SV 650 proving a perfect starting point for those who want to learn corner speed, and not just how to pin the throttle down straights. Technically it isn’t a sportsbike, being more of a cheapskate’s everyday road runner, offering no tech and no frills. But that doesn’t matter in this context, because SVs are easily transformed into learner friendly, class act trackday tools.
They’re among the cheapest of bikes to make into a track weapon because the market’s overflowing with them, so much so that if you pay much more than about £3,000-£4,000 for a road-going version, you’ve had your pants pulled down good and proper. If you don’t fancy buying a ready-built track machine (be careful if you do as most have been raced… hard) then it’s just a case of forking out a few hundred quid on a fibreglass bodykit, and the same again on a second-hand trick rear shock. Obviously, as with any bike, the sky is the limit when it comes to spec, and if you really want to go to town you can turn an SV into a Moto2 style money pit. But you shouldn’t need to, though. Clive’s is about the nicest of SVs you’re likely to find, featuring a bespoke fairing build, decent suspension, crash protection and an ear-shattering exhaust. It’s set him back £4k in total, so expect to pay less for pretty much anything else out there.
But what’s it like to ride, I hear you ask? Well, the SV is a really comfy bike to sit on and it’s just as comfy to ride. It did take quite a few laps to get into the swing of things, as the Suzuki knew what it
wanted before I knew what it wanted, but when I’d figured what it was craving everything clicked right into place. Truth is, you don’t get many revs with the SV, but on this bike you don’t need them; the motor seems to have the same amount of pull from about 6,000-9,000rpm. So as long as you’re working the rev counter’s needle in that zone then job’s a good ’un. The other thing to note is that within that magic 3k powerband there’s absolutely zero risk of your arms being ripped out of their sockets as you crack open the throttle, because the lightweight twin accelerates at a trickle of a pace, but I found
that to be one of this bike’s best virtues. There was never a moment to go stressing about power wheelies, or highsides out of corners (like you do on big bikes), so I could really relax and be a little bit blasé with the amount of gas I was asking for without risking myself any harm. The fuelling on this particular Suzuki, just like its power’s delivery, was really smooth and that pretty much reflected the nature of this beast. It proved to be a smooth operator that felt worse if you rushed it and tried to force gears down its throat, or snatched at the controls. Patience was the order of the day to get the best from the SV.
Despite being down on power, the 650 was far from a slow bike. Okay, it couldn’t hold a candle to a supersport offering down the straights, but it sure knew how to dance in the corners. Clive’s bike is set up a treat and I was genuinely amazed at its cornering prowess. I hate it when people say a bike’s on rails, but this thing felt as stable as they come, and plenty agile too. Because it’s light, it was easy to flick around and the front end feel was something to write home about. It’s wrong to label this bike a novice machine, because it’s capable of showing much bigger machines up, so I’d sooner say that its helpful arsenal of traits makes life easier for those with less track experience. But those who know how to hustle won’t be able to get enough of the Suzuki’s offerings. It also really shone in the braking zones, where the relatively powerful anchors made light work of hauling the SV up in a controlled and predictable manner. That made it a doddle to nip up the inside of people and beat them to an apex.
If you’re all about having fun and don’t want to break the bank for the sake of a track bike then you could do a lot worse than one of these, but if you want to be the king of the fast group and you think seeing your mates disappear into the distance may grow tiresome then let us explore your options further.