Suzuki Gsx-R600 Vs. Suzuki Sv650s

Suzuki GSX-R600 vs. Suzuki SV650S

The pursuit of pleasure

MARK HOYER

ONE OF THE FUNDAMENTAL TENETS OF MOTORCYCLING is pleasure. Ride to work or ride to nowhere, but saddle up, start combustion, smile and feel good. Starting fires always warms the heart and body. Nothing, no chemical, no music, no single activity makes people who have ever tasted the pleasure of two-wheels-with-engine feel as good, so reliably and with so few strings attached as swinging a leg over your favorite bike and taking a ride.

We're clearly playing with the subtleties of pleasure when rolling out the Suzuki SV65OS and GSX-R600 for a little Grudge Match motoring. The GSX-R was voted Best Middleweight Streetbike in our Ten Best 2004 balloting, while the SV-S's nearly identical stablemate, the naked SV, took top honor as Best Standard. That is to say, these are fine motorcy cles, making this more a comparison and contrast of spirit and intent than of the bikes themselves.

At the core, Suzuki is a sporting com pany. It is clear from the model lineup that the strength is performance, that the energies of design and marketing largely go into building and selling bikes that do. So even when you drop osten sibly down the performance food chain from the racetrackfocused GSX-R line to the more mellow and friendly SVs, there is still a lot of sporting DNA at work.

It is this sporty-yet-playful character that has made us love these mid-size V-Twins since their 1999 introduction. Detail refinements were levied in `04 after the big makeover last year, primarily in the form of a lower rear subframe to bring the passenger seat a little closer to earth. The rider's seat is slightly lower also, but the bigger change is that the sides are contoured downward more, making it narrower and easier for folks to get their feet down at stops. The obvious differences from the naked model are the addition of the fairing and use of clip-on-style bars. Less

SUZUKI SV650S

$6299

Ups

"Come out and play" attitude "Let's get to work" utility Comfortab'e riding position

Downs

r Not GSX-R brakes Not as comfortable as the Naked SV

obvious are the fork offset changes (28mm for S model, 26.5 for the naked) and the slightly longer swingarm of the standard SV. Final-drive gearing is one tooth taller on the S, with a 44-tooth rear sprocket. Otherwise, it’s the same loveable package as the naked SV.

The GSX-R, meanwhile, received a major makeover for ’04, giving it the kind of crushing middleweight performance that put it on the top of the charts, winning our “Four of a Kind” 600cc shootout (CW’ May). A new frame, redone engine with titanium valves and excellent fuelinjection, an inverted fork, radial brakes and 102 freerevving horses are pretty much what put it on top.

Remarkably, even with such ample peak-power output (remember when 1 OOOcc bikes made 100 bhp?), there is excellent midrange torque. Or is 6000 rpm considered bottom end when you’re talking about a 15,500-rpm redline? Whatever you call it, there is plenty of torque available at “street-going” engine speeds, and roll-on performance is always snappy.

The SV-S, too, has a happy feel in the midrange. The 645cc, eight-valve liquid-cooled Twin has an appealing even beat to its exhaust note, and even more snap down low than the GSX-R (peak torque is delivered 4000 rpm sooner on the SV). Clearly, it was optimized for this type of performance, because as the revs rise toward the 11,000rpm redline it labors to breathe so deeply. Its 70 horsepower is delivered at 8900 rpm. Best to ride that fat surge in the

middle revs. It is plain to see that the SV is no match for the GSX-R when the revs rise, as the 600’s inline-Four moves into its class-leading, straightaway-eating powerband and warps away from the SV. Just look at the quarter-mile times: 10.92 at 127.8 mph for the GSX-R vs. 12.37 at 107.8 mph. A 600cc bike in the high-10s is amazing, a 650cc Twin in the 12s less so. Will you be at the strip much?

SUZUKI GSX-R600

$8099

Ups

Racer performance for the street Stunning brakes Fully adjustable suspension

Downs

Racer performance for the street “Have fun, go to jail” attitude Scoffs at riders of lesser talent

The softer nature of the SV chassis means you begin to get good feedback from the road at lower speed than with the GSX-R. This isn’t to fault the Gixxer’s chassis in any way, but its stiffness (both in structure and damping) mean that the rider must push harder to bring the bike into its “operating range.” Handling on both bikes is neutral, steering light, with the SV offering a more comfortably tuned ride than the GSX-R when you’re grinding out day-to-day, stoplight-tostoplight trips. The upside of the GSX-R is that the suspension is fully adjustable, and if you make the choice it can be softened adequately to almost replicate the nature of the SV. As for adjustments on the latter, front and rear spring preload are it. What you get from the SV in damping terms is what you get. Luckily what you get is pretty good.

On yet another sunny summer afternoon in Southern California, we motored in tandem on the two Suzukis through the big sweepers in the hills southeast of the office, riding at a brisk pace and reveling in the warm air. No one was out for blood, there were no stuff-passes being made, just that peaceful, easy feeling of riding a fine pair of motorcycles on a nice day. The SV-S shines in this setting. It arcs into comers with eagerness and ease, the broad torque band and excellent fuel-injection quietly providing the urge you need when you need it. In a way, the GSX-R feels a little lost when ridden in such a setting and at a non-banzai pace.

It doesn’t feel bad, per se, but it’s almost as though it doesn’t understand why you aren’t braking deeper, leaning farther and tempting the rev-limiter more. When we got a break in traffic and finally upped the pace, the GSX-R suddenly came alive, doing what it does best: shredding asphalt. Going slow just doesn’t seem like a viable option. It is possible to go nearly as fast on the street riding the SV, but the damping begins to show its limits as the pace increases. Of course, trying to keep up with an ex-racer riding a repli-racer (or is it just a “racer” these days?) will overwhelm anything but the best sportbike.

So, while it’s hard not to be seduced by a 600cc motorcycle that makes 102 rear-wheel horsepower and weighs just 382 pounds dry, it is equally difficult not to be wooed by a superbly fun 650cc Twin that costs just $6299 and offers good performance, with an arguably wider utility mode.

While the GSX-R600 is a brilliant expression of middleweight racer-with-lights artistry, nothing serves up simple riding pleasure as reliably as the SV650S.