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Suzuki discontinued SV650

10K views 45 replies 29 participants last post by  pearsonm 
#1 ·
#6 ·
That really is a shame. The bike has nearly a cult-like following. It's a shame Suzuki couldn't tap into that with their marketing. Epic failure on their part IMO.

Heck, I own a Ducati and I'm here saying this.
 
#9 ·
That's probably why. After a certain point the used market is bigger than the new market.

The same thing happened with the Honda Prelude. The last couple of new cars sat forever and never sold. Meanwhile the used ones have a cult following.

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#8 ·
In North America yes, but in parts of Europe, such as the UK, the SV650 still lives on. I believe it was discontinued one year, and they brought it back in 2011 only in S form.

http://www.suzuki-gb.co.uk/bike/sv650sl0/
That kind of made no sense to me. Why would you buy an SV650S model when a GSXR600 costs only a little bit more? Keep the N model and get rid of the S. The N looks better anyway. ;)
 
#10 ·
Why would you buy an SV650S model when a GSXR600 costs only a little bit more?
Many riders actually find value in the virtues of the SV. They notably include not having to rev past 6000 rpm all the time to have useful torque and the resultant savings in fuel. I know you can't belioeve this, but gasoline is comparatively cheap in the USA compared to most European countries. And in the more rational and civilized countries, inexperienced riders can't just hop on a 100+hp bike and wheelie out of the showroom, as we can here in the good old Free-by-God US of A.

 
#14 ·
Well, I think of it like this. The SV650 will be the CB500 30-40 years from now when it becomes vintage.. :D Buy all the SV650! Clean them up now, store them! turn around 30 years from now and sell them for like 4xs the original price!
 
#21 ·
Yea the 2nd gens aren't all that nice looking either, especially the S models. Something about the fairing makes it seem pretty big and lower than it should be. At some angles the bike doesn't look all that great.

1st gen S models don't look all that great either.

Never been a fan of the Gladius. I'd get an SV before a Gladius any day.
 
#28 ·
You guys are so lucky with those prices, $15000 for the SV650S ABS and $31500 for a GSXR600 in Denmark.

A bit of comparison, BMW S1000RR with the entire package is $52000, Ducati 1199 Panigale with all the electronics is around $78000.

Gotta love those vehicle taxes, on top of that insurance is hefty for the supersport bikes compared to the SV.
 
#39 ·
I'm way late to the party but I'm blown away that the SV's gone. In the New Economy SV's pack even more bang for the buck, but then sales figures are what they are. I appreciate fuel injection and the aluminum frame on the 2nd-generation but the origami styling theme lost the charm of the original. And that Gladius - freaking horrible! It's a crying shame to toss such a great platform.
 
#40 ·
theres a major issue with the SV that makes it similar to my car which is a suzuki forenza and in general reminds me of all suzuki's. Their bikes and vehicles in general dont offer the proper punch for the brand new price however the resale on them is so low and the product so good for the resale price that they gain a cult following. the real problem for suzuki is that they havent found a way to market their product in the price that it can actually get sales at.
 
#43 ·
I wouldn't say so. Not at all. The SV is priced right in line with its competition.

Remember, it's still sold outside the US. A quick search reveals:

Current Canadian pricing on a SV650SA (ABS) - $8399
Current Canadian pricing on a Ninja 650 - $8299
Current Canadian pricing on a Ninja 650 ABS - $8799
Current Canadian pricing on a FZ6R - $7999



The bigger problem is that Suzuki is often rather stagnant by comparison to the other sportbike manufacturers. The SV has been relatively unchanged since 2004; aside from having the lowers become standard fare, there haven't even been any cosmetic changes. It's just been minor mechanicals; things that average consumers don't even take notice of.

While in some ways a lack of change is a good thing (indicative of a solid, reliable design), it can also be a bad thing. Styles go in and out of fashion. Technology changes. Markets change. But Suzuki wasn't changing the SV.

Compare this to a close rival, the Kawasaki Ninja 650. The recent redesign has sparked quite a bit of interest; whether that interest has translated into sales, I don't know. But making changes does get people to take notice.
 
#44 ·
I think the sv suffers from having too good a resale market detracting from new sales. The slightly used bikes are so good and solid for the money, why bother with new?

That's where the updated design would have come in. That gives people a reason to buy new.

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