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A press release from Suzuki GB
The original concept was designed to pay homage to the tarmac rally cars and bikes of the 1970s. ‘Neo-retro’ design sees the SV650X get a newly-styled bikini fairing and tinted screen, fog lamps, clip-on handlebars, with a tuck-roll – already available as a genuine accessory on the SV650 – completing the look.”
Suzuki GB’s general manager, Paul de Lusignan, added: “The SV650 Rally concept generated a lot of interest at last year’s show, with retro-styled machines proving very popular among riders. The SV650X is an evolution of that concept, and shows how that would translate to a production machine. Currently we cannot confirm a production schedule. We will first assess reactions to the SV650X before finalizing plans.”
Suzuki has designed the bike with a mixture of traditional and neo-retro styling, tempered with a modern engine and chassis technologies. The company says it will be an evolutionary version of the SV650 Rally Concept which was displayed at Osaka and Tokyo Motorcycle Shows in 2016.
Based on the picture, the motorcycle features headlight cowl
with two auxiliary LED lamps flanking it. The telescopic fork gets fork
protectors, just like the production bike. The engine, design of the exhaust
system, radiator and the trellis frame look identical to the SV650. Even the
tank shape is similar but comes with small tank extensions on the sides. The
rider’s seat is ribbed while the rear gets a seat cowl. The SV650X shares
its underpinnings with the 2017 SV650.
Expect the bike to employ the same 645cc DOHC V-twin with liquid cooling and
6-speed transmission as found in the SV650. In the production bike, it makes
74 bhp of power and 64 Nm of torque. Coming to the cycle parts, the bike
gets telescopic forks at the front and link-type monoshock at the rear.
Brakes include twin 290 mm discs at the front and a single 240 mm disc at
the rear. The concept bike comes with twin-channel ABS as well.
