Suzuki SV-7GX: How well does the new V2 crossover bike ride?

The seat is soft, the upper body stays upright and the reach to the handlebar is on the short side. The seating position conveys control and confidence, not least because the Suzuki is remarkably slim. You immediately sense that you have a compact bike underneath you. At my height of 1.84 metres, the SV-7GX genuinely doesn't feel too small, mainly thanks to the fitted comfort seat, which raises the seat height by two and a half centimetres. What feels like fun and carefree riding to me will, however, simply be too small and too low for really tall riders.

So this is how simple and effortless riding a bike can be. Many will probably come to that realisation within the first few metres on the GX. The clutch is light and easy to modulate, the engine purrs along unthreateningly and lets you open the throttle as effortlessly as it does smoothly. By the very first turn it's clear that you don't need wide bars to get round a corner without any effort at all. The SV-7GX is the epitome of agility without ever feeling tippy or nervous. The relaxed, playful seating position carries over logically into equally playful, light handling.

Far less logical, but all the more surprising and pleasing, is the solid performance of the quickshifter. The engineers' task can't have been easy: successfully marrying a modern quickshifter to a Stone Age engine. But that is exactly what they have definitely pulled off. The pressure needed on the gear lever for upshifts is just right. Gears go in smoothly yet quickly enough and engage with a pleasantly noticeable click. The same applies to downshifts, although these need a touch more pressure on the lever – too much, in my opinion.

What also stands out is how incredibly smoothly the V2 runs, especially when rolling through town in 5th gear. The engine is exceptionally refined – so much so that some will be guaranteed to find it boring. What is guaranteed not to be boring, though, is the pull from the basement, which is genuinely strong. Open the electronic throttle further as you leave town and you're rewarded with a lovely intake roar. The reassuring clatter of the engine also becomes much more prominent.

You could compare the soundtrack to that of a thoroughly unsexy but reliable sewing machine. For me, however, this conservative sound brings back wonderful memories: of an unforgettable Alaska trip on the V-Strom 650, and just as much of youthful recklessness in the saddle of the legendary SV 650. The fact that you don't have the thousandth parallel twin between your legs probably plays a positive role too – even though, to be completely honest, most of them actually produce a nicer sound.

The riding pleasure takes its biggest hit on the motorway. Like so many bikes in this class, the SV-7GX creates considerable buffeting around the head. Fortunately, the turbulence mainly results in loud, sharp wind noise under the helmet. It isn't strong enough to actually shake your head back and forth to any noticeable degree.

This verdict also needs some context: on the one hand, the so-called touring screen was fitted rather than the smaller standard screen. On the other, the GX has two further, higher mounting points for the screen. Unfortunately, the test time wasn't long enough to try them out. It is, however, very conceivable that the loud buffeting could be eliminated this way. The upper body, by the way, is well shielded from the wind; you only feel a pleasant draught on your shoulders.

What can't be put into context at all, however, is the lack of cruise control. On a bike with touring aspirations and ride-by-wire, leaving out this function is frankly ridiculous. Otherwise, everything on the motorway was basically fine, only the front felt minimally unsettled at times. Whether this was down to the fitted top case couldn't be verified, nor could the question of whether this barely perceptible feeling eventually becomes a small problem at German autobahn speeds. At Austrian speeds, the Suzuki doesn't feel planted, but it does feel safe.

Vibrations are also kept within limits: noticeable but not bothersome. Equally unbothersome was the engine's heat radiation – none of it could be felt at either high or low speeds.

The suspension of the SV-7GX left the best impression of the entire test. Especially for this price class, the components respond beautifully finely and offer truly comfortable damping over bumps and hits of all kinds. The squishy comfort seat reinforces this feeling even further. Unfortunately, the time in the saddle wasn't long enough to judge the seat padding in terms of long-distance comfort. Personally, the soft suspension alone would probably be enough to meet my own need for relaxation.

At a brisk pace, the main reason for the convincing verdict on the Suzuki's suspension becomes clear. Even when you twist the throttle hard, increase the lean angle significantly and reach it faster, and massively ramp up brake pressure, the stability on offer is still sufficient.

Of course, the fork dives considerably if you suddenly grab the brake lever hard without any progression. But as long as you keep a little smoothness in reserve, you can really wreak havoc in the twisties on the Suzuki.

The soft suspension setup and the enormously high agility initially raise scepticism on the way to the test route. After the first quick metres on the quite demanding road, however, that scepticism is instantly replaced by unclouded joy. The playful handling remains: it turns in with no effort, and in a lean the bike behaves completely neutrally.

The engine, which impresses down low, is also real fun up top. The torque curve isn't completely linear; in the high rev range the V2 adds a little extra shove. The electronic throttle works without any snatch even in the sharpest A mode.

Particularly pleasing is that the traction control doesn't interfere annoyingly even on the sportiest level 1. The warning light in the display does come on, but it doesn't intrude on the riding in any disruptive way.

The ABS, too, only makes itself known under progressive braking in bumpy braking zones, and even there it remains unobtrusive in a positive sense. Braking power is very good. The pressure point is soft, but it can still be easily modulated as desired.

At high revs, the quickshifter shows the same characteristics as lower down, working satisfactorily but not entirely flawlessly. During the test ride it once refused to downshift with the throttle open for an extended period. Only a slight change in revs allowed the shift command through.

Apart from that, it simply feels glorious to fly through the twisties on the Suzuki and run through the gears without constantly being in licence-losing territory. For solo riding, even with luggage, in my opinion you definitely don't need more power – neither on long nor short trips.

As easy as riding fast is, it still requires a bit of blind faith in the technology. Like almost all bikes with this kind of seating geometry, the GX is relatively modest when it comes to feedback.

On sections of slippery asphalt, I deliberately tried to let the rear smear a little. I only ever noticed it once it was already over. From a purely physical point of view, a bike with such an upright seating position that places little weight over the front wheel, a very agile design and a soft suspension setup can hardly deliver particularly clear feedback.

Confidence in safe lean angles came mainly from the very good tyres and the generously sized hero blobs under the footpegs. Truly sporty riders may well be bothered by the latter. For averagely sporty demands, however, the maximum lean angle is sufficient.

To put the verdict into proper context, two important points need clarifying before the final conclusion. The first concerns the tyres. For the comparison of the Suzuki with other bikes, which also took place, conditions should be as equal as possible. That's why all middleweight crossovers were fitted with the Bridgestone Battlax S23.

In most cases, an S23 gives a bike a little more stability, but often takes away some of its playfulness in the process. The middleweight crossovers, which are fairly agile by design, all benefit from the new tyres. The S23 tends to help them exactly where their design leaves them lacking. The grip on offer is enormous. Turn-in remains light-footed and neutral despite the increased stability. On top of that, the S23 also works very well in the wet – a real miracle rubber.

On its original tyres, the Suzuki SV-7GX may therefore behave somewhat differently. Whether better or worse can't be said within the scope of this test.

The second important point for putting my test verdict into context is my personal riding style. These days I only ride fast when a bike's sporting abilities need to be examined. Around 95 percent of my total mileage is covered at a very leisurely pace. Accordingly, I place great value on comfortable, finely responsive suspension components. Suspension should always be as soft as possible and only as firm as necessary. Needlessly stiff, jarring "bone-shaker" setups put me in a bad mood.

So I'm not a blisteringly fast, ultra-skilled sport rider, and for me the sporting abilities of the Suzuki SV-7GX are good and definitely sufficient.

Anyone who rides leisurely or with a similar style will probably feel the same. Dyed-in-the-wool flat-out riders, on the other hand, will likely find the GX too soft, too low and perhaps also too playful.

Incidentally, average consumption over a riding profile of roughly 20 percent motorway, 20 percent full-throttle attack, 20 percent town and 40 percent leisurely country roads came to 5.1 l per 100 kilometres. If you skip really hard stop-and-go during spirited riding, consumption figures between 4 and 4.5 l are also possible.

This genuinely successful V2 resurrection could make an awful lot of people happy, guaranteed. So if you can live without cruise control and don't regularly try obsessively to beat the best time on your local road, I can wholeheartedly recommend the Suzuki SV-7GX!