Everyone at some stage or another moves house. The amount of crap you collect even in a short space of time can be considerable. Imagine then, the mammoth task to move a bike dealership with all it’s showroom stock, workshop and computer system while still being available to the public for normal business. Such was the chore for Graeme Boyd Suzuki who’ve moved to 90 Lambton Road Broadmeadow.

The relocation didn’t stop them from loaning me a new Suzuki SV1000S to test and what a remarkable piece of sports machinery it is. The test bike was fitted with a twin Yoshimura RS-3 exhaust that made every decibel from the 85kW engine sound like the bass drum at a Guns & Roses concert.

Blistering acceleration for a VTwin with copious amounts of torque gives this thing more grunt than a pig sale. It may or may not be as quick as your mates four cylinder sportsbike, but you will be smug in the knowledge that owning this baby will get you all the head turns when you go thundering past. There will always be some bar room debate on whether a VTwin is a match for it’s four cylinder counterpart, however, on the roads we get to use, I doubt that there will be much of a difference in who reaches the next fuel stop first.

Owning this machine will require the rider to have good upper body strength undamaged by off bike excursions, such is the force exerted on the shoulders and wrists by the riding position. The seat height felt high despite a quoted 810mm and my shorter rider/pillion models, the Sutherlands, confirmed this. Pillion comfort is dependant on whether they mind having their knees up high while sitting on a firm seat, but on the plus side there was a good grab rail and they do get a good view.

Michellin tyres offer excellent grip but I don’t know how the big fat back one is going to cope with all that torque being fed into it, only time will tell. Handling was superb and, as always with Suzuki sportsbikes, there is so much front and rear adjustment, you’ll spend hours figuring out what is best for you. The suspension setup from the shop was a bit tight and the rear end was want to skip on occasions but nothing too concerning and all very controllable, once again play with the settings to suit the rider. The multi piston caliper ventilated twin front 310mm & single 220mm disk brakes offer excellent stopping power with good feel.

The sports orientated fairing offered fair protection and housed a brilliant set of headlights. The whole package in my opinion looked very attractive which I guess is one reason for the sales success of the SV650 sibling. The mirrors didn’t vibrate too much considering the long stalks they sit on and the instrument panel offers digital readout for fuel, temp, time, odometer and speedo. Brake and (hydraulic) clutch levers are adjustable. There is a small amount of storage under the pillion seat. The tail-lights are pretty trick with 14 individual globes of 7 a side, - man I’ve known blokes who’d buy it just for them.

At 100kph the bike is cruising at 3800rpm, redline is at 11,000rpm. A silky smooth 6 speed gearbox transfers the mumbo to the rear wheel. It’ll plod along in top gear at around 2500rpm but is best kept up around 3000rpm for best results.

No centre-stand means obtaining a workshop unit for chain servicing etc.

$15990 plus on road. Test bike from Graeme Boyd Suzuki.

May your lid never skid…iparks@hunterlink.net.au.....www.users.hunterlink.net.au/~mbbidp