VOL. 51 ISSUE 13 APRIL 1, 2014 P73
FORMERLY
KNOWN AS THE
GLADIUS, WE
REVISIT SUZUKI'S
FUN-LOVING
SFV650
RETURN OF
THE
SWORD
BY THE CN STAFF
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT PALMER
AND ANDREA WILSON
I
n case you haven't noticed, Su-
zuki's fun-loving Gladius is back in
the company's lineup. You might've
missed that fact for good reason, be-
cause it's no longer called Gladius -
it's now simply called SFV650.
The Gladius, a Latin word for a
small sword used by Roman foot
soldiers, made its debut in 2009
right when the recession was click-
ing up into sixth gear and by 2012
it had inconspicuously disappeared
from Suzuki's arsenal. Luckily, it has
resurfaced again but without much
fanfare or the Gladius moniker.
The Gladius, or SFV650, re-
emerged in 2013 (as well as in 2014)
much like it was in 2011 but with a
new coloring. You might remember
the original Gladius with its distinc-
tive blue and white color scheme.
Now it is, in stark contrast, mostly
black and, in our opinion, it doesn't
quite stand out as much. The 2013
version is all black while the 2014
