VOL. 53 ISSUE 22 JUNE 7, 2016 P97
R
emember your first streetbike? I sure
as heck do. It was a little twin-cylinder
250 Yamaha not too unlike the all-
new Suzuki SV650 you see before you.
Every time I think of that burgundy bike
I remember why I love riding so much.
Two wheels, two cylinders and a straight
handlebar. It was simplicity at its artful
finest.
An hour into my ride on the new SV650
I can't help but feel transported back to
that time when I had a full head of hair
and my only responsibility was trying to
swindle some poor sucker into buying me
booze that night. Life was easy then; way
easier than now.
Bikes seem to have become more
complicated in an exact parallel line to
the goings on in my life. Traction control
landed about the same time as my first
mortgage, wheelie control about the time
of my engagement; launch control about
the time I moved to the U.S. So every time
I get on a bike with none of the above, I
feel a funny sort of peace, and remember
Richard Carlson's great book Don't Sweat
The Small Stuff, and it's all small stuff.
e Suzuki
SV650 is back
and returning
to its roots as
a bike that
can do almost
anything you
ask of it
HELLO OLD
FRIEND!
BY RENNIE SCAYSBROOK
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ADAM CAMPBELL
