All New Suzuki Gladius

Never mind that Suzuki's newest middleweight V-twin has a slightly fey name, its moniker referring to a short, stubby little sword favoured by Roman soldier. Similarly ignore for just for a moment longer the fact that the Gladius is by any estimation extremely "well put together." No, what you really need to know is that the new Gladius is very much based on Suzuki's enormously successful SV650, the quintessential beginner's bike that also doubles as everything from a touring mount to a quasi-serious race bike.

Originally sold as a runabout of modest performance and expense for those who had outgrown their first motorcycle, Suzuki's 645-cubic-centimetre V-twin quickly found a following among the sporty set. They thought that with the simple addition of a performance exhaust system and some relatively easy suspension fiddling, the little Suzuki could seriously intimidate supposedly more sporting machinery. Indeed, in one of Team Rigor Mortis' race track comparisons, the SV triumphed over more sporting weapons up to and including a 1,000-cc superbike. It has become the ultimate learner bike - easy enough to deal with while learning to ride and able to grow with you as one becomes more experienced. There was even a single-marque racing series to emphasize its universal appeal.

The one charge easily levelled at the SV, however, is that of its pedestrian styling. Whether outfitted with a fairing or  naked with just a super-bike handlebar, the SV was the very epitome of blandness. So, for 2009, the SV lineup grows to include the European-flavoured Gladius. Definitely Suzuki's take on Ducati's famous Monster, the Gladius design  was penned in Europe - the Japanese firm finally discovering that the best way to emulate its competitors is to hire some of them.

So, what we have is a trellis frame a la the Monster, a swoopy BMW-like headlight, sexy two-tone paint and an exhaust that looks as if it was liberated from an old Bimota DB3 Mantra. Imagine the staid old SV650 as the girl next door and the Gladius as the decidedly foxier Megan Fox who moves on to the street. On initial inspection, they really are that different.

Underneath the skin, however, they are far more similar. Although Suzuki claims the power band had been extended to even lower rpm, the 645-cc V-twin feels much the same. That's not a bad thing as the middleweight has plenty of mid-range power. There may be only 70 horsepower on tap, but they are healthy.
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