Suzuki Gladius 2012

If you read a trade review of a Gladius I can promise 2 things. The first is that it will say somewhere "ideal first big bike", the second is that it will refer to budget/economy brakes. We'll tackle those in a minute.

The Gladius takes Suzuki's superb water-cooled 650cc V-twin and puts it in a touring/commuter chassis (the SV650s is available for those who want the sporty option). And it is that magnificent engine that is the start; bullet-proof, idiot-proof, oil-tight, good power output and superb power delivery. Oh, and 65 mpg in my case.

With it's trellis frame, swooping sculpted looks and low-slung elliptical headlight you'd swear it was made in Italy. Clocks and gauges etc are well-appointed, including a hazard warning switch and a gear indicator- very useful. OK there is no fuel guage, but most of them are wildly inaccurate anyway. All you do is zero one of the tripmeters and fill the tank up, toddle around till the low fuel light comes on (you've still got about half a gallon left) then go and fill up; check the tripmeter and see how far you got on that fill-up, and that's your range. Fill up, and zero the tripmeter again.

The brakes and suspension are absolutely fine, they are what is fitted to 99% of what is out there apart from the very latest sports bikes. They do what they are meant to.

Ideal for a first big bike? Well, the Gladius is reliable, responsive, has good performance, easy handling and good balance and chuckability(and very strong torque), isn't too bothered about which gear you're in, and has absolutely no quirks or foibles. BUT it is deceptively quick, inasmuch as it is quite possible to be lulled into a false sense of security and legality by the relaxed "dooba dooba dooba" of the engine, sounds and feels like you're doing 50 but the speedo says a LOT more....And speaking of feeling, vibration is non-existent- a far cry from my Ducati 900ss years ago, which resembled a jackhammer.

In short- L love the Gladius. I've been riding bikes for over 40 years, and for all-round everyday usability it is supreme. Not as fast as , say, a Honda Hornet, but it is certainly no slouch (same weight as the Kwak ER6 but more BHP, and much stronger across the rev range...)and is an absolute joy.

Purchased in May for my wife who had passed her test in January.

It is a fabulous bike but a bit too 'lively' for her.

It sounds lovely & is willing to pull all the way up to licence threatening speeds, that is one of the issues as it possibly a step too far from her Yamaha 125.

Personally I think it is a great bike and the V-Twin sound is wonderfull and it has a lot of engine braking when rolling off the throttle.

Two bad points are:

The lack of a fuel gauge with only a blinking LED to inform you that you are on reserve and a trip meter that tells you how many miles you have done since going onto reserve.

The standard seat gives you a numb bumb that gets painfull after an hour or more.

The bike was fitted with a restrictor which is a black box fitted under the seat next to the battery which is very easy to swap out.

I can't blame the bike for my wifes lack of experience but I would not reccomend the Suzuki Gladius to someone who has recently passed their bike test.