Suzuki SV-7GX (2026) – Technical Review

Suzuki’s SV650 has been a versatile all-rounder for more than quarter of a century – a first ‘big’ bike for countless new riders and handy addition to experienced owners’ fleets that’s appeared in a variety of naked and part-faired forms over the decades since its 1999 launch. For 2026 the SV title reemerges on the new SV-7GX with a tall, crossover stance and its sights set firmly on rivals like the Yamaha Tracer 7, but the same essential SV650 DNA running under its new skin.

Pros & Cons

2026 Suzuki SV-7GX - Price & PCP Deals

Many industry-watchers have been expecting Suzuki’s aged SV650 platform, built around the company’s 645cc V-twin engine, to quietly shuffle off into the sunset after 2025. The SV650 itself and the related V-Strom 650 weren’t updated to Euro5+ technical regs that came into force at the start of the year and have been sold under end-of-life ‘derogation’ rules since then, and with the new 776cc parallel twin platform spreading from the GSX-8S to the GSX-8R, V-Strom 800, GSX-8T and GSX-8TT, it seemed the logical successor to the SV and all its spinoff models.

The appearance of the new SV-7GX, then, comes as a surprise, with Suzuki not only tweaking the age-old V-twin to meet Euro5+ but slipping it into a new-look machine that competes in a category that the company’s 776cc parallel twin bikes don’t yet compete in.

Prices haven’t been revealed yet, but a glance at the competition in the form of Triumph’s £8995 Tiger Sport 660, Kawasaki’s £7899 Versys 650, Yamaha’s £8804 Tracer 7 and Honda’s £8399 NC750X gives a pretty clear indication that we’ll be looking at something within a few hundred quid either way of the £8-and-a-half mark.

Three colour options are on the table, with the white-and-blue version surely set to account for the lion’s share of sales. Alternatives include the ‘Glass Sparkle Black’ with blue wheels, and the rather unusual ‘Pearl Matte Greige’ which, as is sounds, is a mix between grey and beige, allied to red rims.

2026 Suzuki SV-7GX - Engine & Performance

Don’t be fooled by that prominent ‘7’ in the SV-7GX’s name, Suzuki hasn’t messed with the 81mm bore and 62.6mm stroke that was established back in 1999 with the original SV650, giving it a 645cc capacity that’s retained for the new bike.

The engine’s peak outputs of 72.4hp (54kW) at 8,500rpm and 47.2lb-ft (64Nm) at 6,800rpm are all but identical to the numbers boasted by the SV650 for more than 20 years, but that’s not to say there aren’t changes to the engine for the SV-7GX, because it’s been given a revamp to comply with the latest set of emissions regulations.

Those changes include new intakes controlled by ride-by-wire electronic throttle bodies, meaning the motor can take advantage of modern rider-assist technologies including traction control and an array of power modes, as well as a bi-directional quickshifter for the six-speed box. There’s a new exhaust, too, with additional oxygen sensors to monitor the performance of the catalytic converter, as required by Euro5+.

The ‘Suzuki Drive Mode Selector’ (SDMS) system gives three throttle maps: Active, Basic and Comfort (A, B and C, geddit?), with the first giving the sharpest response, the middle offering a halfway-house setup, and the last softening the throttle and limiting peak power to 45kW (60.3hp).

The standard-fit quickshifter allows clutchless upshifts as long as you’re above 2,000rpm, and downshifts above 1700rpm, while Suzuki’s Easy Start System and Low RPM Assist – as used on several other models – allows one-touch starting and helps prevent stalling.

2026 Suzuki SV-7GX - Handling & Suspension (inc. Weight)

Like the engine the SV-7GX’s main chassis structure has been adopted straight from the SV650, using the same tubular steel trellis design that  the SV introduced back in 2017 to replace the earlier models’ cast aluminium frame.

The rear subframe is designed specifically with luggage-lugging in mind, so it’s strong enough for panniers and passengers.

When it comes to the suspension, the SV-7GX doesn’t go down the route of flash-looking upside-down forks, instead sticking with basic 41mm right-way-up units derived from the SV650’s parts. There’s no adjustability, but Suzuki claims the springing and damping favours comfort, but retains the SV650’s sportiness. The rear uses a simple, square-section swingarm bolted to a monoshock with seven steps of adjustable preload.

The brake parts are, again, borrowed from the SV650, with axial-mounted Tokico four-pot calipers on dual 290mm discs, along with a 240mm rear disc and single-pot caliper, with ABS at both ends, of course.

Not taken from the SV650 are the wheels, which are a new 10-spoke design. Like rivals in this high-riding, road-oriented sports-touring ‘crossover’ class, they’re both 17-inches in diameter, with a 120/70-17 front and 160/60-17 rear tyre, Suzuki opting for Pirelli Angel GT II rubber as standard.

With more bodywork than the SV650, the SV-7GX inevitably weighs more, coming in at 211kg ready-to-go, up from 200kg for its naked predecessor.

2026 Suzuki SV-7GX - Comfort & Economy

The SV-7GX’s riding position is designed to split the difference between the SV650’s and the V-Strom 650s, with tapered aluminium bars, 740mm wide, set 17mm higher and 24mm further back than the SV650’s, while the pegs are 10mm lower. It’s still a much sportier setup than the V-Strom, though.

An extra 10mm of seat padding means the SV-7GX’s seat sits the same amount higher than the SV650’s, but still slides under the 800mm mark at 795mm. The V-twin engine helps keep the bike narrow, of course, making it easy to reach the ground.

Where the SV-7GX really moves away from the SV650 roots is in the bodywork, with a tall, adjustable screen – there are three settings and a 50mm range of movement – and wind tunnel-sculpted aerodynamics intended to reduce buffeting. In keeping with the adventure-ish look of the new breed of road-oriented ‘crossover’ bikes, there are handguards as standard.

The touring intentions are further emphasised by the bike’s 17.4-litre tank, 2.9 litre more than the SV650’s 14.5 litre unit but still designed to be slim. At a claimed 67.3mpg, that’s enough for more than 250 miles on each tankful of unleaded.

The 2026 Suzuki SV-7GX laden with official extras

2026 Suzuki SV-7GX - Equipment

Suzuki’s rider interface is based around a small 4.2-inch colour TFT display with phone connectivity that shows details of calls, texts and music but also turn-by-turn navigation, calendar schedules and weather, including alerts for incoming bad weather and traffic congestion.

With your phone playing such an integral role in the TFT’s functions, a USB-C charge port is a welcome addition.

While the Suzuki steers clear of more advanced tech like cornering lamps, it uses full LED lighting with a single, central projector lamp providing both high and low beams and two slim strips of LEDs as DRLs, one on each side.

2026 Suzuki SV-7GX - Rivals

Suzuki staked a claim to the ‘crossover’ market with the larger GSX-S1000GX+, but it’s clear that a growing number of manufacturers have been increasingly pursuing the idea of road-only bikes with 17-inch wheels paired to high-rise styling borrowed from adventure bikes. It’s a logical move, given the popularity of adventure bikes with riders who never take them off the asphalt, and as such there’s no shortage of competition with a similar approach.

Yamaha Tracer 7 - The Tracer 7 is perhaps the SV-7GX’s closest competitor and a tough package to beat. It matches the Suzuki’s power, while offering slightly more torque and a fraction less weight, and for 2026 can be had with Yamaha’s Y-AMT semi-auto transmission, too.

Triumph Tiger Sport 660 - With a characterful triple and more power than rival twins, the Tiger Sport 660 is another serious rival to the SV-7GX, with on-road intentions despite the Tiger name’s history with adventure models.

Kawasaki Versys 650 - The affordable option in the array of rivals, the Versys 650 is often seen as a V-Strom 650 rival but actually shares the 17-inch front and rear wheel setup of the new ‘crossover’ breed, despite being an older design. A bit less performance and a fraction more weight than the best in class, but a sub-£8k price tag means it’s easier on the wallet.

Yamaha Tracer 7 | Price: £8,804

Read more

Power/Torque

72.4bhp / 50.2lb-ft

Weight

203kg

Triumph Tiger Sport 660 | Price: £8,995

Read more

Power/Torque

81bhp / 47lb-ft

Weight

207kg

Kawasaki Versys 650 | Price: £7,899

Read more

Power/Torque

65.7bhp / 45lb-ft

Weight

219kg

2026 Suzuki SV-7GX - Verdict

Suzuki has a history of achieving remarkable things with off-the-shelf parts, creating new models from a limited array of components, and the SV-7GX looks like the latest machine to adopt that approach. Old or not, the SV650 that donates its major organs to the new machine has been a remarkable success story for over quarter of a century, so there’s good reason to believe the SV-7GX will continue in that vein.

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2026 Suzuki SV-7GX - Technical Specification

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