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2011 Hyosung GT650 vs. Suzuki Gladius Shootout
 

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2011 Hyosung GT650 vs. Suzuki Gladius Shootout

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"Hyosung vs. Gladius"...

Sounds like an old B&W Japanese monster movie.

Godzilla vs Mothra has got nothing on this pair! :)

Well, this is the shootout I've been waiting for! This should stimulate more heated debate than Egg Salad & Grape Nehi versus PBJ & a Juicebox.

Here Kitty Kitty...
 

Never ridden a Gladius, but I did ride a friend's SV650 (with a nice sounding Leo Vince can on it) quite a bit. The Suzuki 650 twin is indeed a gem of an engine. Torquey and smooth, and very rev happy.

I found the SV650 so enjoyable, so easy to use and punchy, that I nearly ran over the neighbor's cat while riding a long hanging feathery throttle balanced rocking chair kick butt 2nd gear wheelie down my friend's street on it. Years of dirt riding has taught me that sudden corrective moves while engaging in stupid squidly riding tends to end badly, so when I was confronted with said cat, I simply stayed smoothly on the gas and hoped for the best, figuring I might be dealing with a squirelly rear end upon cat splattage. Fortunately that did not happen and it all worked well out for everyone, cat included.

Such is the way of the SV. It is all good. :D

Nice article, and you were right about the Gladius ... Girls Bike!!!
I ride a Ducati Monster. The Gladius is a cheap plastic wanna-be. Even my friend, a Suzuki salesman, is embarrased to have it on his showroom floor.

I know the Gladius was named after sword, but Suzuki missed the boat on this one. Throwing in the light blue color and with the styling, well... Let's just say I'd be willing to bet they aren't flying off showroom floors at record pace.

Suzuki Gladius = New Coke, taking something great and trying to make something "new" and "different".

They may have wished they just kept the naked SV around instead of investing in the Gladius makeover. I haven't seen them around much, and the SV was a better bike. But the Glad's still a really fun bike.

Monster fans should stay tuned for Pete's test of the new 1100 EVO in a couple of weeks.

Women buy more Monsters than any other model of Ducati. Now what?

I've heard the sales of the Gladius are abysmal. How can Suzuki be so far off the mark with their marketing analysis? A 10 year-old could have told them that "Gladius" is a dumb name for a US motorcycle.

I had a conversation with Suzuki's US marketing rep at the Daytona Convention Center. I asked him to put the wild success of the Tenere, Tigers, and other large-displacement dual sport bikes in context with the apparent end of the DL1000. Suzuki had a 9 year jump on that market segment, but they couldn't capitalize on it.

One of these college kids who posts helmet surveys should study that question instead. Thesis title:

"Suzuki: Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory"