This nameplate appeared in Suzuki’s middleweight roadster lineup as a fresh, more style-focused evolution of the company’s long-running 645cc V-twin street bike family. Suzuki introduced it at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show as an export model, presenting it as a naked roadster with a new identity rather than simply a cosmetic update to the earlier SV series. The Gladius name comes from the Roman short sword, and Suzuki used that theme to frame the bike as compact, balanced, and easy to handle.
In practice, it served as Suzuki’s modernized SV650-era naked bike for many markets. It retained the familiar 90-degree V-twin layout that had already earned the SV family a strong reputation for tractable power, while adopting more rounded styling, a distinct trellis-style frame, and a more contemporary urban-roadster image. Suzuki later continued to market the model in some countries as the Gladius 650 ABS, including export and regional sales in the early 2010s.
The nameplate remained in production until Suzuki replaced it with a revived SV650 for the 2016 model year. That means the Gladius 650’s history is a single continuous production run, beginning in 2009 and ending in 2015. Enthusiasts often view it as the transitional generation between the original SV650 roadster and the later, lighter SV650 revival, with the Gladius serving as the most style-led interpretation of Suzuki’s middleweight V-twin formula.