Korean "V-Rod"

[Diane_N]

On my daily commute, I pass by a cycle shop that has a cool-looking V-rod style bike parked out front. I finally stopped for a closer look, and it turns out to be a Korean wannabe…a Hyosung Avitar… sheesh, that’s one purty bike… a 650, and seat low enuf for me to flatfoot it…

Anyone have experience with Hyosung? (well, at least it ain’t Chinese…)

[The Raven]

There was a great quote in last month's Cycle World from Jay Leno when he saw a GT650R and asked how much it cost. The reply came back, fifty bucks more than an SV650, to which Leno replied "So why would you bother?" or something like that... The GV650 you're referring to, on the other hand, the styling is intriguing, I'll say that, but 440 lbs. dry, vs the SVs 362? Cue Mr. Leno. However, it's a damn sight better than the V-rod's 595 lbs.

[Missy B]

The GV650 you're referring to, on the other hand, the styling is intriguing, I'll say that, but 440 lbs. dry, vs the SVs 362?

Why would you compare the Avitar to the SV?

Our used dealer is now a dealer for the new Hyosungs and I hafta say, they're pretty sharp looking bikes. I asked them how difficult it would be to get parts and they said the vendor has promised them in 24 hours.

They received one of the bikes damaged in the crate, sent out for a part, and sure enough, received it in the promised time.

Pretty cool, if you ask me.

I did see the Avitar in person and it's pretty sharp. The mirrors are really obnoxious, tho. We all agreed that they needed some aftermarket mirrors. LOL

[Chuck]

Hyosung is rapidly making a name for themselves here in the states. Hyosung Corporate is taking things very seriously as well. They immediately address issues with parts and warranty repairs as they know they have some very stiff competition with the major manufactures already here.

There's a couple website dedicated to Hysoung bikes. For the cruisers and slowly starting to get into the sport bikes you can visit Pride in what you ride and for "strictly" sport bikes you can visit KorRider.

I've been very impressed with Hyosung as I've been following them for about a year now. There's also an agreement with United Motors that they now carry a "rebadged" version of the Hysoung bikes. It's my understanding that they want to use UM's dealer network to increase sales here in the US.

You can check out the UM version of the hyosung bikes at United Motors website.

[midknyte]

On my daily commute, I pass by a cycle shop that has a cool-looking V-rod style bike parked out front....

It's about time this bike gets a nick-name. KROD anyone?

Hyosung is rapidly making a name for themselves here in the states.

Benefitting from sort of a viral buzz. They're filling a very big US market hole (intro level bikes).

There's also an agreement with United Motors that they now carry a "rebadged" version of the Hysoung bikes. It's my understanding that they want to use UM's dealer network to increase sales here in the US.

Yeah, but there's been flak about that on other boards. UM is a Chinese outfit with even less of a reputation.

[mrphdvr]

There was a great quote in last month's Cycle World from Jay Leno when he saw a GT650R and asked how much it cost. The reply came back, fifty bucks more than an SV650, to which Leno replied "So why would you bother?" or something like that... The GV650 you're referring to, on the other hand, the styling is intriguing, I'll say that, but 440 lbs. dry, vs the SVs 362? Cue Mr. Leno. However, it's a damn sight better than the V-rod's 595 lbs.

I haven't seen one yet but the articles I read a while back made it sound appealing. They have a 90 degree v-twin, belt drive and LEDs in all the lights. I definitely agree that the styling is nice. As for the parts, they have a warehouse in GA for all the Alphasports/Hyosungs that they offer here in the states.

[TJay]

Love the look! If I don't win the Night Rod from Quaker Steak and Lube tomorrow, I'll have to check this out. LOL

[Repeater]

There was a great quote in last month's Cycle World from Jay Leno when he saw a GT650R and asked how much it cost. The reply came back, fifty bucks more than an SV650, to which Leno replied "So why would you bother?" or something like that...

This is actually entirely misleading. When Cycle World compared the bikes, they compared the fully faired GT650R to a model of the SV650 with no fairings at all. There are both naked and half-faired versions of the GT650 to compare to the naked and half-faired versions of the SV650, but Cycle World is apparently a bit too dense to figure this out.

Directly from the respective manufacturers' websites:

Hyosung GT650 (naked) - $4999
Suzuki SV650 (naked) - $5949 ($950 more expensive than the Hyosung)

Hyosung GT650S (half-faired) - $5399
Suzuki SV650S (half-faired) - $6449 (a whopping $1050 more expensive than the Hyosung)

Hyosung GT650R (fully-faired) - $5899, actually still $550 cheaper than the half-faired SV650S. And with some crazy two-tone graphics package, it hits $6299, only $150 less expensive than the SV650S.

I have no idea where Cycle World got their numbers, but they're quite clearly jumbled up, and didn't bother to actually check any of their facts, or perhaps had very preliminary numbers, in which case, they should have issued a correction by now.

This all isn't to say that the Hyosung is as good a bike as the Suzuki, and from what I've heard, they're really not as good as the SV, but they are significantly cheaper, on a level-of-equipment basis. However, I have yet to hear of a firsthand, unbiased, non-sponsor-money-influenced writeup on the GT650 family of motorcycles. So I'll hold all judgement until I see one of those.

Lesson here - Hyosung is much, much cheaper than the Suzuki counterparts. And Cycle World sucks.

[Shadow Shack]

On my daily commute, I pass by a cycle shop that has a cool-looking V-rod style bike parked out front. I finally stopped for a closer look, and it turns out to be a Korean wannabe…a Hyosung Avitar… sheesh, that’s one purty bike… a 650, and seat low enuf for me to flatfoot it…

Anyone have experience with Hyosung? (well, at least it ain’t Chinese…)

It's not a wannabe, it's what all the big inch "power cruisers" want to be. 650cc motor puts out only marginally less power as the bikes sporting three+ times the displacement, and less weight to haul...you do the math as to which one's going to be faster. Throw in some inverted forks, triple disc brakes, and a belt drive (only the Road Star Warrior has all three) you get a lot of bang for very little buck.

One of the guys at the VLX forum got one this year and is having the time of his life with it, blowing away just about everything in cruiserdom (so far only lost out to a V-Max, natch...). He's eager to see how it stacks up to a V-Rod or a VTX now.

Oh yeah, don't go mocking the Koreans too soon. They've come a long way from the Hyundais of the 1980s. Last year they (Hyundai) made number three for the most reliable cars, right behind Honda (#2) and Toyota (#1).

[Galaxieman]

I sat on one of those things when Amanda was looking at bikes while we were visiting B'ham a couple of months back. The Koreans have really started getting their feces collinear when it comes to bikes & such. I saw a bunch of Hyosung bikes when I was over there, and though they all looked like they got tons of use, they all still ran like sewing machines. With the bits posted here about their being up to speed on getting parts, I'm definetly getting more interested in the GT250...