[Tiebot1981]

So, my roommate (Bret) and I were talking about bikes and we started talking about Hyosung..

I've read some reviews and I wanted to know other peoples take on the matter.

Is Hyosung a good bike?
Anybody test one out?
How is the handle?
How is the performance?

This is more of a curious type of question and wanna know peoples experience.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[-knucklehead-]

theyve been around for a few years - girl i know has a 650gt. theyre not bad. id personally never get one.... i guess its like comparing true religion jeans to like walmart brand.

theyre cheaper for a reason - no large rep like the bigger companies, and lower quality components used .

i just read a comparison between the 250's from kawi, honda and hyosung - it fared pretty decent actually .

 

[03Black636]

They suck.

They have horrible reliability.

They have no dealer network, therefore almost no warranty coverage.

They don't compare, value or content wise to the Big 4 from Japan.

 

[ZX6RRNewbie]

All I know is what I've read in Sport Rider Magazine's article:

Kawasaki Ninja 250R, Honda CBR250R & Hyosung GT250R - New Beginnings | 250cc Comparison Test

 

[03Black636]

I've heard of them randomly grenading engines.

 

[Tiebot1981]

I've read some of the reviews and they were "meh" and they said it was okay type of bike. I had some people say positive things and some negative things. At lease I know I can ask you guys on what your thoughts where.

Well...that answered my questions

Thanks guys

 

[-knucklehead-]

All I know is what I've read in Sport Rider Magazine's article:

Kawasaki Ninja 250R, Honda CBR250R & Hyosung GT250R - New Beginnings | 250cc Comparison Test

thats the one i read

 

[Deyeme]

I just fixed up a scooter of unknown Made-In-China brand. Secretary's friend bought a pair ($1000/ea.), let them sit for a year, and then they wouldn't start. So he decides to give them away, and I said I was interested, and picked one of them up (yay for hitch-mounted motorcycle carriers!).

Took the thing home, and had my son help me look at it. Found out that in addition to a bad battery (to be expected) some of the vacuum lines were cracked and dry rotted- and it was only a couple years old! Replaced the bad vacuum hoses with silicone, and it started right up.

I wouldn't expect a Kawasaki, Honda, or other reliable name-brand vehicle to have hoses that did this after just a couple years, even if it had been neglected.

Hyosung is South Korean, and not Chinese, though, and I've been impressed with the increased quality of Kia automobiles during the past decade.

 

[EtyrnuSS]

Used to have one of the 250rs. Handling was great, good bike to learn on. Acceleration was comparable to the Ninja 250. Felt more like a "real" sportbike due to the riding position. Got an average of 60 mpg.

The bad: Parts, support. You can wait a month for a clutch cable, 3 for a starter. Had the rear drive hub trash it's bearing twice over 10k miles. Maybe I over torqued, but partly bad design.

If you can pick one up for REAL cheap, I'd say maybe. They would be great if the company would actually get the support and availability into the market.

 

[Glocken]

they remind of of hyundai of back then

 

[zachcollins1950]

They are junk. Kawi all the way baby

 

[shadowspiyre99]

hyosungs are like what kia is to the auto industry, crappy at first,then after a few years a little bit better but still crappy lol

 

[joonyaboy]

They are the best of the non-japanese Asian bikes. But I wouldn't mess with one. Our customers have a harder time finding parts and there is not nearly as much support for aftermarket. Resale sucks on them

 

[J_Fuggin_T]

they would be the bike to most likely be found in walmart

 

[Tonymac]

Crap!

 

[EtyrnuSS]

And another note, if you want to get owners' perspectives, the forum for them is korider.com

 

[sshumast]

power and performance wise, they are comparable to the 250r, but reliability is not there. Expect to have the bike on stands every month repairing something. When you buy a bike, you want to ride it more than have it spend time on stands repairing it, with hyosung, your going to spend more time fixing it than riding it.

 

[Ninja Guy]

Like anything else, you pay for what you get. Plain and simple.

 

[Sev]

Hyosung is a SV650 motor that's been shoehorned into a frame that has been modified just enough to not infringe on copyrights. The designer/engineer of the SV650 motor held/holds the patents too it, so when he went to the new Korean (Hyosung) company he took that with him. The 250 is a sleeved down version of the 650.

So what you're basically getting is a SV650/250 faired or naked that has been built in Korea, this is not awful but it is not bad. Reason being, Hyosung has not focused on "turn-key" quality. Which is to say they are not as reliable as a similar (SV650) bike. The attention to detail is not as tight, and the assembly tolerances are not a good. I assume that on a Japanese bike for example the fastener torque tolerances are very carefully tested and show the results of 30+ years of development. The Korean bikes do not seem to have this background knowledge/wisdom when it comes to the production of their units.


If you're looking to save some money on initial purchase I do not believe that a Hyosung would be a bad idea, but similar to early Ducati's you will need to learn to work on it yourself if you want to save any money. Investing in a good socket/wrench set and a bottle of loctite would not be an erroneous purchase either as you will likely want to go through the bike with a fine-toothed comb.

I wonder how many SV650 parts are a direct bolt-over...

 

[Jeff in Kentucky]

It is worth sitting on it, just to compare, but generally the Asians lower the price by lowering the reliability- lower monthly payments, but you need to budget for more repairs later. Here is one review for their 650cc sportbike:

Model Review: Hyosung GT 650 R