Hyosung GT650R - WOW!!!

[stuartyboy]

Just back from a test ride on one for these and I am flabbergasted. Absolutely utterly flabbergasted. Cracking bike and looks really good from 10 feet away. Any closer and it looks a bit plasticky.

If my SVS handled anywhere near as good as this then I would still have it. It flies out the box. Has upside down forks and 3 level adjustable footrests. Full fairings, full compression adjustment on the front and its £3999 brand new. It's all Suzuki GSXR/SV switchgear apparently and it's a 650 90 degree twin. I think it's a direct copy of the sv engine they manufacture inhouse - sorry need to ask more about this. There's absolutely none of the boingy bouncy front end that I had on my SVs and it corners brilliantly. Turns really fast actually - maybe it was set up a bit on the nose down tail up side. But hey...I just couldn't believe how good this wee thing was. Came in with a big grin and the sales guy said I told you so. All the mechanics were raving about it. They're so impressed with it they have a couple they are modding for super stocks or something - didn't quite catch what he said. Looks a bit like a gixxer/cbr rr cross.

Bad points for me...the tank feels quite high and the clipons are a bit low - feels very race like position. Brakes left a bit to be desired and a bit plasticky on the finish. The LED speedo is green on black and not so nice to look at. Bit cluttered on the readout.

[SoulKiss]

Just back from a test ride on one for these and I am flabbergasted. Absolutely utterly flabbergasted. Cracking bike and looks really good from 10 feet away. Any closer and it looks a bit plasticky.

If my SVS handled anywhere near as good as this then I would still have it. It flies out the box. Has upside down forks and 3 level adjustable footrests. Full fairings, full compression adjustment on the front and its £3999 brand new. It's all Suzuki GSXR/SV switchgear apparently and it's a 650 90 degree twin. I think it's a direct copy of the sv engine they manufacture inhouse - sorry need to ask more about this. There's absolutely none of the boingy bouncy front end that I had on my SVs and it corners brilliantly. Turns really fast actually - maybe it was set up a bit on the nose down tail up side. But hey...I just couldn't believe how good this wee thing was. Came in with a big grin and the sales guy said I told you so. All the mechanics were raving about it. They're so impressed with it they have a couple they are modding for super stocks or something - didn't quite catch what he said. Looks a bit like a gixxer/cbr rr cross.

Bad points for me...the tank feels quite high and the clipons are a bit low - feels very race like position. Brakes left a bit to be desired and a bit plasticky on the finish. The LED speedo is green on black and not so nice to look at. Bit cluttered on the readout.

Dont forget that Hyosungs fall apart after a year or two......

Well at least they used to.

I got an email from Cupar Suzuki (on their mailing list) and couldnt believe they were selling these things. This makes me think that Hyosung must have raised their game if someone like Cupar Suzuki is willing to risk their name and reputation on selling them, and they actually have a reputation to lose. They are only about £500 less than an SV too.

Think its a case of "watch this space" for a year or two, but maybe Hyosung is ready to take on the Japanese guys now.

[Colby]

And a really low re-sale value....

[Steve H]

Strange, 3 separate comparison tests between the Comet and SV in reputable magazines all said that the SV was still worth the extra financial outlay.
One test had riders, ride heavily camouflaged models back to back and all
four preferred the Suzuki.
Does look o.k for the money though.

[stuartyboy]

I agree the quality didn't look that great...but I was seriously impressed by the handling. Better than my SV.

I also remember that test but it wasn't the gt650r IIRC. No way the quality's as good as the SV - would never say that. It was all about the handling for me.

I was dubious before testing it but just goes to show how wrong I was. Went in thinking it would be crap but far from it. Wouldn't buy one though unless I knew the reliability was gonna be there in a couple of years. Who knows they might earn a good reputation.

[malks]

someone up the road from me has one of these. dont know him, but i really wish he would put some sort of can back on it! been ripping around on this thing with no exhaust! proper loud!!!

[Steve H]

I agree the quality didn't look that great...but I was seriously impressed by the handling. Better than my SV.

I also remember that test but it wasn't the gt650r IIRC. No way the quality's as good as the SV - would never say that. It was all about the handling for me.

I was dubious before testing it but just goes to show how wrong I was. Went in thinking it would be crap but far from it. Wouldn't buy one though unless I knew the reliability was gonna be there in a couple of years. Who knows they might earn a good reputation.

Same bike with a full fairing and a flash name, as I understand it.

[gettin2dizzy]

I had a hyosung and will back the comments made about resale value and quality. They're impossible to sell at any price! Why? because after a year of owning one it just falls to bits. The metal just snaps without any abuse, paint falls off within weeks.... I thought maybe Hyosung had upped the quality for this model, and i saw one at the show. Looked impressive from a distance- but the paint was already coming off all over, on a bike with 0 miles on the clock! As for handling, every report states the SV is better. It wouldn't surprise me if the setup was just better for you, or the Hyosung had better tyres. I've heard abysmal things about the brakes

[northwind]

I agree the quality didn't look that great...but I was seriously impressed by the handling. Better than my SV.


I want a go on one... I think the suspension components are cruder, from what I've seen of them, but a bit better specced- slightly stiffer springs and thicker oil, ie, what loads of us do to SVs anyway, just done for us. Just common sense that, Suzuki should do the same. I did ride one of the very early Comet 650s but I think it was broken, just a total mess of a bike.

[Cloggsy]

http://www.psndealer.com/powersportsdlr/images/NewVehicles/NV25997_2.jpg

Looks alright too... Think it looks a bit like a Trumpet 595/'tona to me...

[injury_ian]

One test had riders, ride heavily camouflaged models back to back and all
four preferred the Suzuki.

If anyone has a scan of this it would be nice if you could post it :smt023

[GeeMac]

If anyone has a scan of this it would be nice if you could post it :smt023

I read that article somewhere and, sorry, can't remember where either :(

IIRC they masked the bikes and made the testers guess which was the SV and which was the Hyosung...a few got them wrong too :)

[RandyO]

the engine is similar in design , but not the same engine (647cc vs 645cc)

the forks are just that, UPside DOWN :confused: bling?, they are still crappy damper rod forks with poor fit and finish, do not confuse them with hi tech cartridge USD forks you see on more expensive sportbikes

the frame has steel where the SV has aluminum, the hyosung weighs 30-40 kg more than the SV

[Rich]

i just got the BIKE magazine through the post today and theres a short write up comparing the "curvey SVs" with the new "GT650S." Garry Mears has the GT and thinks it should whip the SV, considering the SV is six years old (the one hes on). Martin Fitz-Gibbons whos on the SV thinks the same until they join each other for a ride and discover the SV is still on top. When they swapped bikes Garry Mears says (i quote from BIKE)

Garry not riding the SV at this point, he says "it soon becomes apparent the suzuki is alot better than what i'd anticipated - i'm having to use the (hyosung) engine right to the limit just to keep up and i'm braking earlier, feeling rather disapointed" he asks Martin Fitz-Gibbons for a ride on the SV!!!

This is what he said next, "With a handful of throttle my heart sinks: the SV feels fitter everywhere and, grabbing the brakes, it slows down alot quicker aswell."

But they go back to the office to check the specs and find the Hyosung weighing in at 190kg, 21kg's heavier than the SV. So the handling issues make sense!!!

I still prefer the SV!!! :roll:

[Stig]

the forks are just that, UPside DOWN :confused: bling?, they are still crappy damper rod forks with poor fit and finish, do not confuse them with hi tech cartridge USD forks you see on more expensive sportbikes


That's pretty much what I was going to say. :lol:

[Endellion]

Doesn't look all that nice compared to a pointy

[Stu]

Doesn't look all that nice compared to a pointy
What!!!!! That full fairing looks fantastic compared with the SV half fairing or half fairing with stuck on lowers that a blind man running for a bus could see the join. And that can looks way better than the standard can.
The rearsets look like proper aftermarket ones. It almost already has a tail tidy compared to the Sv's snow shovel, and you don't need to fit a double bubble looking at that screen.

are you comparing it to Chewy's pointy or what?

Just wish Suzuki made it.

[Endellion]

What!!!!! That full fairing looks fantastic compared with the SV half fairing or half fairing with stuck on lowers that a blind man running for a bus could see the join. And that can looks way better than the standard can.
The rearsets look like proper aftermarket ones. It almost already has a tail tidy compared to the Sv's snow shovel, and you don't need to fit a double bubble looking at that screen.

are you comparing it to Chewy's pointy or what?

Just wish Suzuki made it.

Stu,

IMHO it looks like someone has broken its nose, the front of the fairing is all squashed, no wonder the screens so high. The decals scream "MUCH CHEAPNESS", the frame looks a bit wierd, the wheels look cr**, the swingarm...is there one I can't quite see it?

On the plus I concur the exhaust looks better than the standard one on the SV but for the price difference, I'll take the suzuki thx.

Each to their own

[kwak zzr]

this bike did catch my eye at last years NEC show but as others have said "how long will it stay looking that good?"

[gettin2dizzy]

I recognise so so many of the components from my gt125 comet. And they were shoddy!

[SV225]

If you're wondering about quality, BIKE magazine have a GT650S as a long term test bike :batman:

[The Basket]

Looks good but the SV is sold by Cupar S at the same price. So no real reason to buy it over the SV.

[Stu]

Stu,

IMHO it looks like someone has broken its nose, the front of the fairing is all squashed, no wonder the screens so high. The decals scream "MUCH CHEAPNESS", the frame looks a bit wierd, the wheels look cr**, the swingarm...is there one I can't quite see it?

On the plus I concur the exhaust looks better than the standard one on the SV but for the price difference, I'll take the suzuki thx.

Each to their own
I agree with everything you say, except I quite like the snub nose.
I just think there's lessons that Suzuki could learn, but it's as if they don't want to make the SV so good as to put people off from buying a GSXR

[kitkat]

looks ok. i would need to paint over the name on the tank though, what a horrible name. but stuarty were you able to pull in the clutch?

[Sid Squid]

Yawn.

It's a motorbike. Don't like it? Then don't buy it.

SV good all else baaaaaaaaad, baa baa...

I remember when I was very young and it was asked: "How daft is a name like Sooozoooki?" cue laughs.

[stuartyboy]

looks ok. i would need to paint over the name on the tank though, what a horrible name. but stuarty were you able to pull in the clutch?

I did indeed. Wishing I hadn't now. Went out later to test ride a kwak and this finished me off. Arm completely numb afterwards and I've aggrivated the injury.

I agree with what everyone's saying about the quality. Yuk. Yes the shocks look like smarty tubes but at least they had damping. Methinks the guys have spent a wee bit of time setting it up. No idea what the standard settings would be like. All I can tell you is on my SV on the same stretch of road it was like hanging on to a bouncy catsle.

Still like everyone else I've no idea how long the suspension, paintwork, bodywork etc would last..

[Fizzy Fish]

paint falls off within weeks.... I thought maybe Hyosung had upped the quality for this model, and i saw one at the show. Looked impressive from a distance- but the paint was already coming off all over, on a bike with 0 miles on the clock!

OMG could it be true that someone makes a bike with worse paint finish than Suzuki??

[redlavachips]

i was goin buy a hyosung GT250R ( same thing really) but the avalibility of parts wasnt good so i didnt and now im glad i didnt if its that bad :P and i love my sv so....... :smt040

[The Basket]

I always liked the ER-6. But it is more or less the same bike as the SV. Same as the Hyosung. Why sell a SV and buy the Korean version?

And I sold my SV because it wasn't in the end my type of bike. Neither will the ER or Hyosung be.

I'm looking at least 100 horses just to keep me interested.

[PeterM]

Have a mate who works as a mechanic in a dealer that sells the Hyosungs. Wouldn't **** on them if they were on fire.

He has a huge list of things they find wrong/broken straight out of the crate. Ovbious things like timing being 180 deg out etc. Quality and finish is ****e too. The engines are nothing alike either, the Hyos are jetted very lean with rich needles, but the plus side is they do use the same 39mm Mikuni bodies that the curvy SVs do.

[Ceri JC]

Did that gorgeous naked bike based around the hyosung 650 frame/engine (think it was called the "bazooka") ever come out? I really liked the aesthetics of that...

[northwind]

THere was 2 mooted, from Italjet... Never saw 'em again. Shame, the Bazooka was a big fugly but the other one was sweet.

[Ceri JC]

THere was 2 mooted, from Italjet... Never saw 'em again. Shame, the Bazooka was a big fugly but the other one was sweet.

Yes, those are the ones. You're dead wrong about the Bazooka being less than gorgeous though.
Futuristic cafe racer = :smt055

[northwind]

Fugly:

http://www.francanna.com/public/italjet650.jpg

Mmm:

http://www.korider.com/img/grifon1.jpg[/URL]
[URL="http://www.francanna.com/public/italjet650.jpg"] (http://www.korider.com/img/grifon1.jpg)

[SVeeedy Gonzales]

The problem with the Hyosung seems to be down to the weight. Whilst the riders reckon it excels in most areas, it's so much heavier (20% or so) than the SV that it suffers in acceleration and braking. I wouldn't bother for a £500 saving on new. Plus there are some good deals on new/nearly new SVs out there that reduce the price difference even more. And if you ever want to sell it on, there's no contest as to which will hold it's price better.

They'll be better in a few more years if they chip away at it, they still have some way to go. About 30kg.

[stewie]

Fugly:

http://www.francanna.com/public/italjet650.jpg

Mmm:

http://www.korider.com/img/grifon1.jpg

Reminds me of a Ducati monster

[Grinch]

I loves spoked wheels...

[GeeMac]

Short comparison article in this month's Bike or Ride (can't remember which as I was flicking through it!)...had 2 chaps on the SV and GT then swapped them round...SV came out a much better all round bike.

So yay SV

Boo GT

:)