REVIEW: Hyosung GT250- R
Someone who knows the Indian Motorcycle industry for the past 10 years would’ve heard about the name Hyosung. Back in 2004 Kinetic collaborated with Hyosung, a South Korean Motorcycle manufacturer and released their multi cylinder 250cc machines in India called the Comet GT250 and then the Aquila 250 ,which was a cruiser. The air/oil cooled 75 degree V Twin 250cc engine produced 27 bhp and 20 odd Nm torque.
It enjoyed premium status for some years until finally Kinetic ended the partnership and Hyosung went back home.
Year 2011, Hyosung hits Indian shores again. Now in partnership with Garware. They first focused their attention on the niche super bike market and released their 650 cc machines.
Later Real estate giant DSK group acquired Garware’s partnership and brought the once forgotten 250 back. Now in an all new avatar with an “R” badge. The GT250- R uses the same old air/oil cooled V Twin engine but now with the addition of Fuel Injection and an all new exterior.
Looks are subjective but ask anyone-The 250 R is THE best looking 250 cc Currently in India, with a Ducati 999ish front end and True SBK size, it is intimidating and is guaranteed to draw attention from the crowd. The large 150 section rear tire is the biggest of the 250′s. One quick look and most of them wouldn’t differentiate between the GT250 the bigger 650.
The paint job is stunning. The two tone color scheme on our test GT attracted all the crowd. The forks are painted in gloss black. I would personally prefer the gold anodizing like on the old comet GT250 though.
The exhaust has the usual matte black treatment which is the only matte color bit on the 250,the end can is chromium plated and is possibly the only thing on the bike that looks out of place.
The switch gear-while not the best is all pretty neat. Plastic quality is fairly modest.
The right side switch gear houses the usual kill switch, headlight switch and the starter button. The other feature on the right side is the adjustable brake lever. Guys with smaller hands will benefit from such a feature.
The left side switch gear houses a low/high beam switch, a pass button, an indicator switch and the horn button.
This is by no means a small machine. It has the longest wheelbase, Longest overall length, tallest overall height, and the highest ground clearance of the bunch. The tank is so huge that it looks like it can hold 20 ltrs while it only holds 17! The clip ons are, like on an supersports/superbike fixed on the inverted forks. The handlebar reach is also longer than the other 250′s.
The seating position is highly sporty. Not so extreme as a Supersport 600, but comparable. The rearsets are 3 position adjustable. So if you want it to be even more sportier, set the them higher.
The digital/analogue dash looks a bit too simple. But a nice feature is that the brightness is adjustable. The seat height is also tall for an average sized Indian. At 32.5 inches the GT250R has the highest seat height of all the 250′s.
Anyone below 5’5″ or a shorter inseam will have a hard time managing the GT in Traffic. At a bulky 188 kg fully fueled it requires a bit of muscle to handle the GT at slow speeds.
Lighting duties are carried on by two 55 watt projector headlamps. It not only looks good, but offers better lighting than the other 250′s. The rear houses a led tail lamp. The grab rails are not only stylish but also usable.
The pillion seat is set higher, so for a pillion the grab rails will be a boon.
See how the Hyosung rides and stack up against the competition in the next few pages (See below)
- Hyosung Aquila GV 250: Detailed Tech Specs Leaked – Indian Cars Bikes
- Hyosung Comet GT250 Tested – Team-BHP
- Hyosung ST-E3 Electric Scooter Coming to America 2011 — Motorcycle Magazine
- 2012 Hyosung GT250R India Review and Test Ride
- Kinetic Hyosung Comet GT250 – Shooting star
