hyosung gt250r

im shopping for my first bike and ive sort of done the american thing and written off this bike because its not the little brother of my favorite name brand cycle maker. so realizing this mistake ive tried to find some reviews that arent overly opinionated, and theyre really arent any that ive found. if anyone's had any experience with this bike and knows it to be reliable or unreliable, how it is as a learner bike itd be much appreciated. of course the ninja is in the discussion does anyone have experience with both have sugestions or comments?  

I have a Triumph Sprint RS sportbike, just so you don't think I have any stake in Hyosung.  What I know is the weight shown in most articles is totally wrong.  It weighs around 370 lbs, which is a little heavier than the Kawi 250, but still very light for a full size motorcycle.  The 2009 models will have fuel injections, and the 2010 will have aluminum frames.  It does not have the same frame as their GT650R (welded pipe, similar to SV650).  The GT250R uses a less robust welded channel, much lighter for the smaller engine.  The engine is a 72 degree v-twin air cooled engine with an oil cooler (much like the Ducati Monster), and this engine has been around a long time with generally good reliability (most engine reports are on the GV250 cruiser).  The existing HP is 28, and the EFI engine will be just under 30.  The riding position is sportbike, with low clip on bars.  The rear suspension is mono gas shock (average quality), and the forks on the front are upside down (also average quality) neither have more than rebound adjustment.  The rider foot pegs are adjustable (3 positions?), the seat is moderately comfortable for normal type sportbike riding distances.  Every year they've made these, Hyosung has made a lot of improvement, mainly on feedback (ex: too soft forks, too soft shock, paint, etc.).  You'll have to wait awhile for resale numbers, simply because there are very few on the resale market right now.  Based on reports from England and Australia, they are creating a very good following, and a few of the testers have rated them high.  The MCN test on Youtube seems have a real validity problem, as Hyosung did not provide the bike for the test (info from Hyosung), and the problems they mentioned in the test are not typical for the 2007-2008 models (maybe they borrowed an earlier model one from friend who left it outside in rain for a while, it was in England).  Whatever, MCN did mention that the bike road and handled better than the new Kawi 250, but again I don't trust that review.  Something that doesn't get mentioned much is the tires available for the GT250R.  You can get the best radials in it's wheel size, whereas the Kawi 250, 500 and the Suzy 500 all have wheels that are made for bias tires.  I checked with the local dealers in my area that sells the other bikes, and each said they would not recommend putting any size radial sizes on those other bikes, and that's really important.  The local Hyosung dealer in the North Atlanta area has upgraded one of their 2008 bike with jetting, new pipe, new air cleaner (comes as large kit).  They said the power could be moved up to around 35 HP without getting into the engine.  With the EFI coming in the 2009 models, power commander will probably produce a control module that can put out a bit more HP with of course a performance pipe and air intake improvements.  I hope this gives you a little more information about the bike, without hearing so much bias from the uniformed.  You really need to ride any bike before buy it, and if you're a beginner, spend the money for a riding school before you even consider buying anything.  

hey cheers thats a lot of helpful info. i did just take an msf course so im ready to get out there once i get the right bike for me (and once my actual license comes in the mail or they wont let me test it). thanks for the comments ill have to give it a real look now.  

Go check out a review they have on youtube. I think it the Ninja 250R vs this bike and they say it a good performing bike but brand new it had rust and build quality was bad.  

Before you put too much emphasis on the MCN Youtube review, remember they did not get their motorcycle from a Hyosung representative, and they also did not state the year of the bike.  Back in 2005, and some 2006 bikes did have the paint and rust issues, but Hyosung changed their paint process to powder coating.  This process really doesn't allow for orange peeling.  Either the article is very old or somebody wasn't being honest about the equipment.  I've seen some of the early 2007 bikes, and they don't show any of these problems (local dealer).  Fact is, the dealer had never seen such bad examples on any of the bikes coming in.  In spite of all of that, watch the review again and listen carefully when he said the GT250R actually out performed the Kawi and that the tires on the Kawi were almost dangerous.  

Listen to Historian i guess, i'm kinda a noob so don't take advice directly from me. I just wanted to share the review i saw. Didn`t look into the issue just wanted to help somebody avoid a possible lemon (which i now know is not really true)

How much is the bike. Is there a Hyosung Representative in North America, more specifically North East.  

the first comment u got onhere is right. i have a 2008 hyosung gt250r. it is a cool bike. love it. rides very nice and handles real well. i will be getting a hyosung gt650r next. u cannot beat there price as far as sport bikes. also yes they have alot of dealer ships in north american. i live in south alabama and there r 3 places around here to get a hyosung with in 50 miles of my home. so get one u will love it. ohh by the way this june of 09 i will have had mine for a whole year. no problems yet. great bike.