Hyosung GD

If there is one automobile brand which tells us that India is a serious market for international players, it’s the Hyosung. Being a prominent manufacturer in some of the contemporary markets like those of UK, US, South America and Australia, this Korean brand forayed into the Indian subcontinent some 4 years ago and exists as a joint venture between DSK Moto Wheels and Hyosung, South Korea. Though at a sluggish rate, but this bike maker has made its sure footed position in the middle-weight sports bike segment, thanks to its cruisers and fully faired sports bikes’ lineup. And with the increasing heat of competition, Hyosung has also caught up in the rat race, thanks to its adequate products and competitive pricing – credits go to the CKD assembly at its plant in Wai, Maharashtra.

Sure, Hyosung has made a celebrated reputation among the young enthusiasts, but the one segment where its presence was badly missed is the entry level naked street bike segment. Hyosung has taken care of this particular segment and thus, introduced their first street fighter for India at the 2014 Delhi Auto Expo, which is christened as GD250N.  The bike looked outstanding amongst the other ravishing lineup from Hyosung and drew numerous curious eyeballs towards it in the Auto Expo. Hyosung don’t want to enter this segment late now and has confirmed the launch of this beast by the mid quarter of 2014 in the Indian market. This 250cc muscle street bike promises a lot with its minimalistic, but beefier design approach and an equally promising 250cc motor. Does it fares better amongst its natural competitors like the KTM Duke 200? Time to judge its capabilities, then.

One look at the Hyosung GD250N and you will instantly make up your mind that this motorcycle is easily one of the best looking motorcycles Hyosung has ever produced in its history of quirky but fancy motorcycles. The large and full-sized fuel tank is reminiscent of the liter class superbikes with a chunky appeal and swanky cuts and edges. This fuel tank steals most of the show of visual appeal and thus, is the most beautiful part of the whole silhouette of the motorcycle. The stripped down prism shaped halogen headlamp with a triangular black cladding and without any visor enhances its brutal stance. The edgy character of the motorcycle is further carried on the rear view mirrors too, which are large and functional. The frame and uniquely styled 17 inch alloy wheels are painted in white, which give the whole profile of the motorcycle a distinctive and stylish appeal. The under body exhaust muffler, though not that good looking as that of KTM Duke 200, increases the fabulousness of the slim profile and effects of mass centralization. The side body panels in the motorcycle are almost non-existing, due to which the side profile of the motorcycle is highly dominated by the large and comfortable split seats, with a promising room for both the rider and pillion. The rear profile is the one which will leave you mistaken for an Italian exotic – It’s got a big pointed rear body panel with a longitudinal LED tail lamp nestled in between of it, with the split pillion grab rails and clear lens turn indicators accompanying the tail lamp.

Hyosung has put up a lot of efforts in making this motorcycle feel special for the customers, and this is visible in the beautiful and minute detailing on various parts of the motorcycles, such as on rear set foot pegs and rear white colored monoshock, which is on a bit of left side of the bike and is exposed in a beautiful manner, to the likes of a Ninja 650. This minimalistic design philosophy and compactness of the bike doesn’t mean that the motorcycle is small by any standards. It has enough room for the rider as well as the pillion, to be on the motorcycle comfortably.

As far as equipment is concerned, Hyosung has fully kitted out the GD250N with the essentials as well as other unique features. The instrument console is a fully digital unit with a big LCD panel, showcasing everything digital – from speedometer to cascading tachometer, along with fuel gauge, gear induced, odometer, trip meter and other telltale lights sitting beneath the LCD panel. The handlebar is a long single unit like the Yamaha FZ, with nice and grippy levers on both the sides. The build and fit and finish of the motorcycle is better than other Hyosung motorcycles and has a nice air of quality in it. Overall, Hyosung has left no stone unturned in making this motorcycle a head turner, and will surely lure the young customers who want to upgrade from their regular commuters.

Being a 250cc motorcycle, the Hyosung GD250N is expected to offer the best of all the worlds. And it intends to do so. Powering this diminutive but appealing bike is a 4-stroke, liquid cooled, single cylinder, 250cc engine that promises to churn out 28 bhp of maximum power at 9500 rpm and a maximum torque output of 24 Nm at 7000 rpm. And what is even more important is its fabulous power to weight ratio of 178 bhp per tonne, as the bike weighs at just 145 kg, thanks to its compact dimensions. The bike lives up the lot of anticipation around it, and this can be felt as soon as you sling over your leg on it. Put the first gear, and the bike manages to cover the sprint of 0 to 60 kmph in just 3.6 seconds. The top speed is expected to be in the range of 135 to 140 kmph. On the initial note, the bike is not a naked street version of Hyosung GT250R, which it was expected to be, and is a completely different animal than the latter. Thanks to its light weighted character, the bike is nimble enough to quickly accelerate the acceleration figures, unlikely the bulky faired GT250R. Thanks to its small size, it acts as a pocket rocket and feels agile to manoeuver, even in the quick corners.

To sum up, unlike being a frantic and impulsive machine as the Duke 200, this small Hyosung feels a bit more mature, with plenty of torque at low and mid-range rpms, which is a good trait if you do a lot of city commuting in dense traffic. The motorcycle is extremely tractable and flexible and can be put on duty for both city riding and highway jaunts. The gearbox is a six speed unit with the traditional 1 down, 5 up pattern, which is slick and smooth, but feels a bit notchy when ridden with frequent shifts, although being well matched with the wide rev band. There is no hesitation from this good motor, and despite the urgency from the engine, the bike still feels calm and composed with its linear power delivery, without being too wild. It feels relaxed while covering the triple digit speeds, without demanding to be revved hard and beyond the limits. The engine also carries a vibration free character, so it’s easy to go flat out and utilize its wide power band without bothering too much. The bike is expected to return a decent fuel economy of 32-34 kmpl, which is on par with other bikes of its segment.

So, it’s clear now that the Hyosung GD250N is a completely flexible motorcycle whose engine is utilized fully up to its limits, but this riding is complemented thoroughly due to its committed riding position. The tighter but comfortable dimensions emerged as a result of aggressive bodywork and knee recesses allows the rider to be in an aggressive riding posture. The longer knee recesses are large enough to accommodate comfortably even the six footers and the bike feels big from the saddle, even after its petite dimensions and lighter weight. This is where the ergonomics of this small Hyosung should be applauded. The foot pegs are placed rear set and the handlebar is positioned a bit lower, allowing the rider to lean forward and experiencing a big bike feel. The light weighted steel tubular trellis frame, an adequate short wheelbase of 1346 mm and a good enough ground clearance of 135 mm allows the bike to be stable at all the riding conditions. The suspension setup applied on the bike is a 43mm USD upside down telescopic forks at front and a gas charged monoshock supported by an alloy swingarm at rear. These suspension units are comfortable enough to soak up all the varying uniformities of the broken patches of road surfaces here. Though the ride quality is on a bit firmer and sporty side, the bike still tries hard to manage to deliver a balanced supple ride. The brakes here are exotic too.

Hyosung has employed the in fashion petal pattern for the both the brakes, a 300 mm front disc and a 230 mm rear disc. The bite from the brakes are adequate enough to bring the bikes to a halt as quick as possible. The meaty tyres, 110/70x17 inch front and 150/60x17 inch rear, provide decent grip and have the potential to bear all the hardships our roads are infamous for. The feel from the shorter hand levers is good enough to ooze out the devil side of yours, with their grip. In total, this Hyosung delivers fairly in all aspects of the handling and ride quality and can be proved as a good and flexible motorcycle to be on. Hyosung have played it safe in all the arenas here, by applying the segment standards here in the chassis, suspension and brakes part.

Its surprising that Hyosung has not offered any safety features for this bike, with the absence of ABS even as an option being the most grilling one. Nevertheless, the disc brakes at front and rear offer better braking safety.