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Bob Pickett asks if history is about to repeat itself as Korea enters the big leagues

The Korean motorcycle industry has mainly concentrated its efforts on producing 125cc bikes and small capacity scooters. But breaking with this trend has become something of a speciality of Hyosung, who widened their range (and the option of getting away from riding singles to riders of smaller capacity bikes) with the introduction of 125cc and 250cc vee-twin naked commuter bikes and cruisers to the UK market.

Now Hyosung have upped their game once again, with the introduction to their range of the GT650 Comet. Powered by the company’s own 647cc, liquid cooled, 4-stroke vee-twin engine – a major step forward, considering the number of companies that still rely on donor engines from the ‘Big Four’ – the GT650 Comet makes them the first Korean manufacturer to attempt to tap into the middleweight all-rounder class, the most important in sales terms in the UK after sportsbikes.

Korean Clone Wars? The Hyosung's heritage is obvious A quick look at the specification for the new bike make for interesting reading – the GT650 is heavier by some 30kg than the SV650 it most closely resembles (down to using a double-cradle steel frame, as opposed to the aluminium one used on the Japanese machine). But the new engine puts out more power and torque than its Japanese rival.

Initial thoughts on the bike seem to be that it is more softly sprung than the SV – but as the GT650 will spend most of it’s life in towns (like the naked SV, it is an ideal commuter bike), that is no bad thing. That additional weight seems to make the Hyosung less responsive – but this could be a good thing for the newly qualified rider, as they won’t be launched towards the horizon quite as aggressively.

The main concern is that the water pump pipe is very exposed, making it extremely vulnerable if the bike is dropped – and like all machines with a potential newbie market in mind, dropping the bike is an ever-present possibility. Possibly fitting some crash bungs would be a good move.

At a price of £3,900 – around a grand less than the SV650 – the new bike is certainly competitive on value. But it is made all the more remarkable when you look at other features, such as USD forks (with compression and rebound adjustment) fitted as standard – unheard of in the class before now.

The GT650 was introduced into the UK during late February/Early March 2004 aiming to have the bike in Hyosung’s small (45 dealers) but developing network by April.

So the Japanese domination of this class is now under threat – but there are other interesting possibilities opened up by the introduction of the GT650.

A quick look at Hyosung’s range shows that they have a tendency to evolve their ranges – the Comet range of naked ‘roadster’ bikes is now comprised of 125cc, 250cc and a 650cc machines, all powered by vee-twins. So it would seem fair to assume that the company would be looking to build other bikes based around the engine, such as a middleweight cruiser to accompany their Aquila range. A spokesman for Bavanar (the UK official importer for Hyosung) would neither confirm nor deny this, simply saying that it was “possible that other bikes might be built”.

It doesn’t take much imagination to think that now Hyosung have introduced their own middleweight engine, surely it is only a matter of time before they are able to develop other engines – possibly a litre vee, or even start looking at four cylinder engine development? If the Korean company’s new engine proves reliable, then how long before they start to develop a new business as a supplier of donor engines – a field dominated by the Japanese companies at present?

The Korean companies are clearly able make their bikes very competitive in terms of price – and the quality of the bikes is improving with each passing year. You don’t need all that long a memory to recall when the Japanese bike industry moved up from smaller capacity machines to take on (and beat) the then dominant British manufacturers. With the introduction of the GT650, is history about to repeat itself?
For more information click here for the full list of Hyosung dealerships

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