mpgmotors.com Blog

Here’s the windup and here’s the Pitch

January 29, 2008 on 9:39 pm | In Reviews |

Customers sometimes ask to hear my “pitch”. So I’m starting tonight with the Hyosung GV650 Avitar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The GV650 Avitar - A truly unique bike in the marketplace! Hyosung used the 90 degree, liquid cooled, V-Twin motor with an 11,000 rpm redline that is often dyno-tested between about 65-68 hp at the back wheel - IN A 500 lb bike! The unique part is the result  - a ‘performance cruiser’. A performance cruiser is almost an oxymoron in the 650cc size. You combine a motor that makes terrific power in the cruiser class for it’s size in a relatively light frame and you get a bike that Motorcyclist magazine clocked in the quarter mile at 12.75s and 99.50mph. Top speed is reported to be 120mph+.

Motorcyclist tested the Victory Hammer S and the HD Night Rod the following month. The Avitar’s 1/4 mile time beat the Hammer’s and was within a 1/2 sec of the 12.26 put up by the NightRod. I drove one 700 miles last summer and averaged right around 50mpg. Oh, there is a lot of bang for the buck in this cruiser at $6,299. Since it’s a 650, insurance costs are low as well. Last, you get a lot of looks when sitting on the Avitar!

All Hyosung motorcycles and scooters have a two-year, bumper-to-bumper, transferable warranty. It doesn’t cover wearable components - you smoke the back tire off (and it can smoke it) - it’s on you.

I can fit the Avitar to almost anyone. Usually I ask people to pick up the bike off the side stand. It feels so light you usually hear, “Wow” or “expletive deleted”. You can stretch your legs with the adjustable footpegs in the forward position or fit a shorter inseam with the pegs about 2″ back in the rear position. It takes about 45 mins to move the pegs. You get everything you need, stock, to adjust them yourself.

It handles as well. The Avitar has Bridgestone Battlax sport bike tires, triple-disc brakes and a low maintenance belt drive. Within the limits of ground clearance it’s a fun, yes I said fun, bike to ride. It is also an easy bike to ride. The clutch is light and it’s geared relatively low making it an easy bike to move off the line. I do recommend the Avitar to new riders - the clutch, light feeling, good brakes and low seat height all add up to a great first bike.

The bike has a bit of an attitude compared with, say, a Honda Shadow. You can plug it along as well but twist it and it goes. The liquid cooling works great in traffic, I sat on Rt. 309 at a standstill for 45 mins and just let it idle. Then the temp guage went halfway between cold and hot, fan comes on then, temp guage goes down, repeat.

It doesn’t feel like it has a lot of flywheel playing through a 5 speed transmission. It’s got a digital dash, a CLOCK - very nice, two trip odometers and an adjustable front suspension for both rebound and compression. The rear shocks are adjustable for preload. The Avitar revs quickly and goes quickly.

You go out, throw your leg over this one, thumb the button and take off. I predict you will do this often, I do. If you want to make a fast bike you can put in a strong motor or make it light. With the Avitar, Hyosung did both and they got it right. Want to hear it from someone else? Look at Chrissa Pedersen’s post when she took her Avitar down the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Then let’s go for a ride!