This bike is the best-kept secret in the 400cc 250cc class.

That’s the bottom line. This is a 250cc bike that acts like the 400cc bikes from the 80’s. We’ve sold a number of Honda CM400 from the early eighties. These bikes were the Swiss Army knife bikes - used for fun, for work, light touring - whatever you needed them to do.

250cc bikes, however, are normally reserved for the “starter bike” category. Calling something a starter bike is normally a kiss of death. Sure, it’s not bad for a STARTER BIKE.

Funny thing about the Aquila tho’, people don’t usually feel the need to upgrade later. We’ve sold about 20 of them, we haven’t traded any of them in and I can’t think of anyone that sold theirs either. Why?

Well, this article give a lot of the reasons why:

Canadian Biker - Light Duty

Aquila’s are bigger and faster because they make more power by revving higher than the competition. They weigh a bit more - most people think they are larger than 250’s. I don’t fib about stuff like that - you can if you want ;^). The GV250 presents as a much larger bike. Think of it like a 400, it’s ok, I do.

GV250’s also have the Hyosung two year, “bumper-to-bumper”, transferrable warranty - Wonderful! This is the bike that taught me about Hyosung warranty support. One of my good customers bought a GV250 and came in after a month or so. He showed me that if you pushed your hand from the front of the seat to the back, you could feel a slight increase in the foam. I said, weeellll, it’s a small ridge but when I presented it to Hyosung they said, “Pat, it’s a 2 year, bumper to bumper warranty, SEND IT IN!” So when we got the new seat, my customer asked me for the old one. Nope, I’m keepin’ it! (we have to on warranty claims…) Hyosung really supports their bikes!

Back to the motor… Note that the Aquila has almost 10 horsepower more than the Honda Rebel. It weighs a bit more but in this category, that is almost not a bad thing as bikes in this class are particularly light. End result, you can maintain legal + speeds even out on the big roads with the big dogs.

Here is the hard data. This picture shows a trip I took up the Northeast Extension. The speeds were captured by GPS and then converted by GPS Visualizer. Note that the vast majority of the trip is dark blue. The speed limit there is 65MPH and the dark blue coloring shows I was going at least 66.1MPH everywhere it’s blue. This bike will sustain turnpike speeds and then some more. Top speed of the GV250 is around 95MPH.

What about the rest? Well, looks are always subjective but people generally really like the looks of the GV250. It comes in a number of nice color combinations. Here is a link to a MS Powerpoint slideset of GV250 colors here

It’s got a very low seat height. Actually my only concern when a customer asks about a GV250 is how long their legs are. I do have trouble fitting someone with a very long inseam to this bike. I wish it was even longer than it is or had a flatter seat cause I have almost never found anyone that can’t flat foot the GV250 as delivered.

In gas mileage, my customers average 65-70 MPG in daily use. A lot of folks use these for their second (or third) cars. They drive the bikes when they can and the cars/trucks when they have to. They are cheap to keep - first, because of the warranty, the list price of $3499 and the insurance costs on a 250cc bike have to be quoted to be appreciated.

Yep, the GV250 is a great bike! And it’s way more than a starter bike!

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!