Faults:

From the factory, the intakes were not mounted tight to the heads. Once that was tightened up, air no longer leaked through there and it became a fantastic ride. Also replaced the voltage regulator once.

General Comments:

Light, powerful, easy on gas, and the cheapest transportation I've ever owned, very easy to handle. At about 40, in high gear with full throttle, an increase in power. Exhaust tuned to the high end? Top end? I really don't know. At 101 MPH, tires could have been balanced better, but still more throttle to go. Yes, it was 101. State Trooper clocked me. No, it was not downhill. The only time I ever had it up that fast. I believe the top end is somewhere above that.

Yes, it will keep up with traffic on the interstate; been on them quite a number of times. And 200+ miles before I started looking for a gas station. Don't have to plan your trips from one gas station to the next like all the big boys, and like I do now. Recommended 90 octane or higher, and with the fuel economy, I did not mind using premium.

Currently looking for another one, but not fuel injected. Reviews are not very good on them. Does not matter how big and bad your bike is, the speed limit does not change. If I can go fast enough to get a speeding ticket, I can go fast enough. Trading it in on a bigger bike was a mistake.

Faults:

When buying it, the dealer said to leave the petcock "ON" at all times, which led to most of my problems.

When parked, the front cylinder would sometimes fill with fuel and hydro-lock; not enough air space for the piston to go up and the engine would not turn. This caused a broken starter gear, and later a broken keyway, which caused the engine to lock up. I learned through experimentation that if you take out the front spark plug (easy access and the tool is included with the bike) and bump the starter, any fuel in the front cylinder will shoot out the spark plug hole and go about 20 feet, then replace the spark plug and it would start easily and run great again.

At about that time the dealer got a service bulletin which said that the petcock had to be turned off any time it was being parked. After I got in the habit of doing that, I never had any more problems like that.

The bike had a vacuum driven fuel pump, and when the throttle is wide open it generates very little vacuum. Sometimes in climbing a long hill at 65 mph or more when the throttle was mostly open, the engine would start to hesitate because it was starved for fuel. Once you reached the top of the hill and could close the throttle a bit, it evened out and had full power again.

General Comments:

Good acceleration and could keep up with bigger bikes except on the interstate; it could hold 75 mph on level ground, but not always on hills.

Good looking bike! People would stop me on the street to compliment the looks of it. That no longer happens on my current bike.

The seat was uncomfortable on long rides.

Lightweight, low, easy to handle.

Hard to get parts and accessories. A few US places are starting to carry them, and some places in Korea were offering decent shipping rates.

Faults:

Plastic chain guard came unscrewed and scared me with noise, dealer just fixed. First 1000 KM.

Back tire went flat after 4 months, 3,000 km, puncture, handled well on flat tire.

Battery died after 8000 km and towing across country.

Headlight is TOO dim. Almost caused my death, and really doesn't light up the canyon I drive like I need it at night, with deer and such running around. High beams are 100%, unequivocally worthless. Car pulled out in front of me last week at midnight and the bike is totaled. Would a brighter headlight have prevented this potentially deadly accident? Potentially.

TOO quiet. I had to drill the muffler, which I hated to do. I couldn't afford anything else. I did it for safety.

Dead spot in lower RPMs at 3,4,5 gear. I don't know much about engines, so that's all the description I can give.

At 3000 Km engine was sticking, like I'd get power then lose it, thrn get it in a single second, resulting in a potentially dangerous jerk jerk jerk.

My motorcycle friend said it might be because it has a carburetor. Problem stopped and went away, and never came back in another 9000 km.

General Comments:

Just totaled this bike. Car failed to yield and I T boned him at 60. Minor injuries - I flipped over his car and landed on my feet. Bike served me astoundingly well for my first bike. I rode a scooter before this, and I'm hooked forever. I now know how I will die; it's simply unavoidable, because I cannot give this up.

Bike gets a lot of attention. Windows roll down and people ask what it is. People stare at it and look at both sides while it's parked, as if they ought to know what it is but don't.

I absolutely drove the hell out of this thing. I put 7500 miles, 12,000 Km on it between April of 08 and July 4th of 09, and it was in a garage from October 08 to May 09 for winter.

Never broke down. Even after battery died, I just jump started it every time. It's so light and small it's easy. But it doesn't look small, and it doesn't drive small. Not at all. Everyone thinks it's in the realm of 6-700 cc.

I rode through torrential Florida rain, I rode through a tropical storm, it is a little light for those Florida winds and I had to pull off.

I've ridden in Snow in Utah over high mountain canyons. Handles well on slick roads, as in, ice.

I've never had it die on me in a major braking.

Dealer in Utah adjusted the idle high for cooler weather, and that was helpful. Might also be costing me MPG. I tend to get only about 45. I also ride like a 23 year old.

MY wife is small, 100 lbs, but we went on so many rides on this. We'd drive on loops through Utah canyons. That's 280 lbs between the two of us, and top speed up hill is about 70. Don't believe the speedometer of course, It says I'm going 80, and it lies. I commute 75 miles to work through a high mountain canyon, and I'm neither tired nor sore when I get there. I get tired on this bike after about 200 miles, but I am in reasonably good shape, so keep that in mind.

Top speed on flat with just me is closer to 88 mph at 4,000 feet elevation in Utah.

Very little acceleration at 60 MPH plus, which is one reason I'm looking giddily at the Hyosung GV650.

Foot pegs could have been a tiny bit further out for me. I'm 5'9". I guess I like to stretch dem legs.

I drilled the muffler because it was so quiet I felt a little bit at risk. In Florida, Orlando, I saw accidents every day. I don't need a LOUD bike, but I want to be heard for safety. Muffler is REALLY quiet.

If I were to get another GV 250, I'd do a few things:

1. Install the windshield (which I did to this one).

2. Get a back rest for my wife, even though she says she doesn't need it. I want her off my back!

3. Install custom foot pegs out a bit further.

4. Get a custom muffler that is louder for safety.

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong with this bike. It's very solidly made and a pleasure to drive.

General Comments:

This is a really nice bike. I've noticed that many parts will probably swap out with Suzuki parts, as Hyosung built Suzuki in Korea under license for thirty years.

This is an impressive bike. It looks great, is inexpensive to operate, and performs well. The 250cc engine is quite powerful. The bike has full instrumentation and it just rides so smooth. The build quality is on par with its Japanese competition, and it really turns heads.

I had to ride it home from the dealer on the freeway for fifty miles, and it did just fine. I don't know that it will go much faster than 80mph, but the bike is on the light side for freeway use and long hauls, so the top speed could be a good thing. It's got plenty of pick up for getting on the freeway.

It didn't come standard with a center stand, which is a drawback, but what's nice about this bike is that accessories are widely available. I find the accessories to be a bit pricey, but still priced on the same scale as similar accessories for other bikes.

I've installed fog lights, visors, center stand, and crash bars. This bike is the real deal. I found this bike because Motorcycle Cruiser magazine did a comparison of five 250cc "starter" bikes, and this one finished at the top of the field over Suzuki, Honda, Yamaha and Kymco.