Hyosung GTR 650 - plus a question about sport riding

Joined: Jun 17, 2005 Posts: 5

Hello this is from Greece,

Im 32 y/o and have owned a Yamaha XT 250 for 4 years and a
Honda Magna 250 for the last 2.5 years.

Im definitely upgrading to a sports bike soon, and seriously consider
the GTR 650 over the other 600's, because its less powerful and
much cheaper (which are both good for me, not going to race anyone,
I just want to move swiftly).

Does anybody has any 1-st hand experience with this bike ? (it doesnt
have to be exactly the GTR. The GTS (half-faired) and the GT Comet
(nude) are exactly the same).

And a question about the lean angle during a turn: I suppose driving
swiftly should require some extended lean angles during a turn.
However I have developed a fear of turning the bike very much over
the years. Im constantly afraid that it will slip. How can I find out
what the lean angle limit is WITHOUT passing it ? Smile

Do you know
the limit of your bike ? How did you find out ?

Well thats it,
take care,

Dimitris
Greece

External Since: Mar 23, 2005 Posts: 481

Dtrip wrote:
> Hello this is from Greece,

Hello, this is from California, in America. Where do you live in
Greece?
I have been to Athens, Meteora, Delphi, Olympia, around the
Peloponessus to Sparta, Epidaurus and Corinth, and I've visited
Mykonos, Santorini, Crete, Rhodes, and Patmos, all tourist places...
>
> Im definitely upgrading to a sports bike soon, and seriously consider
> the GTR 650 over the other 600's, because its less powerful and
> much cheaper (which are both good for me, not going to race anyone,
> I just want to move swiftly).

This motorbike looks like a Suzuki SV-650S, and that's probably what it
is, a copy, or a motorbike built under license from Suzuki. Kawasaki
and Suzuki have a partnership agreement to expand their markets in
Asia...
>
> Does anybody has any 1-st hand experience with this bike ? (it doesnt
> have to be exactly the GTR. The GTS (half-faired) and the GT Comet
> (nude) are exactly the same).

Somebody who owns an SV-650 or SV-650S would be able to tell from the
spec's if this is a Suzuki clone or not...

> And a question about the lean angle during a turn: I suppose driving
> swiftly should require some extended lean angles during a turn.
> However I have developed a fear of turning the bike very much over
> the years. Im constantly afraid that it will slip.

If you've been riding a dualsport bike off road, you have learned to
FEAR the front tire because it always slips and skates away when you
try to lean the motorbike to go around a corner. In the dirt, you run
up to the corner, slow way down and square off the corner before you
use the throttle to accelerate away...

> How can I find out what the lean angle limit is WITHOUT passing it ?
> Smile

Do you know the limit of your bike ? How did you find out ?

Same way you find out about girls. You take one out and ride her...

The front tire will tell you that you're pushing too hard on pavement,
just like on the street, but it happens at a much higher speed and it's
more forgiving...

If you can find a mountain road in Greece that doesn't have bauxite ore
hauling trucks driving on the wrong side of the road or herds of sheep
crossing the road, you'll soon find out that you can lean the
motorcycle a long way. The front tire is smaller than the back tire,
and it has a pointy profile to give you a good feel of the steering.
The back tire is large and it won't slip if the road is clean and dry.
The pointy front tire will start to run off the edge of the tread, so
it will give you plenty of warning that you are trying to lean the
motorbike too much...

The much larger back tire should feel like it has an "edge" when you
lean it to the shoulder where the tread stops and the sidewall begins.
That edge feels very solid on sportbike tires. If you look for an edge
like that, a distinct corner where the tread ends and the sidewall
begins, and you don't see it on the rear tire of a sportbike, that tire
is going to feel like a front tire, it won't give you the warning that
you expect, it will slide suddenly, just as you fear...

So knowing about the edge is important. And the Hyosung GTR 650 has a
comparatively larger rear tire to grip well. Hopefully the tires would
be some nice Bridgestones, but they are probably natural rubber Chinese
tires that will stick well at first, but will wear out quickly...

If the Hyosung's rear tire was smaller, say a 140/17-17, the motorbike
would probably slide very nicely in turns, both tires would slide at
the same time...

I used to ride on a tight narrow mountain road above Hollywood. Big
dump trucks used to haul trash to a landfill on that road. Their tires
would stir up a lot of dust and the tires would also polish the gravels
in the asphalt pavement and make them very slippery. I would have fun
making the tires slide going around tight turns on that road. Both
tires would slip at the same time and I could control the slip by
rolling the throttle on and off at about 45 kph. The only time I ever
crashed on that road was when I hit some loose sand. So watch out for
sand, and dirt left on the road by tractors and piles of sheep dung
from herds of sheep crossing the road. And watch out for those darned
bauxite trucks...

Hyosung GT 650 R 2005: technical specifications
GENERAL
ModelHyosung GT 650 R 2005
CategorySport
ENGINE
Type647 cc, liquid cooled, 90Â° v-twin, 4-stroke
Bore x stroke (mm)81.5 mm x 62 mm
ValvesDOHC, 4 valves per cylinder
Power79 hp (58.9 kW) @ 9000 rpm
Torque68 Nm (50.2 ft. lbs) @ 7500 rpm
TRANSMISSION
ClutchWet Multi-Plate Type
Gearbox6 speed
Final driveChain
Starting systemElectronic
CHASSIS
Front suspension41mm upsd Telescopic, Oil
Dampened, 120 mm travel
Rear suspensionSwing Arm, 100 mm travel
Rake / Trail85 degrees / 25.5 mm (1 inches)
WHEELS
Front tyre120/60-17
Back tyre160/60-17
Front brakesdual 300 mm discs with 2-piston
calipers
Rear brakessingle 230 mm disc with 2-piston
calipers
DIMENSIONS
Overall length2080 mm (81.9 inches)
Overall width760 mm (29.9 inches)
Overall height1120 mm (44.1 inches)
Seat height750 mm (29.5 inches)
Wheelbase1435 mm (56.5 inches)
Ground clearance150 mm (5.9 inches)
Fuel capacity - reserve17 l (4.5 gallon US) - 2.5
l (0.7 gallon US)
Dry weight191 kg (421.1 pounds)

Joined: Jun 17, 2005 Posts: 5

Hey !
Ive been to most of those places, actually lived in Crete for 11
years, visited the islands many times and Peloponessus once too,
(twice with army service but it doesnt count ---> no bike, not allowed
for soldiers Sad

)
I currently live in a town called Kavala, its near Thessaloniki and
30 km from Fillipoi the birthplace of Alexander the Great's father,
opposite to Thassos island. This is north Greece (Yugoslavia
and Bulgaria borders are about 80 km to the north).

Joined: Jun 17, 2005 Posts: 5

Another interesting thing is that it the Fischer MRX 650 shares the
same engine. You can read about this and some short history of
the engine here:

http://www.onewheeldrive.net/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=84

Dimitris
Greece

PS: Hyosung is Korean, not Chinese.
>> Stay informed about: Hyosung GTR 650 - plus a question about sport riding

Joined: Jun 17, 2005 Posts: 5

No I didnt know that (Im not seriously into motorcycles,
professionally or otherwise).

I didnt want to imply that the
GTR is just as good as the SV or the MRX. Obviously if the price
is bigger, they MUST offer something more.

I just thought the engine similarity would be interesting for most
people here, because they are Americans and the MRX is
US-made. It was just FYI.

But take a look at this, if we jump from $5000 (GTR) to $6000
(SV) to $10000 (MRX and other 600's), then why now jump to
$15000 for an R1 or ZX-10 etc etc etc etc ?

See ? This never ends (or at least it ends at $15000 Very Happy

)
So, *for me personally*, its better to stick to $5000 for a decent
and fast ride, especially since its my first.

C ya
Dimitris
>> Stay informed about: Hyosung GTR 650 - plus a question about sport riding