[JayPrashanth]

Link to News Section

Let's go back in time, shall we? 2003 was a watershed year in the Indian motorcycle industry, especially when it came to motorcycles that offered a modicum of performance. It was a year when Bajaj Auto launched the Pulsar twins, the 150 and 180, when Hero MotoCorp(Then Hero Honda) launched the Karizma and also when a fringe player in the industry, Kinetic Engineering Limited, mustered enough pluck to import and sell a South Korean cruiser motorcycle. Yes, you guessed right. We're talking about the Hyosung Aquila 250, a cruiser motorcycle, which true to its name was a cruiser whole and soul, quite unlike the faux cruisers of that day and age such as the Kawasaki Eliminator, the Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350 and lest we forget, the Yamaha Enticer 125.



The Hyosung Aquila 250, replete with a 250cc V-Twin motor and a low slung design, lived up to its cruiser credentials, and was priced at a princely 1.45 lakh rupees. Back then, the CBU import Hyosung Aquila was the most expensive motorcycle that money could buy in India, this side of the private imports. Well heeled Indian motorcyclists, many bitten by the chrome and leather bug, bought the Hyosung Aquila 250 in droves, so much so that Kinetic had to revise its initial estimates and double its import order to 200 units. Ever since, Kinetic Engineering imported similar quantities of the Hyosung Comet 250 sportsbike, before going belly up and selling off its two wheeler business(still ailing) to Mahindra. Hyosung Aquila and Comet 250 owners were left high and dry, and the South Korean motorcycle brand sank without a trace.



The saving grace was the steady supply of spares through online sellers operating out of South East Asia. A couple of summers ago, Hyosung made a come back into India, and by this time, the ownership of Hyosung had changed hands what with S&T Motors at the helm. S&T Motors tied up with Pune based Garware(of the sun film fame), to build, sell and service Hyosung motorcycles. The Wai assembly unit at Maharashtra has since been churning out a variety of Hyosung motorcycles, from sportsbikes to cruisers. Last year, Garware exited the motorcycle business, leaving another Pune based business house, DSK, to take over the reins and handle Hyosung in India. A year has elapsed since the takeover and DSK-Hyosung combing is growing the business at a rapid clip.



What goes around comes around, and we now have the Aquila 250 cruiser all set to make a comeback into the Indian motorcycle market. DSK-Hyosung plan to build the Aquila GV250 cruiser in India through the completely knocked down(CKD) kit route and the launch is slated to happen by the end of 2013. The 2013 Hyosung Aquila GV250, while remaining true to its low slung cruiser form, gets a few stylistic changes such as a new paint job and reprofiled exhaust muffler. The carburetors have been dumped for electronic fuel injection. These changes mean that the 249cc, air-oil cooled V-Twin motor, borrowed from the GT250R sportsbike, outputs 29 Bhp of peak power at 10,500 rpm, and 22 Nm of peak torque, at 7,500 rpm. Hardly cruiser-eque isn't it?

Well, we can only hope that the gearbox is tweaked to take away some of the peaky power and torque delivery. The motorcycle comes with a front disc brake and a rear drum brake while suspension consists of telescopic front forks and twin rear shock absorbers. Expect a price tag in the whereabouts 2.5-3 lakh rupees for the Hyosung Aquila GV250.

Source Autocar via HindustanTimes

[sinner]

Any idea why the same bike which costed 1.75 Lacs in 2005 (a close friend bought one from the last stock) would cost 2.5 - 3 Lacs now even in CKD.

Well i guess only the time will tell but i will definitely put my money on this one.

[azm@bpl]

At 2.5 / 3.00 lacs it would be still expensive if torque and bhp are compared (TB500).
It has to be priced around 2 lacs for people to stand up and notice.
And well; fingers crossed, hope now we would not see any further change of hands with respect to the ownership of the company.

[apachelongbow]

The design looks too old for 2013, also too busy to work as a cruiser. A cruiser in design should be simplistic and must reflect long distance cruising/lot of power torque at low rpm, wind in the hair, stress free cruising as its core.
This bike looks like a busy buzzing 250cc, which tries hard to be a bullet or a harley, but somewhere down the line cuts a compromise between a sportster and a cruiser IMO

[lightpower]

GV250 Launch by October and expected price is around 1.8L - as per Motorbeam - http://www.motorbeam.com/bikes/hyosu...-october-2013/

[TaurusAl]

Originally Posted by lightpower

GV250 Launch by October and expected price is around 1.8L - as per Motorbeam - http://www.motorbeam.com/bikes/hyosu...october-2013/*

Attractive pricing. Thunderbird fans will like to consider this one before making a decision. How's the dealer network and after sales service of Hyosung ?

[azm@bpl]

price power performance does not seem to compliment each other. RE offers more in the same price range. they should consider a higher engine output motor.
at times it feels these 'firang' brands just take us for a 'ride' literally in the garb of higher duties. if they are really serious about india they should start manufacturing here.

[charade]

Originally Posted by azm@bpl

price power performance does not seem to compliment each other. RE offers more in the same price range. they should consider a higher engine output motor.
at times it feels these 'firang' brands just take us for a 'ride' literally in the garb of higher duties. if they are really serious about india they should start manufacturing here.

Agree with your sentiment that we should be getting more bang for our money. But setting up a manufacturing setup in India is not an easy task. India consistently ranks very low in 'ease of doing business' surveys, what with no reforms in labor reforms, poor infrastructure etc.

Also, there needs to be greater demand for such products so that they can be manufactured in bulk. Today large bikes are very niche in India. If Hyosung chooses to play in that segment of the market, it may not make sense for them to manufacture in India.

[azm@bpl]

Originally Posted by charade

Also, there needs to be greater demand for such products so that they can be manufactured in bulk. Today large bikes are very niche in India. If Hyosung chooses to play in that segment of the market, it may not make sense for them to manufacture in India.

Harley inaugurated their first showroom at Indore last week.

First week sales figures : 20 bikes sold

People have money. Just imagine if a HD Super Low had cost around 3-3.5 lacs, what could have been the sales numbers.

These manuf. should learn to play on volumes not margin. There is huge market out there but only for VFM. Dirt cheap pricing or Grossly overpriced products wont find enough takers.

[charade]

Originally Posted by azm@bpl

Harley inaugurated their first showroom at Indore last week.

First week sales figures : 20 bikes sold

People have money. Just imagine if a HD Super Low had cost around 3-3.5 lacs, what could have been the sales numbers.

These manuf. should learn to play on volumes not margin. There is huge market out there but only for VFM. Dirt cheap pricing or Grossly overpriced products wont find enough takers.

Sure, people have money. But I don't think HD plays on volume anywhere. They have a brand to build and protect. They thrive on exclusivity not mass market appeal.

In any case this could probably be discussed better on another thread. Let's stick to the new Hyosung here

[jkdas]

Wish that this looked like its bigger brother; would have sold lots! ( if its priced right!)

If launched at 1.8lac and hence 2ish OTR it would be a good buy.

[Aditya]

DSK-Hyosung has announced that it will launch the Aquila 250 and display two new motorcycles at the 2014 Auto Expo.

Link to Team-BHP News Article

[VellVector]

Originally Posted by charade

Sure, people have money. But I don't think HD plays on volume anywhere. They have a brand to build and protect. They thrive on exclusivity not mass market appeal.

In any case this could probably be discussed better on another thread. Let's stick to the new Hyosung here

Charade, I dont agree with your point entirely, of course HD's are more exclusive than other brands, it is at the end of the day an exclusive high end motorcycle brand.

But they also seem to have models in development that may appeal to a lower budget market. If anything I thought they were becoming a tad too common in Bangalore.

[paliontile]

And there goes another bike into the 3+lakhs on-road price, as per motorbeam:

http://www.motorbeam.com/bikes/hyosu...rs-3-10-lakhs/

[CARDEEP]

Hyosung Aquila 250 has been spotted in India for the first time. Here are the pics (courtesy Bikeadvice.in):







Also sleuths at Motoroids have speculated the launch date as 6th Feb 14.