On a more practical note for us Indians,

Some of my friends who've gone for the GT650R from the N250R are not particularly happy with the GT in many aspects, whereas the ones who's never tasted the build quality of Kawa appear to be more than happy with the GT.

Here are some specific answers from my perspective;

1) Weight and aggressive riding posture - Making it a difficult machine to commute on
[Brat] The GT is not as nimble as the N250R nor is it as flickable, weight is something that is obvious on either of the 650's but once you cross the first gear (or above 60kmph) the steed becomes very manageable even in traffic. You will get used to this after about a month or so of riding. The 650 mill is more or less equally capable on the N650 as well as the GT, the only advantage of the GT650 is that, being a distinct characteristic of a v-twin - tends to offer more useable torque lower into the rev range and sounds blissfully awesome. Whereas, the REAL fun begins on the N650R if you go higher up the range and in no time objects on the RVM start getting smaller (Very similar to the parallel twin N250R).

N650R powerplant will feel butter smooth through-out the entire powerband while the moment you cross 6k RPM on the GT, you will most definitely feel the v-twin vibes on the GT, again - a very character of the engine itself.

I personally use the GT to commute on a daily basis to work (40km) and do a weekly roundtrip of about 700km from Bangalore to Chennai, infact i love the aggressive riding position and given the amount of fun you get to have with the bike, it is not as bad as it appears.

Those who dont hit the right posture on the GT will quickly develop pain in the throttle wrist. Plant yourself properly and the kind of handling this seating posture offers is delightful for a 200kg 650 bike.

2) Build quality, and

The build quality is definitely not as good as the Kawasaki. Anyone who is upgrading from an N250R to a GT650R can clearly feel this gap in terms of finely made material. While the switchgear and electronics are excellent, the paint quality, fit and finish leaves a lot to be desired.

Unfortunately, none of us could give you a very long term personal experience since it has not been very long since the India release of the GT itself. But from what i can tell after clocking several thousand kms on the GT, the koreans are still trailing behind the Japs.

3) Maintenance and after sale service

I have no complaints in this department. Given that I had been through ECU related issues, etc. I am quite pleased with the way my issues have been addressed. My personal experience is limited to the Chennai and Bangalore SVC's only. Either of them have service mechanics who are not all that great in terms of technology and know-how but they are capable of getting the issue resolved, no matter how much ever complicated issues i go to them with. Spares availability is pretty decent.

Maintenance? Its never been a hassle. The general - Daily wash, Weekly wax, chain lube every 700kms, break pad check every 1000kms, etc. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Whether the bike is worth buying or not is something you'll have to figure out, it depends on what you are expecting out of your $$$. It is possible for some of us to provide you with an unbiased opinion if you can tell us what your are looking for in a 650, apart from the ones mentioned above - which is quite general.

WOW....The most unbiased honest view on the GT650R. You Just summarized everything in a nut shell..

Thanks Brat, brutally honest and to the point reply... I'm planning on getting one this year and your review has certainly allayed my fears.

Hey bro.
-If you are advancing from a Kawasaki Ninja 250R to a GT,there is quite noticeable difference in quality.
-My after sales service with Ronit Motors has been good.
-I never got the knocking problem.
-Yes,there are vibration in the higher revs mainly because it's a VTwin engine.
-Can't comment on pricing.Garware motors did have a year end discount for the Naked 650cc bike.

Hello Mel ,hope your bike is back with you and all problems settled.

Thanks Buddy for the info....the kawi 250 owners really bad mouth the GT like anything..now the only thing stopping me is the price. with the bikes coming in I some how feel that hyosung would be thinking hard to have a more competitive pricing for the GT...round about 5 otr

No probs bro.The Onroad Mumbai price for the GT650R is 5.51 Lacs, you can also consider the Naked bike which is well priced.

Second Service ride report:

2nd service was finally over with last weekend,
had been using the GT frugally since the Bangalore SVC was waiting on the oil filters.

1)
Pickup and gear shifts have become smooth as butter now. The vibes which used to creep in at 6k rpm are now definitely not felt till 7.5k, whatever the mechs did to suppress it, is beyond me. But it has surely taken a turn for the better.

2)
Engine oil used was Castrol Power 1 10w40 Fully Synthetic, Was running on semi-synth ever since the first service. Will be switching to
Motul 300v FS permanently from third service onwards.

3)
Considering the dusty, humid conditions to which i've been exposing the GT - decided to get a average grade teflon coating (3M).
Honestly, there is no real visible changes, shine or anything but grimes appears to come off more easily now and the ever present rust which constantly occurs whenever i am in chennai has almost completely ceased.

4)
ECU was sent to pune for re-calibration - The new and improved ECU has put an end to the issue which i used to experience earlier, where the FI light would turn itself on when the bike's temp meter hits four bars.

However, sudden acceleration from 3000rpm to 9000rpm is not as jerk free as it used to be. There are mild jerkiness creeping in after the 6k rpm mark. I will be doing a good 700km run this weekend and test this out to the fullest on all gears so that i can provide the head engineer at Gareware a nice and detailed ride report.

5)
Overall: I am pretty happy with the work done on the GT by the Bangalore SVC folks. They are very pleasant to deal with, keep me updated and deliver on time as committed. I like that. They have also recently appointed a Technical Head for the southern division of Gareware Motors.
He basically shifts between the Chennai and Bangalore service centers and will engage whenever there are any technical complications/customer complaints that are unresolvable by the mechs.

The mechs that are already present in the Bangalore are being sent to Pune to complete their advanced course as well.

Anyone (including me) who's been saying GM mechs were technically not too good, I guess Gareware has taken this comment on a serious note and are turning things around.

Hi "Brat",

Great to hear about your experience with the GTR. Reassures me a lot that my GTN experience will work out fine. My main concerns were the heavy vibes around 6000rpm, and the general reliability of the bike.

I agree with you that the Bangalore guys are very very customer centric. I guess most people are customer centric during the sales process and then become aloof once the sales process is over, but from your experience, it seems that their focus on customer service is unwavering.

Will be waiting with bated breath for your 700km trip report.

By the way, I'll be getting the bike on Sunday if not today.

First of all, Welcome to xBhp..
and congrats on your new GTN, an excellent choice - given the traffic situation at B'lore. You will simply love the handling.

The vibes will slowly start fading as you keep using the bike. What you should be concerned about is definitely not the vibes but the weight of the bike (If this is your first 650cc steed).

Truth is, I got my GT from the Chennai dealer, the B'lore dealer gains nothing from trying to give me a good customer experience or taking meticulous care of my queries and complaints. But that does not stop them from trying.

One of the main reasons they take good care of their people is because they want to establish a good reputation as an emerging brand, else no long term market for them, besides that relatively bigger bikes sell quite a bit by word of mouth or references from an existing customer.

There may not be a 700k report since this is kind of a fortnightly trip back home for me. I can definitely vouch for the reliability part though.

Do post your initial delivery experience and a few pics as well of your GTN.
I hope you have already got the riding gear as well. Ride safe and Godspeed!

Hi Brat,

Good to know your second service update.
What happened to that fuel gauge issue? is that identified and fixed?

@Crusoe: Congrats on your GTN. ride safe and SOUND

Thanks guys!!

Actually I'm a oldie on XBhp. First became a member back in 2002 or 2003, dont remember which year exactly. Attended the GTGs in Delhi and then when I moved to Bangalore, attended one in Blr as well.

Then I kind of dropped off the biking thing slowly mainly because of the crazy traffic in Blr and the rain.

In terms of gear, I already have some:

Helmet - LS2 (ISI mark wala )
Jacket - Teknic Mesh Jacket
Gloves - Alpinestars Apex Drystar
Pants - None - thinking of Joe Rocket Ballistic 7.0 or AStars AST1 WP
Boots - Currently have anklet length workmen boots

i just got a call from Akshay, Delhi Superbikes

hes inviting all hyosung owners for a ride together, about 10-12 of us

hes got a bunch of accessories as well..

looking forward to the weekend..

really happy with the enthusiasm n initiative of the guys in the lajpat nagar showroom..hats off!!

Good choice of gears bro and congrats on your new bike.

Finally happy thing happened with my GT... They have replaced the tank due to seam welding problem. Thanks to SVC Bangalore and Amit,Pune after fighting a lot and calling them for last 3 months.