Hyosung Comet

It's one of four machines we've ridden from the range and all have left us feeling pretty positive about the company's future. Generally they've given the impression of being robust and well-priced for what they offer.

Wot's this then?

The Comet shares its 249cc air/oil-cooled 8-valve 4-stroke engine with the Aquila cruiser, along with a five-speed transmission with chain drive.

The chassis was originally designed to cope with the upcoming mid-sized twin (originally a 600 but now a 650) and is therefore a little oversized for this powerplant - something we see as an advantage for reasons we'll explain later.

Suspension is a substantial set of upside-down forks up front and monoshock rear, while braking is handles by a twin-piston front disc and single-piston rear. All up the package is more or less what you'd expect from a naked 250.

We don't have any power claims, but top speed is around 140km/h, dry weight is 155kg, seat height 780mm and fuel capacity 17 litres.

Wot's it like?

We've actually ridden this bike - owned by Stafford Motorcycles in Melbourne - twice. Once as a stocker, and most recently in mildly modified form, including a factory (Zero Racing) performance muffler, jetting and Bridgestone Battlax tyres.

The stocker performs very well - lively straight line urge, and pretty good steering. The latter, on stock tyres, was quite neutral, though feel was improved noticeably with the swap-over to the Battlax rubber. Suspension initially needed a little sorting, though we understand the factory and Staffords have played with this and the latest incarnation of this machine was pretty good in that department.

As the frame was originally designed for the 600 (and has since been superseded for the 650), it is more than robust enough for what a 250 can throw at it, adding to a general feeling of strength and stability. A bonus is that it's one of the few 250s out there which fits a tall person. My 170cm-tall daughter could put her feet flat on the ground, while my 190cm frame fitted on board with no dramas.

Power delivery in stock form is quite linear, while offering a solid 110km/h cruising speed for as long as you want it. The addition of the pipe and jetting added a particularly nice, meaty v-twin note, while improving the bottom end and midrange noticeably. We're probably not talking big lifts in the numbers, but every little helps on a quarter-litre bike and at least the performance gains were in the right places.

General finish is okay. There are a couple of areas which could be tidied up, such as putting some clear over the decals on the tail section. Instrumentation is good.

The price of $6499 (plus ORC) is competitive and makes the bike well worth considering.

Story: Guy Allen