Quite a few sub-300cc twin-cylinder engine motorcycles have made their way into the Indian markets lately, and more are to follow. If you’re looking for a quick, fast and compact sports bike, you’ve got the Kawasaki Ninja 300. If you’d rather have a tame and docile street bike, the 250cc Suzuki Inazuma is available. But if it’s a twin-engine cruiser that you seek, your options start and stop at the Hyosung Aquila GV250, at least for now.

We take a ride on the new Aquila GV250, and see if it has what it takes to be a good cruiser for the Indian market.

Aquila GV250 is a rather pricey motorcycle. Since it is an import via the CKD route, it will set you back by nearly three lakhs by the time you add taxes to the sticker price. This isn’t the first time that the 250cc Aquila is being introduced to the Indian riders – it made its first appearance in 2003, when Hyosung, the Korean company had tied-up with Kinetic Motors.

Design and build This the smallest Aquila from Hyosung looks drop-dead gorgeous. The overall silhouette is rather curvaceous, right from the big headlamp, wide handlebars, over the tank and right down to the big, retro-styled flared fenders. There’s a generous amount of chrome splashed over the engine casings, mirrors, exhaust pipe, front suspension covers and on the instrument console as well. So much so, that ‘blingy’ seems a rather appropriate adjective to describe the motorcycle.

As far as the dimensions are concerned, the GV250 is a low-slung, stretched out cruiser, with a raked-out front. In spite of that, the bike feels rather compact once you settle down in the snug saddle. That’s partially because though the handlebars are wide and cruiser-like, they aren’t as wide as the ST7’s handlebars, and that reduces the reach. Also, the gear-shifter and the brake pedal aren’t pushed as far ahead as one would imagine on a cruiser. This footpeg position works for shorter riders, but taller riders will find it problematic unless they get a higher seat.

There are a couple of eyesores, though. The perceived quality of the switches is poor, and the turn-indicator switch also tends to get stuck. The second thing that we did not like was the quality of footpegs, for both rider and pillion – they just look and feel very flimsy for a motorcycle that has otherwise very chunky looks.

Engine and performance Powering the Aquila GV250 is a V-twin, oil-cooled, DOHC, 8-valve, 249cc mill. This is a very high-revving unit, with the red-lining starting only at 12,000rpm. The power figures look decent on paper, but they kick in quite late. For instance, the engine produces 26.21BHP of maximum power at 9,500 rpm, and churns out a maximum torque of 21.37 Nm at 7,000 rpm.

So though the GV250 starts building clean revs right from 2,000 rpm, you just don’t get that torquey punch while riding the motorcycle. We could push the bike to only up to an indicated speed of 120kmph – after that it didn’t feel very sure footed. Moreover, the engine got really rough after nearly 6,000 rpm.

The engine is mated to a 5-speed gearbox, which thankfully has shorter ratios on the low-end, so riding it in the traffic doesn’t become a tiring experience. The same cannot be said for the gear shifting – the gears slotting makes quite a racket and trying to slot into neutral is a pain.

Ride and handling The riding ergonomics are quite comfortable on the Aquila GV250, with a straight-backed posture and wide and comfy seats. The handlebar reach is good enough for efficient manoeuvring inside the city, and the 1,515mm wheelbase helps in achieving this. For a cruiser, it is more on the agile side, unlike its massive, older siblings.

But braking is a real spoilsport with the GV250. For a bike that costs nearly 3 lakhs, one would expect a disc brake at the rear too, but this Aquila comes with a drum brake. And while it’s not the type of brakes that we would complain about much, it’s the quality of braking that’s let us down. There’s hardly any stopping power, and you’re left a bit unconfident if you’re planning to do a short sprint. On a long ride, the engine braking would help, but inside traffic, you need crisp braking for a bike that weighs 179 kilos.

The Aquila uses conventional telescopic front suspensions and hydraulic dual shock absorbers at the rear, which are quite adequate for urban roads. You wouldn’t want to push it anywhere beyond that anyway, with a ground clearance of 150mm.

The biggest disappointment, however, is the fact that the bike gets very ‘vibey’ after the 110kmph mark. Vibration levels are more tolerable in the 70-90 kmph range. A big ride through the highway, where you’d like to maintain a steady pace of nearly 100kmph, isn’t advisable on the Aquila GV250. And that defeats the whole purpose of it being a cruiser.

Bottomline The Aquila manages to turn heads wherever it goes – and that is quite understandable as it has been quite literally dipped in a pool of chrome. The design too, is quite good, with almost all of the components meeting the prerequisites of being a good-looking cruiser. The muffler sounds bassy, and the bike returns a mileage of nearly 28 kmpl, which is acceptable for a twin-cylinder 250cc engine. The bike is quite good for running inside the city – the same can’t be said about its highway performance. If looks reign supreme on your checklist, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t go for the Hyosung Aquila GV250. It is priced at ₹2.65 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

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