Aquila Pro from Hyosung has heart of a sportsbike
The Aquila Pro from Hyosung has the Cruiser street creed of a cruiser but the heart of a sportsbike.
Aquila Pro <em>Photos: Pawan Dagia</em>
SPECS
ENGINE 650 cc V-twin motor (GV650)
POWER 74 hp
STYLE Cruiser, 5-speed gearbox
0-100 6 seconds
TOP SPEED 195 kmph
PRICE Rs 4.99 lakhs
I'm not feeling too well. My head's throbbing and my limbs ache. The last thing I want to do now is ride a motorcycle. And yet here I am outside the showroom waiting for my ride to be carted out. Good news is, I won't be stuck in a fetal position all day long, for my ride today is a brand new cruiser from DSK Hyosung and not some race replica. Thank god for small mercies. Badged the Aquila Pro but also called the GV650, this is DSK Hyosung's second such offering in India; the first of course was the ST7.
So while I don all my protective gear, I notice the soft, padded and low slung seat along with the pulled-back handlebar and the forward set footpegs. Instantly, I know things have begun to look up. As per the route we have planned to take today, we are only going to have nicely paved, straight stretches of road all the way through our final photography location.
What I wasn't so sure about was how easy (or cumbersome) the GV650 would be to negotiate traffic with. After all, it weighs 240kg and has a 1,670 mm long wheelbase. Surprisingly, once on the move, you don't feel its weight. And thanks to the low seat height one can also have both feet planted firmly on the ground when you're stuck in bumper to bumper traffic.
However, my happiness is short lived for we have arrived at the foothills of a location we generally use when shooting sports-oriented motorcycles; motorcycles that revel in cornering carving, hard braking and quick turn-ins. Of course nobody thought it appropriate to inform me.
So here I am with a cruiser all stretched and psyched-out to tackle straight roads and I am now staring at an endless stream of corners. But again, the GV has a surprise in store for me. Actually looking at its hardware, I should have known better. It features upside down front forks with lesser travel but greater diameter than Hyosung's earlier model, the ST7's. This is all very sportsbike like, if you please. It also has a sticky set of Bridgestone Battlax tyres. So, even though I start following the photographer's car (which is going at a decent clip) apprehensively trying to get a feel of things around bends, I find myself at its tail without even trying. Yes, the GV can corner!
It even changes direction without much effort, turns in nicely and manages to hold its line much better than the ST7. Crucially, given the chaotic traffic we often find even on Indian highways, it is more tolerant of midcorner corrections.
Sure, you can feel the chassis flex under you and a bumpy corner does seem to threaten to wash the front wide, but never in an abrupt way that might catch you unawares and send you careening. It is actually quite a tidy bike around bends. The only limiting factor in all this is the lean angles you are forced to adopt because the footpegs tend to scrape the road a bit too easily.
We also quite like the motor which is borrowed from Hyosung's sportsbike, the GT650R. So, there's no lazy revving, low-end torquey characteristic to the GV that is typical of cruiser. It in fact, urges you to wind it up all the way to the red line and rely on power and high revs for a higher turn of speed and acceleration. Interestingly, the engine feels smoother on the GV than on the GT and you don't mind giving it the stick repeatedly. And to control all that acceleration, the GV's twin disc setup upfront and a single disc at the rear feel adequate.
These bite hard and yet there is enough feel to tell you how much to lean on them before your wheels lock up dangerously.
The GV650 is a much nicer bike than the ST7 and is competitively priced to boot. It is comfortable, fast, and with good, dynamic ability backing it. Overall, it feels well-finished and is as much at home driving in a city as it is taking on intercity travel. In fact, we'd go so far as to say it is a great alternative to the Harley-Davidson Iron 883, the bike GV has so firmly in its sights.
ENGINE 650 cc V-twin motor (GV650)
POWER 74 hp
STYLE Cruiser, 5-speed gearbox
0-100 6 seconds
TOP SPEED 195 kmph
PRICE Rs 4.99 lakhs
I'm not feeling too well. My head's throbbing and my limbs ache. The last thing I want to do now is ride a motorcycle. And yet here I am outside the showroom waiting for my ride to be carted out. Good news is, I won't be stuck in a fetal position all day long, for my ride today is a brand new cruiser from DSK Hyosung and not some race replica. Thank god for small mercies. Badged the Aquila Pro but also called the GV650, this is DSK Hyosung's second such offering in India; the first of course was the ST7.
The 650 cc, water-cooled, V-twin dishes out 74 h
What I wasn't so sure about was how easy (or cumbersome) the GV650 would be to negotiate traffic with. After all, it weighs 240kg and has a 1,670 mm long wheelbase. Surprisingly, once on the move, you don't feel its weight. And thanks to the low seat height one can also have both feet planted firmly on the ground when you're stuck in bumper to bumper traffic.
However, my happiness is short lived for we have arrived at the foothills of a location we generally use when shooting sports-oriented motorcycles; motorcycles that revel in cornering carving, hard braking and quick turn-ins. Of course nobody thought it appropriate to inform me.
So here I am with a cruiser all stretched and psyched-out to tackle straight roads and I am now staring at an endless stream of corners. But again, the GV has a surprise in store for me. Actually looking at its hardware, I should have known better. It features upside down front forks with lesser travel but greater diameter than Hyosung's earlier model, the ST7's. This is all very sportsbike like, if you please. It also has a sticky set of Bridgestone Battlax tyres. So, even though I start following the photographer's car (which is going at a decent clip) apprehensively trying to get a feel of things around bends, I find myself at its tail without even trying. Yes, the GV can corner!
The clean instrument panel is easy to read even with a quick glance; sticky Bridgestone Battlax tyres and twin disc brakes give you a solid grip on things Photos: Pawan Dagia
Sure, you can feel the chassis flex under you and a bumpy corner does seem to threaten to wash the front wide, but never in an abrupt way that might catch you unawares and send you careening. It is actually quite a tidy bike around bends. The only limiting factor in all this is the lean angles you are forced to adopt because the footpegs tend to scrape the road a bit too easily.
We also quite like the motor which is borrowed from Hyosung's sportsbike, the GT650R. So, there's no lazy revving, low-end torquey characteristic to the GV that is typical of cruiser. It in fact, urges you to wind it up all the way to the red line and rely on power and high revs for a higher turn of speed and acceleration. Interestingly, the engine feels smoother on the GV than on the GT and you don't mind giving it the stick repeatedly. And to control all that acceleration, the GV's twin disc setup upfront and a single disc at the rear feel adequate.
These bite hard and yet there is enough feel to tell you how much to lean on them before your wheels lock up dangerously.
The GV650 is a much nicer bike than the ST7 and is competitively priced to boot. It is comfortable, fast, and with good, dynamic ability backing it. Overall, it feels well-finished and is as much at home driving in a city as it is taking on intercity travel. In fact, we'd go so far as to say it is a great alternative to the Harley-Davidson Iron 883, the bike GV has so firmly in its sights.
