I immediately noticed that the air intake is not muffled. Many reviewers have commented that much of the Suzuki GSX-R600's charm is the roar of the intake on acceleration, rather than the exhaust note. The Hyosung has a similar intake roar, coupled with a gutsy bass-frequency mini-thunder that comes out from what is still a Euro-3 certified exhaust. You will like the sound of this bike, it is legal, and it will not piss off the neighbors.

Something happily missing from the audio spectrum are bodywork noises. The Comet feels solid and quality-built, without any strange plastic buzzy noises or rattles from either end.

The electronic fuel injection system became the root of a three-day saga with a happy ending. When I first picked up the bike there were no flat spots in the mapping, and application of power post-apex was seamless. However, at very low speeds such as turning into a driveway or a parking lot, the fuel injection had a tiny bit of abruptness coming off closed throttle. It was not enough to send a beginner out of control and across the lawn, and after one or two times anyone at any skill level would master it. However, it was a negative point in what otherwise seemed to be a very well dialed-in fuel injection system. My only other complaint was that the motor was idling at 1700 RPM, which seemed a little high to me. So I went to the local Hyosung dealer, who knew I was out testing because I actually got one of HIS brand new 2008 bikes to try before it was to be delivered to him.

I described the problem, he listened to the bike and agreed that it did sound a bit too high. That presented us with another problem. There is no service documentation for the 2008 EFI system in Denmark yet, so we had no idea what the idle speed should be. Looking in a 2007 manual for a carburetted bike, we found an idle speed range specified as 1300 to 1500 RPM. So we set the idle at 1350 RPM. It seemed to run fine in the shop, I rode the one and a half miles home, and the dealer closed up shop and went home for the night. That was on a Saturday. On Sunday, I went for a ride with my local club, and it became a nightmare. The 1350 RPM idle speed was too low, the idle flopped around between 1350 and 1000 RPM, and every time I closed the throttle at low speed the motor just died. I spent the entire four-hour club ride doing weird tricks with my right hand trying to use the front brake and still keep the engine speed up when the clutch was pulled in.

On Monday I suffered through the commute to the office with the faulty idle speed, and on the way home I took the bike back in to the dealer. We threw the exhaust gas analyzer on the bike, which we had not done the first time around. At 1350 RPM the EGA readings showed the motor using about half the fuel one would expect. The problem was obvious: no fuel, no run. So the dealer brought out a special electronic box used to calibrate and set the EFI on the SV650. After all, the Hyosung uses the same Mitsubishi EFI unit, so we thought we had an easy solution. Between the dealer, his top mechanic, and myself we spent 30 minutes looking in every nook and cranny of the motorcycle for the connector to plug in the EFI programmer, and came up empty. This was the one time we wished the bike had been built like the SV650. So the three of us agreed that Hyosung will most likely have their own EFI programmer for dealers to purchase complete with a (surely expensive) special dealer test wiring harness to connect to the EFI.

Time for Plan B: we used the Exhaust Gas Analyzer to make a crude chart of the fuel injection map at various RPM's down near idle, and found that 1500 RPM seemed to be the bottom of the map, below which things went horribly lean in a hurry. We used 1550 RPM as our new best guess idle speed. I took the bike out and tested it, and it was flawless. Even my complaint about the EFI coming harshly off idle was no longer valid. So except for the mis-adjusted idle speed, Hyosung got the fuel injection almost 100% perfect the first time out, which is more than one can say about some of the other manufacturers. Perhaps Hyosung had set the idle speed properly at the factory, and as I ran in the brand-new motor the internal friction was reduced and the idle speed crept up. That's why there are 600 mile checks, I guess.

For those of you thinking after market exhaust, since the GT650R has the same Mitsubishi EFI unit as the SV650, DynoJet Research could conceivably come out with a Power Commander and maps for the Hyosung. (There is nothing on their web site for Hyosung at present.) Then again, the EFI version of the bike is apparently not yet available in the USA, so it is a moot point for the moment.

But let's get back to the test. The engine pulls with what seems to be linear torque characteristics all the way from 3500 RPM to its redline of 10500 RPM. At the risk of another Suzuki comparison, if you have ever ridden a Suzuki TL/R the little Hyosung will remind you of that that lovely high-revving v-twin motor, albeit a baby version. I did not feel a single hesitation or flat spot throughout the rev range, just pure strong pull all the way up. The electronic rev limiter comes on rather abruptly at 10500 RPM. There is no “gracefully fading over-rev range” so be ready to shift immediately before you go head first over the bars. I am just kidding, it's not that bad. Below 3500 RPM, the motor feels a tiny bit sluggish and reluctant to pull quite as hard, but it pulls without any significant complaint. Roll-on to overtake on the highway is very good. Where most 600's have to go down two gears to get in the power band to pass, the GT650R only needs to go down one, or none if you have a leisurely pass. It is easy to forget that this is only a 650cc motor. This is not a wild wheelie machine, but it does have good get up and go.

The initial quality “snick” going from neutral into first gear was repeated for all of the gears. Throughout the entire test I did not find any false neutrals, the transmission would shift easily without using the clutch if I was so inclined, and overall the transmission felt like a quality bit of workmanship. It just worked beautifully, like a transmission should.

The light switches came to my attention rather quickly. The turn signal switch needs to be dead center in order to push in and cancel properly. If it is not perfectly dead centered, it simply will not push in. It takes a little thumb fiddling and pressure to get the switch to properly center and cancel, but maybe this will wear in and become easier with time. It was no better after one week of riding, so then again maybe this is a design flaw that Hyosung should look at. It is not a big problem, just annoying and distracting.

USA bikes normally have no light switch for the headlight. When the ignition switch is on, the lights are on. European bikes have a thumb-activated light switch on the right hand grip with a parking light position and a headlight setting, like American bikes used to have. The version of the Hyosung I tested has a switch in that location, but it is not a headlight switch. The Comet's headlights turn on with the ignition switch USA-style. What looks like a headlight switch is actually the four-way flashers. When some cute young thing flashed her headlights at me, I assumed that she was reminding me to turn my headlights on. My response was to turn the four-way flashers on. Oops... Strange switch position. But since the lights were already on, do you think she was actually flashing to flirt with the handsome guy on that shiny red motorcycle?

Once I was out on the road and could settle into the normal seating position, and found it to be typical mid-range sport bike ergonomics. The seating position and lean angle are not as extreme as the new R6, which quite frankly I find to be ridiculous and discriminatory against short people with thick necks, but it is not as upright as a CBR600 F4i. A good comparison is the GSX-R600 or an older R6: somewhat aggressive, but not neck-wrenching extreme. There is just the right amount of weight on the hands, and the reach to the clip-ons is comfortable.

As you can see in the photos, the seats are separate. The rider's seat is comfortable and firm, and gives good support. On one of the days I rode the bike on a motorcycle club ride, and we did four hours of riding including everything from motorway to twisties. The seat was comfortable for the entire day. I have not sat on the pillion seat, but it looks like a typical sport bike minimally-upholstered butt pad that is probably not very comfortable after 20 minutes.