Despite a poor economy and the absence of many big motorcycle brands Hyosung Motors America had strong presents at the 2010 Cycle World International Motorcycle show in Chicago. I chatted with Hyosung Motors America President Tony Kim and Regional Sales Manager Hyon Ko about the 2010 models and bikes in the works. Tony Kim confirmed that later this year or early next year we will see an all electric scooter from Hyosung available here in the states. The Gem 4.0 and 2.0 were first unveiled at EICMA late last year.

Hyosung unveiled the ST7 cruiser earlier this year at EICMA but the 700cc liquid cooled twin made it’s first US appearance at the Chicago show. The South Korea based company also displayed the newly redesigned GT250 and GT250R with redesigned tail section, black triple tree and fuel injection.

I captured some poor quality video on my iphone of the ST7 and Hyosung GT250R. Have a look and be sure to check the bikes out this weekend if your at the Chicago IMS show.

Check out the videos and images after the break…

2010 Hyosung ST7 GV700i cruiser video

2010 Hyosung GT250R video

2010 Hyosung GT250R and ST7 pictures

2010 Megelli 250R

The market for small displacement street motorcycles is slim pickin’s in the States. Models such as the Honda Rebel, Ninja 250R, Kawasaki Eliminator 250 are somewhat exciting but sometimes go decades without redesign or major updates. They are great, proven bikes but are kind of lacking in the looks department.

About 4 years ago Hyosung showed up in the states under the Alpha Sport badge with a 250cc cruiser and fully faired sportbike. Both bikes looked good but the big story was the GT250R which looked more like a middle weight sportbike than a dated learner bike. A few years later Kawasaki redesigned the Ninja 250R. I personally doubt this was a coincidence. The Hyosung no doubt took a small bite out of the little Ninja’s sales.

For 2010 the bar has been raised by Italian manufacturer Megelli and US importer QLINK. QLINK quietly rolled out 3 liquid cooled 250cc single cylinder street bikes that bring ¼ liter styling to a new level. Steel trellis frame and swingarm, under seat exhaust, 31.4 inch seat height all delivered in a dirtbike light 248 lbs. These bikes look incredibly sexy and on paper sound silly fun to ride. A fully faired sportbike, a naked street fighter and a supermoto version is available.

2010 Megelli 250S

Compared to the 330 lb vTwin powered Hyosung GT250R’s 28 HP and 16.7 lb-ft of torque, the Migelli may be lacking in overall power with 16.2 HP. However, 17.8 lb-ft of torque coming from the SYM built motor combined with it’s light weight should provide for some great launches from the line and serious front wheel lofting. SYM, a powersports company out of Taiwan is known for building powerful engines with durable ceramic coated cylindar walls. The 2 year warranty puts the two bikes on par for coverage.

The price of the Megelli 250R sport bike is $3499 saving you $500 over the solid colored Hyosung models which could buy a good amount of safety gear for a learner rider. The 250S Streetfighter costs $3199 saving $300 compared to the Hyosung GT250 naked which is also a substantial amount of cash.

2010 Megelli 250M

The model that may have the largest sale potential is the 250M supermoto. It comes in at $2899 making it one of the best values in the US motorcycle market today. Comparing it to the Yamaha WR250X you loose some torque and a little HP but your also saving a staggering $3600. It remains to be seen how much you loose in fit and finish and component quality compared to the Yamaha but many flaws can be ironed out with 3 and a half large.

If you want all the details on how these bikes are engineered check out the Megelli Parts site for complete microfiche for the bikes.