My Hyosung Bikes: Review

Being in Korea I've decided to pick up riding. I started with a 125cc Hyosung Exiv and quickly moved up to the 2007 Hyosung Comet GT250R. This is a great learner bike. There's a lot of debate as to whether this bike is worth buying or not. As far as I'm concerned, if you've ridden before then skip this bike. There's a great rush the first time you get on a motorcycle because it's not natural for you to be moving so fast and the shock is compounded by the fact that you don't have a metal cage around you to desensitize you from the speed. But once you get over those initial days of learning to ride, this bike gets boring really fast. However, this bike is not without its own merits.

Bigger Issues:

This was my first bigger bike and I forgot to keep in my mind that it's not a 4 cylinder race bike. I rode the piss out of it and still do. Here's a list of issues that I've run into:

Kick stand switch going berserk and making my bike die while moving.

Burning out clutch plates.

I think those to are connected as my clutch plates only burned out as my bike decided to die on me at 150 km/h repeatedly for a while. The fix? $300 in parts and labor for clutch plates and fresh oil change and shorting the kick stand sensor wire. And seriously, if you just short that wire early you probably won't have to worry about your clutch plates burning out on you. Checking with a Hyosung Riders' forum, I think I'm the only one who's had such an issue (clutch plates). If you get your kick stand switch fixed early, this entire ordeal could probably be avoided.

Minor issues:

The stock tires are horrible in almost every aspect.

I've had my tail slide out on me on dry pavement. This would make sense if I was riding a 600cc+ bike, but this is a 250cc bike. Albeit, I didn't give the tires the 30 minute warm up time they need, what quality tire needs that much time to warm up? It's not supposed to happen. The fix? New rear tire. The stock one wore out on me within 8000 km anyways. Replacing the stock Shinko tire changed everything about the bike. It instantly became more flickable, the suspension actually seemed to do something, and I could go WOT through turns without worry of traction loss.

As far as I'm concerned, if you are living in Korea, there is no reason to modify this bike. As someone had mentioned to me once, this ain't no GP bike. You can rejet it, put on an exhaust, pay for that $80 BMC filter, drop 10 teeth in the sprockets, and whatever else you can think of, but in the end you'll just be on a 250cc bike. Now, the reason I mention that there's no point in Korea is that the price difference between this bike and the big sister 650cc version is around that of purchasing all those modifications.

Dispelled Rumors:

Going into purchasing this bike, I did my own bit of Googling and found a bunch of supposed problems with this bike. No, I could not find any rust on this bike. A somewhat respected online magazine obviously sponsored by Kawasaki made a claim that there was apparent rust on this bike right from the factory. I'm sitting at 10,000km and still don't see any. The chain sucks, the motor sucks, blah blah blah sucks, it's made in China, blah blah blah. I lube my chain every now and then, by which I mean I don't go overboard with it and it has lasted me 10,000km. That's 10,000km worth of WOT, burnouts, clutch drops attempting wheelies, aggressive downshifting (aka having my rear wheel lock up on me a few times because I downshifted too early), and etc. My chain is still good and I've only moved the rear alignment bolt one tick back. I have overrevved my bike several times. Sometimes it was because I wasn't paying attention (the power delivery on this bike is flat) or because I was going through a turn and upshifting could have been a problem. I almost always go WOT on this bike. This bike has gone through an entire season of this treatment from me and it has not had any issues. And last of all, this bike is made by Hyosung Motors, it's a Korean company. Eat it. There's a bunch of other stuff I could write about this bike, but that's stuff I've read already in other reviews and stories about the Hyosung Comet GT250R. Oh, one last thing about the handling... it's pretty good. I've never been on any other bike, but all I know is that as a beginner I've been able to chase bikes with twice, three, or four times as much power on uphill twisties.

Now, what I'm hoping to make the meat and potatoes of these reviews...

When the Zombies Come:

This bike would be quite handy in the case of a zombie invasion. So long as you leave the tailpipe alone, it doesn't have that, "OMG, FRESH RATIONAL BRAIN MEAT IS NEARBY" noise appeal that zombies tend to go for. It's fairly light and handles itself well enough so you would be able to get away from any zombie parade and weave through the carcasses of abandoned cars and whatnot. The unfortunate part of this bike comes down to the suspension, it does not fair that well over bumps so take it easy when going around corners, if the movies are right, the roads will be strewn with cracks in the asphalt and random debris. The good thing is that the average zombie's top speed should be somewhere between 5 to 12 km/h so you can take the corners as easy as you want. It's pretty good on gas and able to get across Korea on one tank. The bike has a nifty little trunk that will hold at least a decent sized .45 pistol, which is the minimum I would suggest for armament against zombies... a 9mm isn't gonna do crap unless you're an expert marksman and can really make headshots with every shot and account for every wind variance and surprise zombie attack.

(O)verall (R)ating (F)or (Z)ombie (P)reparation:

Necessity: 3/5

Practicality: 4/5

Zombie Killing Ability: 2/5

Zombie Defense: 4/5

Getting Your Motorcycle License

I can only speak for someone who has a driver's license in America. You can trade in your American driver's license for a Korean driver's license after taking a 20-quesition written test. The Korean driver's license you receive allows you to drive automatic transmission cars. You can see all of your endorsements on the top right of your license. 2종보통 means that you have the basic driver's license. The motorcycle license is actually just an endorsement on your existing driving license as it usually is in the case of your American driver's license.

If your plan is to remain on a 124.99cc or less motorcycle (including most scooters), then you don't have to worry about the motorcycle endorsement. The motorcycle endorsement is called 2종소형.

The first thing you need to do is go to the website:
http://www.dla.go.kr/Servlet/Main

The English version doesn't really do much to help you, but I'm going to assume you have a bilingual Korean friend to help you find info on where one is. The easiest way to set an appointment for the riding test is to create a username/login on the website and find your way to set an appointment online. If you can't find anyone to help you navigate the site, then you could always stop by the testing center to set an appointment in person. If you don't know how to find your local testing center, do a naver search for: "운전면허시험장 [insert nearest big city or your city]". Small cities will generally hold motorcycle license testing once or twice a week, but testing centers in Seoul have them every day.

Here is a video of what you will be dealing with:



I would recommend that you practice riding before you go. The bike you will be using to take the test will be a Hyosung Mirage 250cc. The most difficult part is the first section, which is called "The Crank". It's a narrow laned 90 degree left and then 90 degree right. Despite how easy it might seem, this is actually somewhat difficult and where most people fall off. I practiced in a parking lot and simply tried my best to stay on the white lines that marked the parking spaces.

The rest of the test involves a sweeping S-turn, a straight, and a moderately simple cone/pylon slalom. Besides "the crank" the rest of the riding test is extremely easy, my only recommendation is that you keep some speed and don't get nervous. If you go to slow, the bike will lose a lot of stability and it will be shaky through any of the maneuvers. The trick is to be smooth and cautious, but not too cautious.

Now, how do you fail the test? One ways is if you put your foot down on the pavement. The second way is if an entire tire goes over a boundary line. You can still attain a passing score if only half a tire passes over a boundary line and I've seen people pass when they've toe-tapped the pavement for a moment.

Things you should bring to the testing center:
Your driver's license
Your passport
Your foreigner card (Green card)
Some cash (Approx. 20,000 Won)
Passport photos of yourself

Now, the testing center I went to had someone who would take your photo for a small fee and cut you a passport sized photo, but I can't guarantee that all testing centers will have a photographer so I say it's better to be safe than sorry.

Riding Rules in Korea

First and foremost, there is a law that bans motorcycles from entering the freeways. If you decide to try, I'd recommend you go on the non-toll gated motorway and not the tolled roads. I've heared stories of how the police will infact block off the entire highway to stop a biker. The good news is that this is almost the only case in which the police will mess with you if you're on a bike.

If your bike "looks" beefy, the police won't bother you for the most part. Motorcycles are largely seen in a similar category as pedal bikes so they're mostly left alone. You will most definitely be bothered for a stop if you are riding around town without a helmet. I have seen many delivery boys and heard of many foreigners who have been pulled over for not having a helmet. You will more than likely only receive a warning the first time, but since you're probably a foreigner reading this, there's a good chance they'll remember if you get pulled over more than once.

Now, getting back to the cops not bothering you. I'm just saying, don't tempt fate. Don't go swerving through traffic at 200 km/h as you pass a police officer because if you tick one of them off bad enough, they will come after you. That being said, there is a basic understanding that so long as you're not riding like a complete idiot, but are riding in a "safe" manner at 160+ km/h (100mph) most cops won't bother chasing you. Also, one of the best things about riding in Korea is that the police rarely do traffic patrol and most speeding offenses are enforced by speed cameras that will take a picture of the front of your vehicle and bikes don't have front license plates.

What it all boils down to is the amount of respect you show. A lot of people look at these dumbass delivery boys on their 125 cc bikes running red lights, filtering through traffic on local roads at full bore, making turns around blind corners and think that it's okay to ride like that. You will hear a lot about people who die on motorcycles, the majority of people who die on motorcycles are these dumbass high school student delivery boys. Yeah, you won't get a lot of mess from the law if you decide to ride like this in urban areas, but just use some common sense. You can still enjoy all the speed and exhileration that riding a motorcycle has to offer by leaving town and finding less populated areas and country roads. I'll dicuss finding such roads later on.

There's a rule of thumb when riding in America and that is to see everyone else on the road as a potential enemy and to expect them to try and "get" you. That rule is even more important in Korea. I mean this to the greatest amount of offense as I can inflict upon drivers in Korea, LEARN TO BE A LITTLE MORE AWARE WHEN DRIVING. I have never seen so many people just blindly shove half their car into the lane when coming out of a driveway, not looking before crossing intersections, ignoring stop/yield signs, oh, and don't even get me started with the number of people who will randomly swerve over the median on cell phones. It all works if you're Korean and grew up driving in Korea or India or China or one of these countries where traffic laws don't have as much meaning, but if you grew up driving in America or Canada you're going to have to be a bit more aware of the sheer stupidity that you'll encounter from the drivers here.

I don't want to say that I condone speeding and I don't want to say that Korea is lawless. The fact of the matter is that the police here are seen as a preventative measure for violent crimes, as it should be. Although I can feel that the "police state" is coming to a rise, it is still somewhat lax here and bending the law a bit will not get you into as much trouble here so long as you're not endangering others.

What's a good bike for Korea?

Well, as far as I can tell, there are four primary types of riding and different bikes will fit the bill for whatever riding you're hoping to do.

1) City Riding

2) Tour Riding

3) Sport Riding

4) "Adventure" Riding

City riding is tough in Korea because traffic patterns are difficult to predict. Unless you are extremely aware of where everything is, trying to find someplace while on a bike is difficult because you need to keep your attention on the road as well as trying to decipher the thousands of Korean signs. As I had previously mentioned, traffic patterns are highly erratic and dangerous for motorcycle riding in Korea. Personally, I don't particularly enjoy city riding and try to avoid riding on local roads for the most part. That being said, there is the easiest option; scooters.

Many people opt for scooters because

you don't have to shift gears, they are easy on maintenance and you get incredible mileage. Just to give you an idea, I had a buddy who had scooter problems and when he got his carburetters cleaned and his

spark plug repaired, it cost him 10,000 Won. Other advantages of opting for a scooter is the fact that you don't need to have a license to ride one, you have plenty of cheap options as there are plenty of Korean and Chinese brands to buy and most of them have good sized trunks for if you want to go grocery shopping with. Scooters look dinky and it's more or less embarrassing to ride a scooter in America, but everyone in Korea rides them. A good scooter can be bought for as low as 300,000 Won, but expect any shop to try and get an extra 100,000-200,000 Won out of you. Conditions, made year, etc. all come into the calculation, but scooters will generally run forever and fixing them costs little. If it runs when you test ride it, it's in good enough condition.

Okay, so since we've covered scooters, let's move on. If you're just looking for an easy way to get around town a scooter is fine, but let's face it, most people who are riding scooters do so because they can't afford the hassle of a car, but are too lazy for a pedal bike. Long distance rides in Korea are difficult on a scooter as they generally can't do more than 80km/h and that's talking about a flat road with the wind on your back. The entire peninsula of Korea is one giant mountain range and trying to make it up hill on a scooter is just dangerous as cars will pass you at speed and the brakes aren't great so going downhill isn't any safer so you can pretty much forget about leaving town unless you're really dedicated to the task. There are "big scooters" available, but they go up in price and down in reliability.

The next level is the 125cc class of bikes that are rampant in Korea. The bikes you'll see in this range are the Hyosung Exiv ("sporty"), Hyosung Mirage (cruiser), Daelim Roadwin ("sporty"), and Daelim Daystar (cruiser). These are the most popular and easiest to find. A good condition Exiv or Daelim will run you around 800,000 - 1,500,000 Won. A good condition Mirage will run you between 700,000 - 1,500,000 Won. A good condition Daystar can be found for as low as 500,000 Won. There are also plenty of offerings in this class from various Chinese brands like HSRC and the pricier Japanese brands like Honda. These bikes will generally get to around 100km/h. The speedos will indicate up to 140km/h if you're going downhill and you have the wind at your back, but it's just lying to you. These bikes mostly require you to know how to shift gears, but are fun for getting around town and can occasionally get you out of town. They can keep up with car traffic for the most part and will maintain 80-90 km/h on a 10% grade hill climb. When I had my 125cc Exiv, I took frequent trips between HongCheon and ChunCheon. So now the choices boil down to; Korean or Import and Sporty or Cruiser. Japanese bikes are better made. Period. The problem is that they are expensive to buy and expensive to keep in repair.

Korean bikes have been getting better and will be cheaper to keep in repair and the biggest plus is that every bike shop will know how to work on it so you won't have to shop around to find a shop that knows what they're seeing when they look at an import. Chinese bikes are all rip offs so just find the Korean/Japanese equivalent and you'll have a good idea.

General Maintenance Costs for Scooters and 125cc bikes:

Fuel: 5,000 Won will last you aroound a week if you're using it for 30 minute daily commutes + random shopping and moving.

Oil Change: 5,000-10,000 Won for the oil and the filter. These bikes need oil changes every 500-750 km. You can opt for better oil, but it's not really worth it unless you care more about longevity than cost.

Carburetter Cleaning: 5,000-10,000 Won

Spark Plug Replacement: 2,000-6,000 Won

Now, this is a bike I had and the bike I believe to be perfect for Korea; Hyosung 250 class of bikes. There are three Korean models; The Daelim VFJ-i Roadwin 250(sporty), Mirage(cruiser) and the Comet(sporty). There are two versions of the Comet; Faired and non-faired. Faired just means it has those cool looking plastic covers. You can go and Google the specs on this bike or read what I wrote beforehand about the bike. Why is it so good for Korea? The Hyo 250 class of bikes get good gas mileage. I couldn't tell you exactly what the mileage is as I never calculated gas mileage, but they have the range to get you from the east coast of Korea to the west coast on one tank of gas. These bikes will get you to around 160 km/h (roughly 100mph). They deliver power smoothly so there's never a surprise when you crank the throttle. The cost of maintenance runs more than the above two options, but is still relatively cheap compared to bigger imports. You don't have to shop quite as hard to find a shop that can work on these bikes because they are very similar to their 125cc counterparts and most shops will be able to do whatever you need for their repairs. Although the shops will recommend standard oil, I'd recommend at least a semi-synthetic (rough 40,000 Won for two bottles + filter) as these bikes are a bit more sophisticated than smaller bikes. The best part about the 250 is that it also works to get you around Korea. It can maintain speed on any hill, corner, etc. The only thing I would suggest is you change the tires if you plan on riding in the rain because the stock tires are HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE when it's wet. When I was riding my Hyo Comet GT250R, I made frequent trips to Sokcho without any real issue.

Now, all that being said about the 250, I will tell you that I did manage to destroy my 250's transmission and motor. The 250 motor works if you just want to cruise or if you want to commute or do some exploring. The 250 motor will not work if you plan on riding at speed consistently and do more "extreme" riding. I rode my 250 at full open throttle everywhere and this motor is not meant for that. As a learner, the 250 is perfect as well, but if you have riding experience and you plan on riding fast just move on to a "bigger" bike. Don't let this detract you from purchasing one, she simply died on me because I did some naughty things with her.

Tour Riding, Sport Riding, Adventure Riding. I can't really comment on the last. I have never hit a dirt trail nor have I ever ridden a dirt bike. However, there are plenty of places to do it if that's your thing. One thing Korea has in abundance are offroad areas. You can find trail bikes relatively cheap as Koreans don't find them very practical and resale value suffers as a result. Now, the two things I am a bit more familiar with; Tour Riding and Sport Riding.

Tour Riding in Korea involves taking 1+ hour trips at "extra-legal" speeds. I know, I know (well, if you are American, I can't speak for other nations) that we are bred to keep an eye on our rear view mirror for state troopers who will take us to the bank if we are a bit "liberal" with our speed. This rule doesn't apply quite as much when riding in Korea. I mentioned this in my last entry. Tour Riding can involve any bike, I've even seen people tour on scooters (I know I mentioned that they aren't much for anything besides scooting around town) clinging desperately to the right lane or shoulder. Although motorcycles are not allowed on the highways, there are plenty of "inter-province roads" or "county roads" that you can ride on which are more or less highways. You have to be careful as these turn from two-lane highway-esque roads into dusty backroads without warning. There are also instances where they will just turn into "cars only" roads where motorcycles aren't supposed to ride without any warning, but don't worry about this because if you get pulled over you can just explain that you're a dumb foreigner and feign ignorance. These "cars only" roads are actually the non-toll gated high ways I mentioned in my "Riding Rules" entry. My recommendation is to find motorcycle "cafes" (다음카페)on daum.net, wave down another rider, or find a shop where Korean riders hang out. Getting in with a riding group or a touring group is tons of fun and they'll show you all the great roads and it's a great way to explore Korea with people who know it best. Most motorcycle enthusiasts in Korea are some of the kindest and most outgoing people that I have met to date. The motorcycle groups that give you the cold shoulder are usually filled with assholes you won't want to involve yourself with anyways. That leads me to Sport Riding.

Sport Riding in Korea has both major advantages and disadvantages. Proper sport riding should be done on a track, but let's face it... if you tally up the cost of track time, cost of tires, finding a good way to transport your bike, and everything else that's involved, it's just not practical in Korea. There are only a couple tracks that I know of in Korea and I have heard that one of them shut down. The one that I know is still in business is in TaeBaek. Alright, the track itself is okay, but the layout and administration leaves a lot to be desired. The run-offs are kind of small so I can see it fully possible for people to hit a wall if they have an "off" at a decent speed. It has your basic layout, long straight at the start/finish, long sweeping back stretch, a couple techincal corners, off-camber corners, etc. However, there are no braking zone indicators at corner entire, which would make it difficult for learners to get on with it. My biggest problem with the track is the way that it is run. First, you need to get a "license", which is pretty much a registration fee and a run through the course. The way they run the track days are that they have 20 minute sessions and no real "track" instruction. If you know anything about trackdays in the US, they generally have some sort of instruction, on-site staff to help you adjust your suspension and other settings, and other facilities at your disposal. As far as I can tell, a "track day" at TaeBaek Motor Park is an entry fee like you would pay at an amusement park. It's a wonder why motorsports are at such an infantile stage in this country. Criticisms aside, it's your only option for actual track time so take it or leave it. I decided not to bother unless some incredible opportunity arises, I'll save my kneed sliders for when I get back to America.

Now, the major advantage if you like sport riding are the number of nice mountain roads and twisties available to you. Here's a sample. The road condition on this particular road isn't the greatest, but there are plenty of others. If I ever get a chance to film them, I'll post them up.

There are many corners you can see all the way through the turn so that you don't have to

worry about slow-moving vehicles and the way uphill is double laned so passing slower vehicles is generally not a problem. Another major bonus is that the highway system has become really developed so cars generally stay away from these roads and stick to the highways. If you are in Gangwon-do and are interested in finding mountain twisties by you, feel free to contact me. I know twisties in every corner of this province. I don't know them all, but I've at least passed through most of the clean and fun to ride ones.

Riding Gear

This first part is for new riders. If you know about the importance of gear, you can skip down to the links. You can never get enough safety information so feel free to read through it and give some feedback if I left anything out or you feel there are any mistakes.

Basic gear that I would recommend:

Leather or Vented Jacket - These comes in various forms. Riding specific jackets will have

built in protective crash pads and the materials used are intentionally used to keep your skin from being all rubbed off by the asphalt. A non-riding specific leather or heavy jacket can do well to protect you from abrasion, but the built in armor that you get with a riding jacket could mean the difference between a dislocated shoulder and a minor bit of soreness. The jacket on the left is a vented textile jacket from Teknic that has remained in pretty good condition after two falls. It is fully vented and I stay relatively cool so long as I'm moving. The jacket on the right is part of a full 2-piece leather suit that I had tailor made from ArmorWorld. I'm very proud of the suit as it was fully tailored for my body and every measurement was taken in order to ensure the perfect fit. Both jackets have built in shoulder, elbow, chest and back protectors.

Heavy Jeans or Riding Pants - Don't ride in

shorts. Don't ride in shorts. Don't ride in shorts. Don't ride in shorts. Don't ride in shorts. Don't ride in shorts. Actually, if you like skin grafts and want to rub off some skin into the asphalt, go ahead. Jeans actually offer little to no protection, but I'd recommend heavy jeans as the utmost minimum as they will give you at least a few seconds before you're using your own skin to protect your bones from being grinded down. The leather pants on the left are the lower piece that zip up to the jacket to make a full suit. The jeans on the right are "kevlar enforced" riding jeans from Draggin Jeans. You can see the yellow cloth where by the seat of the pants, that is the kevlar and it is supposed to have better resistance to tearing when dragged on the ground.

Leather Gloves - Basic principle behind leather gloves is like that of all your other gear, that the leather will be rubbed off when you skid on the ground before it gets to the soft and delicate skin on your hands. I've gone down without gloves

and having to scrape out gravel chunks and dealing with peroxide isn't very fun. The gloves on the left side are Knox Handroids, brand spanking new for 2010. These are full gauntlet gloves and may be overkill which is why I also have "street" leather gloves from Alpinestars.

Boots - The big thing with foot protection is that
you want to protect your ankles so even

low-cut boots that are tied securely will be of

great benefit. Sneakers will literally go flying in almost any crash you have... again, I learned the hard way. The boots on the left are "street" boots from Joe Rocket which are easier to take on and off when I'm commuting to work or not planning on doing really aggressive riding. I have even played basketball in them and they were fairly comfortable. They have served me well through one crash and my ankles and feet were relatively uninjured. The boots on the right are close to full race boots from Alpinestars and are a bit uncomfortable for daily use. These are both motorcycle riding specific boots, but so long as your boots are tied securely, go over your ankles and aren't steel-toed, you should be fine. I know that having a steel-toe might help you in the case that you're working in a construction setting, but in the case of a crash, the steel toe can be ripped from the boot and take your actual toes with it.

Helmet - Back up there where I told you to try running

and diving onto the asphalt? Try diving onto the asphalt from even a standstill and see how your skull holds up. HJC helmets are a cheap helmet, readily available in Korea and will do a good enough job as they are mostly DOT (American certification for protection criteria) certified. You can check for DOT certification by looking for a DOT sticker on the shell or under the inner padding. Shoei has recently entered the Korean market so they are now available here. I had to purchase mine in America and bring it over as Shoei's were not readily available here at the time. I crashed in the Shoei and replaced it with a carbon FS-15 HJC helmet. The rule of thumb is that you should replace your helmet if it hits the ground after it has been dropped by anything more than shoulder-height or if you crash and it hits the ground. There is some kinda foam/Styrofoam under the shell that compresses when the helmet crashes and once that material is compromised, the helmet becomes more or less useless. The shell can also be compromised without you being able to see it. The half-helmet on top is pretty much a souvenir from one of my motorcycle purchases and doesn't even fit my head, but can also offer some protection and may be right up your alley, although I wouldn't suggest it if you plan on doing anything more than "around town" riding. If you want some more definitive information on helmets, I would recommend WebBikeWorld Helmet Reviews. Web Bike World Helmet reviews are some of the most comprehensive motorcycle helmet reviews I've ever seen. They cover everything from weight to wind noise and even discuss interior helmet shape to help you figure out what matches your skull's shape.

Other Stuff - They sell other stuff for protection like knee pads, elbow pads and even full body armor to wear under your clothes. This is up to your discretion, just use your best judgment and remember that you should still have relative freedom of movement or in other words the gear you wear shouldn't be too constricting. These are some knee pads I got as a gift from a friend. I know I look doofy when I wear them while riding a sport bike, but changing pants at work has become a bit tedious. These aren't necessary, but besides the fact that they will protect me in a crash, if you ride at speed you can be hit in the knees and shins by pebbles or rocks and these will make sure you just find it mildly irritating rather than painful and terribly distracting.

So how much should you pay? Protective gear goes by the old adage, "You get what you pay for". There are plenty of sites like Passo where you can find cheaper used gear to buy and you can also go shopping for gear at shops. I like to go window shopping at ToeGoe-Ro, which is known as "motorcycle street" in Seoul (Chungmuro Station in Seoul (Light Blue / Line #4), Exit 1, if the Dunkin Donuts is on your right side keep walking straight and you'll know you're getting close when you see a couple pet stores with puppies on display).

Reliable websites that sell gear:

http://www.bikemart.co.kr
http://www.helmetmall.co.kr
http://www.hungryrider.co.kr

A Korean web search for : 오토바이용품 will give you plenty of sites to choose from. You can also find riding gear on Gmarket.com and Auction Korea, but they will try to sell you on anything so I'd recommend you try and find something you want from a reputable motorcycle gear dealer and then shop around on sites like Gmarket.

It isn't really necessary to have two sets of riding gear, but the "street" gear that I have listed were my first purchases and the "race" gear was purchased because I plan to eventually hit some track days and they won't even let you step onto the track with anything less than I have posted.

It's difficult to walk away from a crash on the streets unscathed, but proper gear will go a long way in absorbing shock and keep your skin from being sanded off.

Buying a Motorcycle

So now you feel that you're ready to take the plunge and you want to start shopping around for a bike. Buying a bike can be a tricky affair in Korea. As with buying a car you have the choice between new and used. For the most part, I'd recommend a used bike for several reasons. Used bikes are cheap, they can be sold with little to no loss, and if you don't like the used bike you bought there are people who are willing to "trade" you bikes. Also, you'll often find used bikes with aftermarket parts for dress up and performance which makes your life easier if you plan on taking that route. The thing that really bothers me most about buying new in Korea is that there is a really high tariff for imported vehicles. If I ever consider buying new, I think of US prices and when I think of Korean prices I keep thinking I'm getting jipped. If you plan on living here, new is probably a good option. If you're just "passing through", then I'd suggest a used bike so you don't take a hit when it comes to resale value.

In the two years that I have been here, I have been the owner for 4 different bikes; Hyosung Exiv 125, Hyosung Comet GT250R, HSRC Drift 125, and a Yamaha R1.

The Hyosung Exiv was bought from a motorcycle center. Now, depending on what you're looking for, a local motorcycle center is probably the easiest process to purchase a bike. Most of the time you get a limited warranty and the motorcycle center will help you with all the paperwork that is involved. There are a few problems with motorcycle centers, however. Just like in America, you can expect a generous mark up on the price of the motorcycle. The good thing is that you can haggle for the price. In general, all the rules for bargaining at your local marketplace applies to when you buy a motorcycle so just shop wary and shop smart. One additional note, just because the shop gives you a warranty doesn't necessarily mean the bike is in good condition so make sure to check it thoroughly before purchase. Later in this post I'll give you a set of pointers to look out for when purchasing a used bike.

The Hyosung Comet GT250R and the Yamaha R1 were bought through online websites.
Http://www.passo.co.kr
Http://www.bikemart.co.kr

Just in case you can't find the link, used car/bike is "중고차" in Korean so just look for ththose words. The rest of it is pretty self-explanatory. These sites are pretty much the "autotrader.com" sites of Korea. You will find that the prices on these sites are much lower than motorcycle centers and you will have a larger selection of bikes to choose from. The sellers range from large motorcycle dealers to high school students who were forced to sell their motorcycles because their parents found out they had secretly bought one. The Korean word for negotiation is "절충" so if it says "절충가능" the price is negotiable and "절충불가능" mean the price is not negotiable. You have to be extra wary when purchasing a bike online, but there are plenty of good bikes available and people post up ads daily. I would recommend you use Passo over Bikemart as Passo is more popular and people tend to post up cheaper prices, but it doesn't hurt to check both.

My HSRC Drift was purchased from a friend. Now, if this option is available to you, it's probably . It doesn't even have to be a friend, but just any other foreigner who has a bike. You can find motorcycle for sale ads on craigslist Korea as well as teaching forums like Waygook.org. The reason I say that this is your best bet is because you can discuss any problems directly (if your Korean isn't perfect) and the ability to communicate means they can help you through the registration process.

There is also the option of buying new. A new bike has a warranty and you have the piece of mind knowing that the bike is in perfect condition. Bikes are often crashed and dropped and the sellers will lie about it after making repairs. If you have the money and can find a dealer, this may be a good option for you as well.

Used Bike Buying Checklist (Things to do to check the condition of the motorcycle):
Start and shut off the engine a few times. When you first start the bike, put your hand by the engine to see if it is warm. What you're doing here is checking how well it makes a "cold start". Motorcycles generally have a more difficult time starting up when the engine is completely cold. Most smaller and older bikes are carberetter fed so don't expect a perfect start, but it shouldn't take longer than a few seconds or a small pull on the throttle while you're hitting the ingition button. The reason you do this is to make sure the starter and battery are good as well as other things that could be affected on the inside like spark plugs and fuel delivery.
- On a side note - A dead battery is not the end of the world, but it could make things difficult later on. Many batteries suffer greatly in performance if they are completely discharged and left to sit for a while. If the bike needs to be charged, there's a good chance the battery has lost a lot of its potential. If you can start/stop the motor about 5-8 times without any starting issues, the battery is fine. If not, try to negotiate for a free battery replacement. In the case they say no, a new battery will run between 30,000 Won - 130,000 Won depending on your make and model.

Listen to the engine/exhaust noise. Does it sputter? Does it sound like the engine noise is going up and down considerably? Are there any weird ticking noises? (Yamahas and Chinese bikes make ticking noises in general so they are an exception) When you pull on the throttle, does it rev up freely or does it seem to struggle and have difficulty as it is revving up? Being able to tell the signs of an engine problem through the noises that a motorycle makes only comes with experience so try to track down a reliable third party to help you make these calls.

Look at the smoke coming out of the exhaust. Scooters give off a lot of black smoke, but that is normal. If you're looking at almost any another motorcycle, the smog coming out of the exhaust/muffler should at most have just a slight tinge of black. If the smoke is blue (burning oil), white(burning coolant), or really dark and sooty (not burning enough gas) just move on and forget you even saw the bike. On a side note, this is pretty much a given, if you are looking at the bike on a cold day the smoke will seem white, but that's more likely due to condensation than burning coolant.

Grab the brakes while standing in front of the bike and rock the bike back and forth. The purpose of this is to check the suspension. The bike should have a slight bounce to it and should offer resistance as the springs compress. Again, being able to judge this comes with experience, but use some commons sense. If the bike seems to compress the suspension too easily, then it's probably an issue. Sit on the bike and see how much it sags. The bike should sag a bit, but you should not hear any clunks or bumps as the suspension compresses. Now, while sitting on the bike you should hold the brakes and rock it back and forth. There should be even less give and absolutely no clunking, bumps, rattling when you rock the bike back and forth while you're sitting on it. Despite what you may think, suspension is one of the most integral parts of a bike's performance. Suspenion repairs generally run more expensive than usual stuff so be extra wary with this. Another way to check the suspension is to check the actual shocks (the bars that sit inside the springs) after you've sat on it and rocked it around a bit and see if there is any liquid leeking out.

Check the tires' conditions. I would recommend you google, "When should I change a motorcycle tire?" and follow the guidelines you find. They will generally inflate the tires for you when you buy it so underinflation is a non-issue.

Things to do after you've bought the bike:
Change the oil/oil filter - the seller will tell you that they recently changed the oil. They are probably lying.

Change the sparkplug(s) - same as above. Although the spark plug shouldn't need that much servicing, it's a good piece of mind and relatively cheap to do.

There are certain things that any motorcycle dealer will do for you when you buy the bike, but if you buy it from a private seller, get these done as well:
Lube/Oil the Chain
Check Chain Tension
Check Tire Pressure and inflate/deflate as necessary

Wash your bike, have a friend take a picture of your next to it, pat yourself on the back, try to get some sleep that night and enjoy the ride.

My experience isn't all encompassing as I've never purchased a new bike and there are other ways to find a used bike. One other option for you is to join a online community (Daum Cafe) and login to motorcycle club websites and check the for sale ads. This is a bit difficult for foreigners to do as we don't have the proper credentials, but you can ask a native friend for help. Buying a vehicle here is pretty similar to buying one in America so just use common sense and don't get too excited about the purchase and make a quick purchase without making sure your bike is in good condition.

Registration and Insurance

This is actually a fairly simple process that can be made complicated by incompetent bureaucrats. You need to purchase insurance before you register your bike. Registration is not necessary for scooters, but everything above that will require registration. You will be running between 3-4 buildings depending on the layout of your local offices.

There are many auto insurance companies in Korea. So far, I have only had Hyundai Insurance and they are your typical insurance company who will try their best to increase profits over coverage. You can also check with Meritz, Samsung, and many others available as smaller companies. From what I understand, most insurance companies are the same when it comes to insuring your bike and the main difference is price. I haven't purchased insurance online. I went to the insurance office in person and purchased insurance. Just to give you an idea of pricing, the insurance for both my Exiv 125 and Comet GT250R were both 300,000 Won for the year. You can cancel your insurance early and receive a refund and as you probably won't be riding in the winter, this is good way to save yourself a few bucks. The insurance for my Yamaha R1 was just over 400,000 Won for the year. I only had liability and did not bother with full coverage. For the most part, full coverage doesn't give you much extra when it comes to motorcycle insurance as there is no theft protection.

After you have purchased insurance, you will have to go to your city hall or town hall and register your vehicle. You will need your passport and foreigner registration card. They will ask you for a "도장", but most foreigners don't have one so just explain that you'll just give your signature. The word for registration is "등록". Registration requires some paperwork and some fees. They will ask you the value of your motorcycle, tell them 100,000 Won and if they ask you why it was so cheap, tell them you bought it from a friend. There will likely be a bank there, but if there isn't be prepared to find a nearby bank to purchase registration stamps. They will more than likely help you out with all of this so don't worry if you're a bit confused right now. After you have registered, you will have to go back to your insurance company or fax them the information. Now that you're registered, you have to pick up your license plate. There is usually a separate facility that holds all the license plates. You will have to bring your receipt of registration to them and they will bolt your license plate to your bike for 10,000-15,000 Won, this is including the price of the plate itself.

Once you have a license plate, you're all set and ready to ride legitimately. I know it may be a pain to get around to all of these offices by foot or taxi so just take your bike, just ride really carefully. The police won't bother you too much if you ride without registration and if they do, just tell them you're on your way to get your bike registered.

A Weird Road

Well, I believe I've gotten a lot of the preliminary stuff out of the way so I'll start sharing about random roads I find and trips I take. This entry is about a quaint little road I found nestled adjacent some twisties I was exploring. I posted a youtube video and it's at the bottom if you don't feel like reading.

Well, I was riding around and getting my bearings on some new twisties I had found and on my way down the mountain I saw a strip of black going into the woods. Well, for the sake of my blog I decided to investigate and report my findings. The road is located right before Dunnae after passing HoengSeong. If you are on route 6 and find a road that has two lanes and is uphill and twisty, you'll see it to your left. These are the first decent set of twisties you'll run into on your way towards Dunnae. You'll come to a right-hander that has an extreme decreasing-radius and it'll be on your left (You'll know it when you see it). I'll be posting vids of the twisties on an upcoming entry, but the footage I took was unbelievably blurry so I'm going to try and reshoot it sometime this week.

I wasn't sure if it was a one way road or not, but there was random spots of sand and it's lucky I decided to proceed cautiously. It was an unbelievably sunny day and conditions couldn't have been better for riding. Towards the end of the road, I found a few farms and houses, but nothing special as a destination. The road isn't that great for wringing-out and balls to the wall riding as there are random piles of sand here and there, which I'm assuming were put there by farming machinery spillage.

Why have I decided to devote a post to this little road that leads to nowhere? Because if riding has taught me one thing it's that the destination is just an excuse. Although a sport bike isn't necessarily the best equipment to go "exploring", I didn't mind taking a little break and taking a stroll down this mysterious road.

My next posts will be about some of my favorite local and not-so-local twisties. Don't look at my blog for "fast-riding" because I'm not fast... yet, but there are some skills you just can't hone safely on the streets. I apologize for the shaky cam and my "point-and-shoot" style of riding, but I only ride as fast as I can see and slow moving trucks around blind corners are a killer for riders in Korea.

Morning Commute to Naechon Middle School

I teach at 3 locations and 4 different schools. Naechon Middle school is located in Naechon county and is about 20-30 minutes from my house in downtown HongCheon. The first leg of the journey is a lot of highway riding, which is excruciating on a bus, but is not so bad on a bike. Morning commuters are a lot more friendly on the road than weekend travelers so it's a bit more of a breeze to negotiate my way through traffic on the way to school. I'm planning on putting together a compilation of highway riding as most of it is fairly boring to just watch.

This particular school is in the middle among all of my schools as far as distance from my apartment. I'm going to have more and more trouble filming as it is currently the typhoon season in Korea and although I don't mind riding in the rain, my fragile point and shoot digital camera does. The furthest school I teach at is about five minutes down the road, but as the rain is becoming more and more unpredictable, I decided to film this as the morning sky looked clear that day.

This particular road goes through a lot of farm land and there is also some construction going on further down the road. What does this all mean? Random piles of dirt and mud washed all around if it happens to rain or the construction workers wash down the dirt. Even though there are a few hazards, I find my commutes to and from this school thoroughly enjoyable. Cutting down on the pace doesn't particularly seem to mean cutting down on the fun factor. I have had a few mishaps on this road. One time I had a dump truck taking up a lane and a half just around a blind corner and ended up locking up my rear tire while still leaned over. Luckily, I was riding cautiously and I simply glided my way over to the shoulder. If you look at the video, you'll notice that there are yellow and white striped bars on the road at certain places. Some of them are speed bumps and others aren't. Last year I got extremely lucky on my 250 when my tail kicked out from under me and I should have in all rights highsided, but instead I just ended up having one of the most ass-puckering moments of my life.

The scenery really is beautiful along this route. If you are heading away from HongCheon towards Sokcho, you get off after you pass through a tunnel and come to your next light with a police station to your right.

There are quite a few blind corners where they have convex mirrors set up so I can still have a bit of fun without worry of running into a stopped or slow moving vehicle. Although I don't hit this commute hard enough to get the normal adrenaline rush of riding through twisties, it still works to get me to school with a smile on my face and to bleed off stress on my way home. On a side note, I wouldn't suggest you pay too much attention to the scenery around you if you commute to a rural school on a motorcycle. I'm just making note that the scenery is there. Farming vehicles and cars seem to appear randomly at times and because many people have the mentality that no one travels the road due to its rural location, you'll have people parked on the road for no reason. Also, do not take the random dirt piles lightly. There have often been times when I have had to travel for a good 100 meters or so over a layer of dirt. I was on another country road once and there was a pile of dirt in the middle of the road right as I passed the "point of no return" in a blind left hand turn. My front wheel completely cocked to one side, my bike pushed forward and slid out to the median about a foot before I regained control. I don't want to detract you from riding country roads here in Korea as there are many opportunities for you to explore, but just be cautious. I've taken the habit of scouting a course once before I decide to have some fun on the road and it might be a good idea for you if you're spending the day on a set of twisties. If you count the oncoming cars and pay attention to the road surface, you'll be able to manage your pace so it remains at a safe level.

HongCheon to HoengSeong

I recently went on a tour with ChunCheon SpeedBike. CCSB is a club of riders who are all really cool people and even better riders. I've been riding with them for most of this season and it's been a blast.

Most of our tours involve going to eat lunch at some random place. A couple of weeks ago, we decided to go to HoengSeong to eat some HoengSeong Beef Soup. Now, if you don't know about Korean beef or don't live around Gangwon-do, you might not know about HoengSeong Beef. I don't like to say I am a connoisseur of beef, but I do eat a lot of it and let me tell you this,

HoengSeong beef is some of the best beef I have

ever ever ever had. The cows are never given

any steroids and are free-range as far as I know.

I've been to the HoengSeong cow farms and it looks like they are given great treatment... besides the fact that they are eventually cut up to be served as food. Anyways, I was excited and decided to bring my camera along.

The food we had can be seen in the picture to the right. You get a stone pot of beef stew and then another stone bowl on the side with rice. You take most of the rice and put it into your soup bowl and then pour some water into your rice bowl and put the wooden lid on it. While you eat your soup, the water and rice cook and you get something called 누룽지, which is basically burned rice porridge. I'd suggest you don't knock it until you try it because it is delicious.

The ride wasn't that long, it was probably about 20 minutes from HongCheon. CCSB started in ChunCheon of course, but I woke up late and decided to meet them by the bus terminal by my house. It wasn't the usual ride leader and we had a couple new faces in the group so the riding was a bit disorganized, but we all got there and back safe so I'd count it as a successful tour. It was an extremely hot day so most of us opted for vented gear. Although I don't own an exo-skeleton type jacket, I bet it was great in the heat. All in all, it was a fun ride and the food was great. Here's a short edited video of our highway ride. Enjoy.

ChunCheon SpeedBike

ChunCheon SpeedBike is the riding crew that I ride with regularly. Now, I know the store front says, "Win Bike". This is the shop where ChunCheon SpeedBike meets up and the owner of this shop is the leader of the crew (재명). I had originally come here way back when I had my Hyosung 250. Although it didn't really require full synthetic engine oil or NGK spark plugs, most other shops looked at me funny when I asked them about it. Win Bike is the only shop I've been to where the guy working on my bike has done what I asked and always pointed me in the right direction when I had questions. You would expect that if I wanted something extra that the shop owner would try and squeeze as much money out of me, but this guy's always pointed out cheaper options or better alternatives. If you want to find his shop, if you are going down route 5 with the Ganwon Education University (강원교육대학교) on your left, make a right at the next intersection and go up for a bit and it's a couple stores before the 애막골 post office. Don't worry, he actually speaks some English and knows almost everything you need to know as far as motorcycle needs in English.

The owner of this shop has owned several bikes including: several Honda CBR900RRs, Honda

RC51 SP2, Suzuki Hayabusa, and many more I can't recall. Every time I ride with him I've been wowed in one way or the other by his riding talent. He's currently riding a Honda CBR900RR which he rebuilt himself. You can see him to the

right messing with the suspension settings.

Most of the guys in the crew ride liter bikes. Back when I was riding my Comet 250, I didn't really have the power t0 keep up with them on rides. When I purchased my R1 and brought it in, 재명형 asked me if I wanted to ride out. Ever since then it's just been good times and great memories. Often after work I'll just ride over to ChunCheon to hang out at the shop, even if there are no particular plans and there are always a few guys in the crew hanging out to shoot the shit or plan night time rides. To the right you can see what it looks like inside the shop. Many crew members keep their bikes at the shop for storage as people don't generally have private garages in Korea. Right now it's a bit barren as this was right after a ride and many of the bikes are still parked outside. As you can see, he does work on everything from scooters and 4x4s to big bikes. It's fun to visit the shop just to see all the two-wheeled eye candy laying around the shop. Here are some pictures from a recent dash n' dine. No video, but this weekend we rented a pension somewhere north of GangChon and the next day we rode around ChunCheon. We took a trip up to Soyang Dam and then went into downtown ChunCheon for dinner.

Farewell Post: Tour to Sokcho

Well, where have these last two years gone to? I guess that's a really cliche way to start this final post. In a short term perspective, this is going to be my final blog. I am leaving for America on August 31st, which is only a couple short weeks away. I could technically continue blogging here since this blog is also about my personal development as a rider. Well, I guess I'd rather make this a short and concise chronicle about my time riding here in Korea and end it on one of the best of notes. Who really knows where my life will lead from here? For now, these will remain as some of my most treasured memories.

This past weekend, I had the privilege to take a two day trip with ChunCheon Speed Bike.

The destination was Sokcho, which wouldn't have been much of a ride except we took a route through some

of the most wayward mountain routes I've come across. The plan was to ride to Sokcho, eat lunch on the way at a rest stop and then proceed to the beach where we would do beach stuff then return to a cot that we had rented for some Korean style BBQ and soju. To the right was a picture of the first rest stop we made. I tried to be a photo ninja, but ended up being too pronounced in the photo.

The ride was somewhat stressful as we were trying to keep a moderate pace so that no one fell too far back. If you've ridden a sport bike, you know that it's about ten times more exhausting to ride slowly as opposed to a bit spirited. Well, once noon hit we decided to take a rest under an overpass to enjoy lunch when the sky decided to open up. In the photo on the left you can see that I decided to use my fuel tank as an improvised table. Don't worry, my riding jacket made sure there was no food spillage. Anyways, after we had finished lunch, the rain had still not let up. And this wasn't a light sprinkling where all we had to worry about was having to wash our bikes again, but this was a torrential downpour that left all of us soaked to our underwear. The rain was actually so bad that even cars stopped under the underpass in hopes that the rain would stop. What did we do? Well, what else was there to do but ride for an hour in formation through the twisties while getting drenched to the skivvies? After an hour of riding through this, we broke clear of the storm and hit the coast.

As you can see in the picture to the right, we wore uniform shirts that we had printed up just in time for the tour. They weren't made specifically for the tour, but are more like a "team shirt". Although we did some swimming, most of our time on the beach was spent sneaking up on each other and throwing each other into the water.

We grilled and drank into the night.

Our fearless leader had a pickup

truck type deal where we loaded everything including luggage and iceboxes of deliciousness for the trip. After we eventually unloaded everything, we used the half-barrel grill and tons of charcoal to got down to business. The menu included Korean bacon, Dak Galbi, and loads of soju and beer.

It wasn't my original intention to meet new people through riding, but in the end I'm glad I did. Living in another country for any period of time can be a difficult adjustment and this last year did a number on me as far as exercising my patience. Being able to meet up with this crew of awesome people and awesome riders helped me weather more than a fair share of storms. I'll be looking forward to the day that I can come back to Korea again and ride out with ChunCheon Speed Bike. Thank you.