Modern Buddy

The SYM Classic 150 motorcycle is listed in the 2010 Cycle World Buyer's Guide. Has anybody seen one at a dealer yet? The price is listed as $2999.

Nothing on Carter Bros/SYM USA site anywhere...

It looks like it's based on the old Hondas.

You mean the Sym Wolf Classic? No, it'll be in dealers soon though. I'm looking forward to test driving that one.

Hmmm, in the Cycle World guide they refer to it as the "SYM Classic 150," but it's the same bike they called the "Wolf" at Indy.

jrsjr wrote:Hmmm, in the Cycle World guide they refer to it as the "SYM Classic 150," but it's the same bike they called the "Wolf" at Indy.

Ahh, could be a name change before release then. What do they call the 'non' classic one then?

Phil Waters has a pic of the "Wolf" up on his SYM page. He says that it's coming in 2010.

http://sym-usa.com/line%20up/rs_50/line_up_rs50.html

Like the Symbas, it hasn't passed CARB yet.
SYM—or maybe Carter Bros.—is really blowing it this year.

ericalm wrote:http://sym-usa.com/line%20up/rs_50/line_up_rs50.html

Like the Symbas, it hasn't passed CARB yet.
SYM—or maybe Carter Bros.—is really blowing it this year.

SYM Inc's Vote of Confidence doesn't give me the warm fuzzies either.

Syd wrote:

ericalm wrote:http://sym-usa.com/line%20up/rs_50/line_up_rs50.html

Like the Symbas, it hasn't passed CARB yet.
SYM—or maybe Carter Bros.—is really blowing it this year.

SYM Inc's Vote of Confidence doesn't give me the warm fuzzies either.

…which was a direct response to a SYM rep from Taiwan telling Guido Ebert that SYM is unhappy with Carter Bros.
http://blog.guidoebert.com/2010/03/19/s ... butor.aspx

There have been rumors for a couple of years that SYM is trying to dump Carter. That could either mean they're just not true or that it just hasn't happened yet.

ericalm wrote: There have been rumors for a couple of years that SYM is trying to dump Carter. That could either mean they're just not true or that it just hasn't happened yet.

Any time I see a SYM reviewed, they get fantastic marks in almost every category except their price. I was SO close to getting a Citycom at one point, but it just seemed like they were asking too much.

My understanding is that their dealer margins are a lot slimmer than other brands as well (the dealerships don't make as much off of each bike sale) which- and I can't substantiate this anymore than hearsay- would explain why there's fewer SYM dealerships than Genuine and Kymco. That's not good in a still struggling economy, especially one that's going to start looking for household downsizing options and fuel economy savings in a serious way.

I'm a huge fan of SYM products, but I think Carter Bros needs to do some reevaluations of their business model.

Ok, I must have been sleeping because I hadn't seen the Wolf. I don't get it. Maybe it's supposed to be a beginner bike? Why wouldn't you just pick up an old Honda? Tons in the 350ccs and under category for under a grand in decent shape. I guess it's nicer looking than a Rebel, but you've got the TU250 if you're looking for new/old (and it's got more get up and go than a 150). Hmmm.

Man, Honda makes me nuts. Why do they not sell anything cool in this country? Why, Honda, why?

Sym brought in the Symba, but Honda still sells CT110s in Australia and New Zealand. Why won't you bring them here? I get that you don't want to deal with safety regs, but is it really that bad? Why, Honda, why? Why do you break our hearts?

siobhan wrote:Ok, I must have been sleeping because I hadn't seen the Wolf. I don't get it. Maybe it's supposed to be a beginner bike? Why wouldn't you just pick up an old Honda? Tons in the 350ccs and under category for under a grand in decent shape. I guess it's nicer looking than a Rebel, but you've got the TU250 if you're looking for new/old (and it's got more get up and go than a 150). Hmmm.

Man, Honda makes me nuts. Why do they not sell anything cool in this country? Why, Honda, why?

Sym brought in the Symba, but Honda still sells CT110s in Australia and New Zealand. Why won't you bring them here? I get that you don't want to deal with safety regs, but is it really that bad? Why, Honda, why? Why do you break our hearts?

I think its more supposed to be an old school cafe bike. Many of them were very small displacement very light bikes, this seems to fit into that mold.

siobhan wrote:Ok, I must have been sleeping because I hadn't seen the Wolf. I don't get it. Maybe it's supposed to be a beginner bike? Why wouldn't you just pick up an old Honda? Tons in the 350ccs and under category for under a grand in decent shape. I guess it's nicer looking than a Rebel, but you've got the TU250 if you're looking for new/old (and it's got more get up and go than a 150). Hmmm.

For me it's a great reason to lose, ahem, a little bit of excess poundage and tonnage plus beeb tested one and says it has a rev-happy mill. Your suggestion about an old CB350 doesn't sound bad either. I've been keeping an eye on CL for one of those, too. We'll see...

This looks like a near-perfect match to my wants: an "almost there" cafe style in a small package with enough power for a 55 year old non-purist's weekend jaunts around the shore. And, even better, it's brand spanking new and should provide a nice clean modern platform for any noodling I might want to do.

I like the TU250 as well, but the MSRP's about $800 more. $800 and a little creativity would go pretty far in terms of a new seat, fairings, and rear sets.

My need for speed is rather modest, unlike my need to be adored by the masses as they cry out, "Who is that ugly old bastard with the nice-looking ride?".

Lostmycage wrote:It looks like it's based on the old Hondas.

I understand that is how the article is headlined - but, what "old Honda" would it be based on? The Honda 125, 160/175, and 250/305/350 road bikes of that era were all twins. I owned 3 of them at various times. Great bikes for their day but the whole idea was short stroke, high reving engines mated with a smooth, quick shift transmission. I guess the Sym looks somewhat the same, but (unlike the Symba) I don't see much mechanical similarity.

Couldn't agree more with LostMyCage. I have reviewed several SYM scooters and they are wonderful machines - just too expensive. Without giving away too much, I can say that, yes, SYM machines do have a lower margin for the dealers than, oh, say Genuine. HOWEVER, they have more margin than, oh, say Piaggio/Vespa.

These look nice, but I vote for the TU250, especially now that they're starting to show up on the used market. There's a used TU250 with 43 miles (!) at my local dealer calling my name.

I get the appeal of the Wolf, which I think is more of an homage to the old Hondas than a semi-clone like the Symba.

At the same time, $3K can get you one hell of a vintage bike in good condition. I can see some riders going for the Wolf, especially if they just want something fun without the hassels of an older bike. But if the OTD on the Wolf is much higher than that, I think they'll Lise their customer base.

While I don't thnk the SYMs are overpriced across the board, the pricing structure is a little odd and doesn't seem to be based on market forces and staying competitive.

I just now happened to find something that may be of interest to folks who commented in this thread. Take a look at this. If I understand the article, the nominal price for this bike is $2399-$2499 brand new.