sym scooter how support in usa because canada is a waist land

[fullmetalscooter]

sym scooter how support in usa ? Cause canada is a waist land with the new distributor going we don't care to support any sym product we don't sell. Eg the sym 110 honda club clone etc. Just think because theres a hd 200 sitting at a former dealer with 1 K on it.

[JerryH]

SYM support in the U.S. is TERRIBLE. Alliance Powersports, then U.S. importer, is almost impossible to get parts from, because they want their dealers to do all work and maintenance. The will often not honor warranties if the owner did any of their own maintenance. This is not their official policy, since it would be illegal in the U.S., but they do it anyway. I was seriously considering either a SYM Wolf 150, or a Symba until I found out about the parts situation. I do ALL my own maintenance and repairs, and being able to get parts is critical. Check out symforum.com.

[larrylarry75]

Originally Posted by fullmetalscooter

sym scooter how support in usa ? Cause canada is a waist land with the new distributor going we don't care to support any sym product we don't sell. Eg the sym 110 honda club clone etc. Just think because theres a hd 200 sitting at a former dealer with 1 K on it.

I'm a bit unsure what it is exactly you're asking but I'll take a shot at it.

1) I'd say that Sym in the US seems to be growing in representation but dealers are more active in some areas than others. It's not considered a major brand [yet] and as such is not as commonly available as the more established lines. If you're looking for statistical numbers; ie, how many dealers there are in the US you can probably use Google to find that out.

2) It sounds like you're declaring Canada to be a wasteland due to the policies of a new distributor? If the new people closed dealerships which resulted in fewer service areas it's probably due to their low activity, no sales, or customer complaints about them. New distributors are charged with establishing better dealer networks and often require compliance with minimum sales, aka "quotas." Sym is a fairly well respected company and I would think you'll see improvements in your dealerships soon. Try to be patient, it takes time to build solid networks but it's worth the wait. If you own a Sym product and need service or customer support you should contact the distributor direct.

3) Your next comment I can't fathom; it looks like you're saying something about the Sym 110 being a clone of the Honda Cub? There are similarities for sure but the intent of your statement is obscure, why don't you try restating your comment and re-post it?

4) The same follows for your closing remark regarding "hd 200 with 1 km located at a former dealer's". I'm clueless what that's all about unless you're wanting to buy it or just to let people know it's there.

Wish I could help more but that's about all I can offer. Good luck.

LL75

[larrylarry75]

Originally Posted by JerryH

SYM support in the U.S. is TERRIBLE. Alliance Powersports, then U.S. importer, is almost impossible to get parts from, because they want their dealers to do all work and maintenance. The will often not honor warranties if the owner did any of their own maintenance. This is not their official policy, since it would be illegal in the U.S., but they do it anyway. I was seriously considering either a SYM Wolf 150, or a Symba until I found out about the parts situation. I do ALL my own maintenance and repairs, and being able to get parts is critical. Check out symforum.com.

Hi Jerry,

You rascal, you posted this while I was composing mine so I yield to your more detailed knowledge of Sym. I followed the ADV thread Underboning the World which I expect you've also read and they experienced their share of issues too. I'm thinking Sym is struggling to establish a solid dealer network which as you know can take years and lots of investment capital. I've also read a few comments that they're building parts & engines for other manufacturers but to be honest I don't know how much truth there is in that.

Beyond that anything I could say would be conjecture; I've only seen a few Sym products at dealerships and they seem to be lightly represented. I'd like to have one to play with but that's probably not going to happen very soon.

LL75

[Rick G]

Originally Posted by JerryH

SYM support in the U.S. is TERRIBLE. Alliance Powersports, then U.S. importer, is almost impossible to get parts from, because they want their dealers to do all work and maintenance. The will often not honor warranties if the owner did any of their own maintenance. This is not their official policy, since it would be illegal in the U.S., but they do it anyway. I was seriously considering either a SYM Wolf 150, or a Symba until I found out about the parts situation. I do ALL my own maintenance and repairs, and being able to get parts is critical. Check out symforum.com.

I think you have your facts a bit mixed up. Carter Brothers was the former US Sym distributer. About 2 years ago their warehouse burned down under suspicious circumstances and indictments followed. Sym was in limbo for over a year while that mess played out.

Enter Lance Powersports on the westcoast who have now taken on Sym and is trying to rebuild the brand. They dba Alliance Powersports http://alliancepowersports.com/. The local scooter dealer here where my Fiddle came from dropped them during the mess of Carter Brothers but has picked the line up again now that Alliance is getting things back in order. They believe as do I that the Sym product is solid.

So if you are in need of parts, I would contact a US Sym dealer near the border and ask for some help.

Hope this clears some things up.

Rick G

[JerryH]

This is a complicated mess. Carter Brothers has always had a bad reputation, long before the fire. Glad they are out of it, and hopefully out of business for good. Lance has also had a bad reputation as an importer of cheap Chinese scooters, which were no better than any other cheap Chinese scooter. I had heard that things had changed, but things were anything but clear. The Lance Cali Classic that is supposedly made by SYM has been surrounded by a lot of controversy as to who actually made it and about it's quality. Supposedly it said SYM on it in several places. Many people gave it a thumbs down because of the Lance name. If Alliance really is Lance, they probably changed the name to get rid of the negative reputation of the Lance name. But the fact remains that whoever the current U.S. distributor is, there are hundreds of complaints by SYM owners about the attitude of SYM dealers, and the unavailability of parts to SYM owners. I have a SYM dealer nearby, who also sells Genuine, Kymco, Adley, and Tomos. They have been around for a while, and are where I got my '09 Genuine Stella. I went there to look at a Sym Wolf 150 a while back, and was considering buying it, but after giving it a good looking over, and reading all the negative comments by owners, decided it was not up to my standards quality wise. It appears that the Wolf 150 is built by a completely different manufacturer than SYM scooters. I have heard very few negative comments about the scooters, other than the lack of parts. As for the Symba, It is definitely not on par quality wise with the early '80s Honda Passport, because I used to own one of those. I'm sure it was made in Japan, and had a J in the VIN. It was definitely a more substantial bike than the Symba. I have never owned a SYM product, so I don't have first hand knowledge, other than looking at the Wolf 150. But I don't discount the information on the SYM forum.

[Dabears]

You folks may have much better insight into SYM, but I've been paying attention to them for a while and have a couple comments. I was close to grabbing an HD200 Evo last year but my local dealer sold the one color I wanted. They've yet to get any additional ones to replenish the 3 that I believe they've sold in the past 10 months or so. Keep in mind, this is the only SYM dealer in metro Atlanta, and they've sold maybe 3 Evos in a market with over 5 milllion people..

In the meantime I had started monitoring the Sym owner forum to get a feel for major issues, concerns, service gripes, etc. With the exception of having a poorly set up fuel evap system which eveyone seems to disconnect I have seen very little bitching about ANYTHING to do with Alliance or SYM. I have not monitored other models from SYM, so there certainly could have been things exposed with the distributor on them, just not from the looks of the HD200 threads:
http://symforum.com/index.php

Over the course of the past few months, however, my interest in getting a SYM HD200 has waned a bit. I think the scooters are great. I am concerned that maybe my local dealer has lost interest in the brand. Last year they had at least several of every model, now they have 1 HD200 that they've been trying to sell for a year, and a few Wolf Classics. They have dozens of models from other brands. I'm wondering if they are shying away from Sym and directing focus on Vespa, Genuine, etc.

Scanning cycle trader and Craigslist seems to show only a few active dealers in the US pushing their models. They have only a fraction of the dealer network that Kymco does.

I wonder if what's actually happening is that SYM is losing the battle for sales against the competition. They don't have name recognition, and frankly most of the buying public does not know the difference between chinese and taiwanese scooters. Kymco has probably beat them at marketing and the other big brands have eaten the rest of the tiny US market share that remains. Obviously all speculation on my part, but would be interested in your thoughts....Whatever, it's a shame, because SYM makes what seems like some very good scooters.

[JerryH]

It may have something to do with the Carter Brothers fiasco (Carter Brothers has always had a terrible reputation, even before this) then the connection with Lance, another company with a bad reputation. Kymco has pretty much cornered the market on Taiwanese scooters, they are a known quantity, and there is very little risk associated with buying one. Parts are available, and they honor their 2 YEAR warranty. Most of their dealers are fairly honest, and don't try to nail you with a fortune in bogus "fees" like the Japanese and Vespa. There are a lot of dealers, and they have a model suited to just about everybody. They are probably the best bang for the buck in the scooter market.

[DaBinChe]

Originally Posted by JerryH

As for the Symba, It is definitely not on par quality wise with the early '80s Honda Passport, because I used to own one of those. I'm sure it was made in Japan, and had a J in the VIN. It was definitely a more substantial bike than the Symba. I have never owned a SYM product, so I don't have first hand knowledge, other than looking at the Wolf 150. But I don't discount the information on the SYM forum.

Having ridden a Symba from SJ to the Arctic Circle and ridden and worked on many Passports, I'm gonna have to disagree. The Symba is a better bike then the passports were quality wise and also more substantial.

[klxmack]

Originally Posted by fullmetalscooter

sym scooter how support in usa ? Cause canada is a waist land with the new distributor going we don't care to support any sym product we don't sell. Eg the sym 110 honda club clone etc. Just think because theres a hd 200 sitting at a former dealer with 1 K on it.

Really? Thats not true.
Why? Because I am SYM Canada.
Whats your Issue?

[tastroman]

Originally Posted by klxmack

Really? Thats not true.
Why? Because I am SYM Canada.
Whats your Issue?

[JerryH]

Originally Posted by DaBinChe

Having ridden a Symba from SJ to the Arctic Circle and ridden and worked on many Passports, I'm gonna have to disagree. The Symba is a better bike then the passports were quality wise and also more substantial.

Since I have never ridden a Symba, and my experience with the Passport was a long time ago, I will have to go with your assessment. Maybe it just seems that way. But it sure seemed like the chain case, the rear axle adjusters, the sidecovers, and a few other items were heavier and less flimsy on the Passport. And of course the Passport had a one piece seat. I don't fit on the Symba because I need to sit right between the 2 seats. I know you can get a one piece seat for them. I currently weigh 227 pounds (I was 190 back then, age does bad things to you) and the Symba just seemed a bit light for someone my size, though it is currently rated to carry 300 pounds. That's another puzzle. When it first came out it was only rated for 200 pounds, obviously not enough for me. But if I used it for say 1000 mile trips, I usually carry about 40 pounds of stuff with me, for a total weight of 267 pounds, and that seems like it would be pushing it. Does the Symba use the rotary type transmission with no stop below first, or does it have a conventional motorcycle transmission, one down, the rest up?

Oh, do you have a link to your ride report? I think I read it, but not sure. I love reading ride reports for small bikes.

[HBrew]

I have a 2008 HD 200 that I bought new in May 2009. Currently it has 15,300 miles on it. It has been solid, no problems, it has only had standard maintenance done to it. I have never had a problem getting parts. Yes I do have a great dealer in my area, and yes I do support the dealer.

The only complaint I have read with Alliance is they chose to sell parts through dealers instead of directly to the public. Personally I have no problem with that business model, I do some of the work myself and some is done by the dealer. I value the knowledge my local dealer has, they are a great resource.

I would buy another HD 200 in a second, but I think the one I have will last me for a long time to come.

[larrylarry75]

Originally Posted by JerryH

Since I have never ridden a Symba, and my experience with the Passport was a long time ago, I will have to go with your assessment. Maybe it just seems that way. But it sure seemed like the chain case, the rear axle adjusters, the sidecovers, and a few other items were heavier and less flimsy on the Passport. And of course the Passport had a one piece seat. I don't fit on the Symba because I need to sit right between the 2 seats. I know you can get a one piece seat for them. I currently weigh 227 pounds (I was 190 back then, age does bad things to you) and the Symba just seemed a bit light for someone my size, though it is currently rated to carry 300 pounds. That's another puzzle. When it first came out it was only rated for 200 pounds, obviously not enough for me. But if I used it for say 1000 mile trips, I usually carry about 40 pounds of stuff with me, for a total weight of 267 pounds, and that seems like it would be pushing it. Does the Symba use the rotary type transmission with no stop below first, or does it have a conventional motorcycle transmission, one down, the rest up?

Oh, do you have a link to your ride report? I think I read it, but not sure. I love reading ride reports for small bikes.

Oh man Jerry, am I to understand you haven't read this tale of two people traveling quite a lot of the world on their matching Symbas? It's the best one I've read to date and if you somehow missed it here's the link to it: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=716979
Be careful though, after reading it you may want to run away on one of your small scoots!

Best,

LL75

[cdwise]

The Sym dealer in Houston is also a Kymco dealership. I know several folks with Syms who love them and seen very little complains. Sym scoots have won the Scooter Cannonball and places in the top 3 for their category on multiple occasions.

Heck the same 2006 Sym HD 200 that won in 2008, placed 3rd overall in 2012.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Sym if one of them appealed to me and I was in the market for another scoot.