SYM SYMPHONY SR150 (2014): AUTUMN SYMPHONY

So, at the beginning of autumn, we handed over our scooter SYM Symphony SR 150 to good hands, namely to the online magazine BIKE.UA for a long-term test. During this test, motorcycle expert Andriy Tytarenko rode this wonderful scooter and shared his impressions. Perhaps not all the sensations were fully conveyed since the scooter was still in the break-in period, but breaking in a new model is also important, so this experience will be useful for anyone considering this model or already planning to buy it.

Let's go!
(text and photos - Andriy Tytarenko)

Made in Taiwan

The SYM Symphony SR150 is positioned as a competitor to the iconic Honda SH150, which has been breaking sales records in Europe for years. The SH150 has everything going for it – 16-inch wheels, a flat floorboard for carrying items that don’t fit in the under-seat storage, economical 125 and 150 cc engines, good brakes, and a pleasant design. One downside: the SH150 isn’t officially sold in Ukraine, and in Europe, it costs around $4,500. No wonder the few SH150s cruising our roads are mostly undocumented, with a shady past and an uncertain future.

SYM is a Taiwanese brand, quite well-known in Europe. The equipment sold under this brand isn’t the cheapest, but it’s no less quality than Japanese or Italian counterparts. SYM wins on price due to lower production costs and some cheaper components. For example, the Honda SH150 uses a modern liquid-cooled engine with a start-stop system and fuel injection, while the Symphony SR150 makes do with a 2-valve air-cooled engine with carbureted fuel delivery.

September 12

Friday evening is a great time for a quick photoshoot and getting acquainted with the scooter. Actually, I picked it up from the Motoshop dealership a couple of days ago, but I only rolled it out of the parking lot today.

What was I doing those two days? Studying the manual, of course! The slim 26-page user guide (in Russian) interested me primarily for its break-in instructions. The manufacturer asks not to exceed 60 km/h for the first 1,000 km and to change the oil at 300 km (subsequent changes every 1,000 km). The SR150’s odometer shows just 37 km. Sad face :(

I chase away depressing thoughts with a detailed inspection of the scooter. I notice that the rear caliper has a reinforced brake hose – nice! By the way, it already works pretty well, even with unseasoned brake pads. I’ve already managed to lock it hard at a traffic light and send the rear wheel into a skid.

The fold-out passenger footpegs lock into place with a click. The side stand, however, doesn’t lock at all, threatening to tip the scooter over at any moment. The glove compartment on the steering column locks with a key – that’s good. There’s no 12-volt socket in it – that’s bad. Maybe someday I’ll install a cigarette lighter in one of the SR150’s storage compartments. But first, I’ll attach the license plate to the scooter.

September 15

Over the weekend, I rode the SR150 a bit, racking up just over 100 kilometers on the odometer. I didn’t ride just to “get the break-in over with” but in a normal scooter lifestyle mode.

For example, I went with a friend to Gogolfest, which is currently taking place in the depths of the industrial zone in Vydubychi. Riding at 60 km/h on Naberezhne Highway, where even trucks don’t go slower than 80 km/h, is a dubious pleasure. You feel like a small, vulnerable scooterist that everyone wants to run over.

But the saddest discovery of that evening was the SR150’s storage. My Arai full-face helmet doesn’t fit! A standard size L helmet. The wide and seemingly deep under-seat “toilet” can only accommodate an open-face helmet. Or a bunch of small stuff: a lock cable, a camera, a waist bag, etc. So, how do I live now?

September 18

The chain weighs 3 kg 900 g, and its length is 140 cm. With such a lock, you can secure the scooter to anything: a steel fence, a tree, a pole, etc.

We recommend checking out reliable locks KOVIX with a 120 dB alarm.

Here’s a question: how do I protect the scooter from theft? Scooters, as we know, are stolen almost as often as bicycles in our country. And finding a stolen one is tricky, considering many scooterists ride around without plates or registration.

I’ve had personal experience with scooter theft. A long time ago, I had a beloved 50cc Honda Lead, which I carelessly parked near my office, securing it with a cheap Chinese cable. One day, I came out of work and found only a cut cable next to a tree. The police never found the scooter. The next year, I bought a YBR125 and became a motorcyclist.

Learned from bitter experience, I still secure the scooter with a cable when parking near the office or a store. But now it’s a heavy Abus 9100 Ivy chain, weighing almost 4 kg. It’s inconvenient to carry in a backpack when riding a motorcycle. But the scooter has a great under-seat storage for such cases! I hope the 10-mm steel links of this chain won’t be as easy to cut as that ill-fated Chinese cable.

A couple more anti-theft tricks for dessert. Well, one, since locking the handlebar while parked is obvious. Hidden in the under-seat storage is a discreet yellow switch, visible in the first photo. It has two positions: Lock and Unlock. In the first, the engine simply won’t start.

October 5

1. The SR150’s flat floorboard is wide enough to fit a heater 2. The handlebar barely turns: the grips hit the heater’s ribs 3. In the battle to transport the heater, the SYM Symphony beat the Subaru Forester. I saved time, fuel, and had a fun ride on two wheels

I returned to Kyiv from vacation hoping to find at least dry asphalt here. The capital’s weather didn’t disappoint and was quite rideable: daytime temperatures reached +15-17°C, with no rain in sight. Still, it’s much colder than the sunny, beachy places I came back from. Night frosts are particularly daunting. And, of course, the heating in my apartment hasn’t been turned on yet.

I decided to ride the scooter, not the car, to the garage to pick up a bulky oil heater. Why not? In Asia, scooters carry everything, regardless of size. Except for heaters, which aren’t needed there due to the warm climate.

The relatively narrow but tall heater fit perfectly on the SR150’s flat floorboard. There was no room left for my feet. I used the fold-out passenger footpegs and held the heater with my knees. One issue: the handlebar’s turning radius was severely limited with the heater onboard.

Despite the challenges, I successfully transported the heater from Lukyanivka to Podil, navigating the torn-up Hlybochytska street due to pipeline repairs and the dense traffic of Nyzhniy/Verhniy Val. The key is to hold the load tightly with your knees and avoid situations requiring sharp steering.

October 13

1. The forks of the standard telescopic front suspension are decently protected from dirt 2. The dual-rate linear springs on the rear shocks are, of course, better than just linear ones. It would be nice to add preload adjustment

A scooter, by its purpose, is a utilitarian vehicle designed to solve purely practical tasks. For example, where to put a grocery bag; how to ride through a puddle without getting your feet wet; how to navigate the city on two wheels while holding a cigarette in one hand and a coffee cup in the other (no exaggeration! I saw this in Italy). And it’s highly desirable for the scooter to be comfortable.

Everyone knows that roads in Ukraine, and Kyiv in particular, are bad. Comfortable travel on them is guaranteed either by a massive SUV or an enduro with long-travel suspensions. Everything else is a compromise. In the case of a classic scooter like the SYM Symphony SR150, the situation is further influenced by the scooter’s unique weight distribution: a light front wheel, a rear wheel loaded with the engine and fuel tank, and a stool-like riding position. A road motorcycle rider absorbs road bumps through the handlebars, footpegs, and seat. Scooter owners (and cruiser riders, by the way) rely entirely on their “fifth point.” With such a posture, the back suffers, especially if the rear suspension isn’t comfortable enough.

The SR150’s suspensions are extremely simple: a standard telescopic fork up front, a pair of rear shocks, all non-adjustable. The latter is a bit disappointing: a preload adjustment knob on the shocks wouldn’t have significantly increased the cost. The suspension travel isn’t specified but likely doesn’t exceed the typical 80-100 mm for such scooters.

Both the fork and shocks are stiff and don’t bottom out, even on the deepest and most unexpected potholes. Keep in mind that during the break-in period, they haven’t fully settled in yet. Still, I’d swap the fork oil for a less viscous one. This would improve handling on cobblestones, where the stiff, bouncy handlebar tries to escape your grip.

How to make the rear suspension more comfortable – I don’t know. Carrying a passenger makes the scooter glide over bumps much smoother. I hope that after the break-in, the shocks will work softer.

October 20

The biggest nuisance during rain is passing cars that can splash you head to toe with water.

October this year was “harsh”: catching a truly rainy day was tough. Of course, I didn’t want to get wet while riding, but testing the scooter in the rain was necessary.

The early morning of October 20 was sunny and quite warm. Then the sky clouded over, and a real autumn rain began – not too heavy but persistent. I suited up and headed to the parking lot.

As a motorcyclist, I was keen to test the scooter’s main rain advantage – the wide floorboard protecting your legs from water. And it works! Riding on wet roads and through puddles feels almost like driving a car: you just cut through the water with the front wheel and body, without consequences. Riding through a puddle on a motorcycle inevitably means wet shoes. Sure, my jeans got soaked during the rain, but there’s a solution: special knee covers. The Italian company Tucano Urbano offers such an accessory for the Symphony SR150 for about $150. Conclusion on rain comfort: unlike riding a motorcycle, you can ride a scooter in any sneakers, and with a cover, even in dress pants from a wedding suit.

A few words about the tires. The SR150 comes stock with tubeless Taiwanese CST tires. This company also makes Maxxis tires, popular among cyclists. The performance of these tires in the rain at +13°C gave me no complaints. On such a utilitarian vehicle, not meant for extreme acceleration or braking, tires should work reliably and unobtrusively for the rider.

1. The weaker front caliper compared to the rear somewhat compensates for the lack of ABS. I couldn’t lock the front wheel 2. The rear brake is very good – powerful and informative

Checking the weather forecast for the coming week, I decided that Wednesday, October 22, would be the last warm day of my moto-autumn. There was a good reason for the season’s final ride: the scooter needed its first service (TO-1). The Motoshop dealership’s service station is on the left bank, and to get to the service and then back to the showroom, I racked up quite a few kilometers. But I chose special roads – the prettier ones.

All information about Motoshop.UA’s partner service station can be found HERE.

This part of the long-term test I want to dedicate not to the beauties of autumn Kyiv but to the SR150’s brakes, which I’ve only mentioned in passing. I reckon that after over 300 kilometers, the brake pads are sufficiently bedded in to fairly assess the braking system’s effectiveness.

The SR150 has petal brake discs, 226 mm in diameter, both front and rear. Given the scooter’s weight distribution favoring the rear wheel, the calipers are allocated as follows: a 2-piston caliper with a standard rubber hose up front, and a 1-piston caliper with a reinforced line at the rear. The rear brake is noticeably more effective than the front: it has sufficient power and informative feedback. The front is worse: the right lever feels a bit mushy, though the power is adequate. In a month and a half of testing, I never managed to lock the front brake, but the rear – that happened.

Stepping away from the important but dull topic of brakes, I’ll admit: I had a great end to the season on the SR150. The scooter felt particularly lively, it seemed, on the ride from the service station to the showroom after its first maintenance. After the first thousand kilometers, when I can finally twist the throttle fully, things will get even more fun.

Technical Specifications

Buy the SYM Symphony SR 150 scooter: //www.motoshop.ua/product/sym-symphony-125-tajvan/
Buy the SYM Symphony S 150 scooter: //www.motoshop.ua/product/sym-symphony-s-150/

Or you can order the scooter by phone:

(066) 000-08-20
(093) 000-08-20
(097) 000-08-20