SYM VS 150

Long term review:

First week update : Picking up the VS from our local importer (thanks guys) it had 1 kilometer on the clock, nothing like something fresh out of the cargo crate. First impression showed that everything on the bike was in order. Not a single hickup or loose bolt from a sleep deprived night shift worker in Taiwan. Wearing it in over the first 500 km's can be painful, but I manged to hold myself back from the full throttle hyper warp-speed of this 15hp road rocket... barely!. No, but seriously speaking, it has a nice overall pickup that's quite linear. Good off the mark, progressive mid range, and nice top end, no real dips in its power curve or highlighted power areas, which in the real world is the perfect scenario.

So, since then I've actually taken it on a 4 hour highway trip from Auckland to Whakatane and back. A serious journey for a 150cc scooter, but it managed to hold an average speed of 90-110 Kph. Speed depends on wind direction and seating position. With your head down, peeking over the dashboard you can manage 105-110kph. Add a tail wind and this can sometimes be 115. Sitting upright you're looking at 95-100 kph and with a head wind 90kph. This bike may not be quite built for the highway touring but still manages to be very comfortable over long distance. Maybe 2-3 more horsepower could give you the tiny bit more freedom to comfortably sit around 100-110 without hiding behind the dash. We will look into a small mod later on that might well give the HP to allow for this.

Around town its great. Plenty of room, comfort, usability and storage space for Africa. Its lacking a key turn seat button (you have to use key) and possibly a front glove box, but to be honest these are only very small issues. I'm still looking for any problems to report and I'm sure I will find something along the way, as we put it through it's paces. Next month I will show you how much I can actually carry on this thing, and its a lot more than a set of library books, try a small recording studio! See you in a month...

Thescooterreview

Review:

The VS 150 has one major change over the scooter it replaces, increased power and torque. The numbers say it for themselves but "seat of the pants" always helps explain the difference in a more easy to understand language.

Acceleration is plentiful on the VS 150 and its here that sets it apart from the 125. No slowing down for hills and no hiding from cars at the traffic lights, this scooter will in-still the confidence back in the right hand. The 4 valve motor is a gem which seems to have that nice balance, being able to rev but still pull like a train. Extra capacity should do this every time, but its nice to see that its translated here on our road ride. Top speed would be an easy 110 km/h, but its under this that counts and the VS scores well.

The 12 inch alloy wheels made for a compliant ride across any of the city streets I travelled. The VS is sharp enough to feel alive yet the suspension and wheel combination are supple enough to remain comfortable. In the true GT sense its really just the best of both worlds. On a scooter like this you don't want to be crashing over bumps, what your looking for is compliance and the VS has it in spades.

The seating position is extremely comfortable on the VS 150 and the reach to the bars is relaxed. If the trip calls for a pillion then the VS is large enough to accommodate this with ease. The extra power of the 150 cc motor, twin shocks and flip out foot pegs help cater for the request.

In Summary
The SYM VS 150 is very much the same same as the VS 125 it replaces. The difference being that it ups the anti in the power stakes.

But why would you be looking for change here? The VS 150 is what you would call a box ticker. Euro styling, great power, heaps of storage with a ride quality that makes commuting comfortable and compliant.

The VS is fuss free scootering that wont ask the world but will certainly try and provide it in return. Add to this a 4 year Select Scoota warranty and the bullet proof reputation that SYM brings to the table. You actually wonder why we all haven't got a VS in the garage.

Allen Drysdale