Owner's manual

Because sometimes we need to check those specific informations about a machine, here are some links to the Sym GTS/Joymax owner's manual:

Official site:
http://www.sym.com.tw/admin/upload/download_e/dnfile/GTS.pdf
http://www.sym.com.tw/admin/upload/download_e/dnfile/20090112155408JOYMAX%20125-250.pdf

Shared File:
http://www.4shared.com/file/36927728/451f7688/Sym_GTS_owners_manual.html?dirPwdVerified=3ae00a06

First day to work on Symone

Sunny Monday! This is a good day to start my new life style...
Laptop on my new slim backpack, jacket all tight up, helmet on... here we go!!
So, making a long story short, took me 16 minutes from home to work, which normally takes twice as much by car, and sometimes even more :)

Maybe in a near future I'll make even less time, but now I still ride like a turtle :)
At the end of the work day I took a different road home, a little more dangerous, with a lot of fasten cars running by... but there was a traffic jam and so I passed slowly through all of them :) nice!!!
Took another 16 minutes to get home. With that traffic most probably by car would take a minimum of 45 minutes...
My Symone rules!!!

Riding Symone...

The gods of motorcycle are not with me... another rainy weekend :(
Couldn't take any photos these days, but I'll post more sometime soon...

Today I rode Symone, my Sym GST 125 Evo bike, (see my  previous post to understand the nickname) for 30 minutes or so.
I drove in the neighborhood and adventured my self a little further on to some busy roads.
Went to the riverside road where traffic was more intense (fear!!) and the drivers are less careful.
In the first semaphore I stopped behind a car, and stood there a few seconds and then I took a deep breath and thought to my self "I think I can fit there" in between the two cars... so slowly I went and pass through them and stood in first position on the semaphore.
Green light! Vrummmmm! Eat my dust suckers!
Amazing... the speed it gets and leaves all the cars behind.
I'm gonna love this in the busy roads on commuting days...
After that I went to a busy highway, always on the slow lane at 80km/h, and then home.

All went well... :)
Maybe tomorrow I'll risk it and try to go to work in my Symone..

Scooter Station review

Found a great review from a French site on scooters about the Sym GTS 125 Evo:
http://www.scooter-station.com/Sym-GTS-125-Evo.html

For those who don't know French you can always use Google Translator :)

Retractable rear view mirrors

I've no idea if other models from other brands have this feature, but the retractable rear view mirrors of the Sym GTS 125 Evo are great to reduce the space on maneuvers inside my garage in between the car and the wall.

 

This feature can really be handy on the parking and maneuver actions. Nice...

Backrests

The Sym GTS 125 Evo comes with a seat with a backrest for the driver, at the middle of the seat, and a separated backrest for the passenger, attached to the rear struture.

rear backrest

Nice, no? :)

[I shall take more photos of the backrest to illustrate in more detail, some time soon :) ]

First impressions

I've never own a motorcycle before. In fact, I've never drove a motorcycle until two moths ago, when I took a 4 hour beginner course. I choosed the bike from reading magazines and reviews on the net. I didn't performed any test-drive on any machine (much due to my lack of experience and fear of some casual fatality).

(click to enlarge)

The price was one determinative aspect in the final choice. Compare to similar motorcycles, the SYM GTS 125 Evo is cheaper.
Also the looks... the bike is very beautiful, no? At least for those who like maxi-scooters, I believe it is.
And the technical reviews from magazines and fewer articles and posts on the net were also very positive.

So the choice was made... and yesterday my brand new bike was delivered...

With lot's of caution, some mixture of anxiety and a little fear, there I was trying the bike around the streets of my neighborhood. Very slow at first and then speeding it up a little. I drove it for an hour or so.

I loved the feeling of riding it. Felt really nice and secure.
Easily turned on the roundabouts, nice acceleration, nice breaks.
Very pleasant... for an rookie like me that is.
It seems that in comparison tests there are better scooters in every other aspect, but overall I was very satisfied with it. And that's what counts. :)

There are some minor issues nevertheless...

It's a very heavy scooter, 162kg (162 kilograms, 5714 ounces, 357 pounds). I mean, heavy. At least for me.
It's hard to turn when stopped. To enter and exit small spaces it will be a challenge... and I have to arrange a way, since my garage will be packed with 2 cars and the scooter (I know, my fault. But I never though it would be so difficult to turn on small places, specifically on the backwards mode).

(click to enlarge)

The other disappointing topic is not about the scooter it self... It's a mix of stupidity, distraction and beginner error. I also bought a great looking helmet, which I assume would fit onto the enormous space available under the seat. It doesn't. Just for a tiny little bit, but it doesn't fit. And since I made a very small scratch on the helmet, must probably the store will not exchange it for another. Damn.

Piece of advice: make a list of stuff you need to check prior to the moment of buy, and check it and recheck it on the store. This was a detail I remembered when first went choosing helmets, but due to last change switch totally slip my mind.

The space under the seat is really great, big, probably can fit two helmets, but be aware of the size, test them first if possible.

Unfortunately today started heavy rain... so I just stare at the scooter and did this blog...

Finally... it arrived!

After a long journey by boat, from the other side of the world, my brand new SYM GTS 125 EVO finally arrived! I was waiting for six long weeks... :-(

In this blog I'll try to post my opinions about the bike, the goods and the bads, some photos and, hopefully, some videos... keep visiting!

These are the first photos I shot with my phone camera, it was already late on the afternoon so the light was not the best, but hey, first shoots on first day...