The Symba Scores a Gig in Crystal Light Ad

Terrific Symba Deal on Ebay!

This barely-broken-in and heavily-accessorized Symba is currently for sale on Ebay.  The bidding started at $500 and the reserve hasn't been met.  But if you're looking for a 2nd bike and live in the mid-west (the bike is in Chicago), this one might be a great deal!  It has the bench seat, a 12V outlet, trunk, side bag, and about a gazillion spare parts! Check it out here.

Symba Parts and Accessories

Hey, in addition to the Accessories page for the Symba at alliancepowersports.com, you should check out this website. Scooterseals.com is run by a friendly guy who grew up in Canada, and although the company is located in Taiwan (where Symba parts come from, of course), they ship anywhere, and have some unique parts and accessories for the Symba and other SYM models. Bookmark 'em!

Symba Review at MotorcycleUSA.com

MotorcycleUSA has posted a "First Ride" review of the Symba!  Read it here.

To de-smog or not to de-smog. That is the question.

The Symba's Secondary Air Injection System ("AIC")

Now that so many Symbas are in use in the USA and have been for almost 3 years, some "experience" is developing regarding certain aspects of the bike.


More than a few Symba owners have reported a problem with the engine not starting, or not running smoothly.  One of the first solutions promulgated on the SYM Owner's Forum was the air-mixture adjustment screw on the carburetor (or, carburettor, if you're British).  


I ran into this on my daughter's Symba.  Right out of the crate, it was reluctant to start and it ran poorly - rolling on the throttle resulted in engine cut-off, requiring quick action (pumping the throttle) to avoid stalls.  The solution was to re-adjust the air-fuel mixture - a simple procedure on older bikes such as my '69 Honda Cub, but made a PITA on the Symba by the EPA-mandated shaving and sealing of the screw.  I wound up purchasing a whole new screw and removing the old one by drilling away the resin sealant and using an easy-out tool (since the head had been shaved off).  If you feel you need to do this, see the info here.


Now Symba owners are starting to discover other problems - bikes that suddenly won't start, even when the engine is warm, and particularly after filling the gas tank, resulting in the sorry spectacle of a Symba being pushed home on the side of the road, like some POS Znen or Wildfire bike that also rusts over if you put it in the same room with a damp rag.


The problem seems to be, again, over-zealous pollution control subsystems.  The Symba has two of these encumbrances:  the Secondary Air Injection System ("AIC") and the Evaporative Emissions Control System ("EEC").  Some riders who have encountered engine starting woes have removed one or both of these, which takes only novice mechanical skills.


If you're having the problems described, it might be worth considering going this route.  For more info, see these entries in the SYM Forum's Symba section.

Carter Brothers Manufacturing: 1936 - 2011. Done. Gone. Finis.

I first encountered Carter Brothers Manufacturing back in '07, when I heard they were going to distribute SYM scooters in the USA.  Not being a big powersports person or fan of go-karts, I had never heard of the company.  I emailed them asking if they intended to sell the Symba (at that time known as the "Wowow") here in America, and they replied with a dispassionate, "no".  


Over the months that followed I did my best to change that "no" into a "yes" - by arguing with them that such an iconic and classic bike would find an audience here in the USA. I was sure that there was pent-up demand for the "Cub" design, which hadn't been offered for sale in America since 1983.


I don't know who else was making the case for the Symba, but eventually Carter Brothers started to warm up to it. Finally, in 2008, they announced that they were going to add it to their 2009 product line (as a 2010 model)!


It was a very exciting time for me. But I have to say, in retrospect, that even then I had to fight back the misgivings growing in my mind. The people at Carter Brothers just didn't seem to "get it". That is to say, they didn't give the impression that they really had an interest in scooters and motorcycles, or that their vision was to establish SYM as a 1st tier brand alongside Honda, Yamaha, and Kawasaki.


I mean, that's what I thought they should have wanted to do. That's what I would have striven for, if I were them. Branding is everything.


Alas, it was not. I found out, over time, that their real vision all along was to re-establish their once thriving go-kart business. In order to compete with powerful and sophisticated vehicles made by the likes of Polaris and Kymco they needed world-class engines, and SYM had them for sale (SYM makes their own line of ATV/UTVs). In order to get the engines for their go-karts, they had to also distribute SYMs scooters - and they hoped to make a windfall of profit on scooter sales that would help finance their go-kart operations.


What happened next wasn't really their fault, of course. The boom/bust cycle of 2008-2009 was a trap that most of the powersports industry fell into. Scooter sales had hit new peaks in '08, due to a robust economy and a spike in gas prices; this gave Carter Brothers to a false sense of optimism and confidence, and they increased their scooter orders from SYM to meet their rosy sales projections for 2009. In late '08, the economy suddenly stalled and the recession began:  consumer credit evaporated, unemployment skyrocketed, and belts were tightened in just about every household in America. Sales of scooters (and go-karts) came to a virtual halt.


By mid-2010, Carter Brothers found itself burdened with a huge inventory of unsold SYM scooters that was losing value by the day. Their network of (typically under-capitalized) dealerships began defaulting on their floor financing and even declaring bankruptcy.  


What happened next is somewhat unclear, and will probably only be illuminated when an arrest is made and someone is charged with starting the warehouse fire that, on July 12, 2010, destroyed the main Carter Brothers warehouse and manufacturing facility, including thousands of 2009 and 2010 SYM scooters. Investigators have determined that it was a case of arson, but the perpetrators have yet to be identified.


Since the fire, Carter Brothers has slowly faded away. The insurance payment never came in, due to the arson finding. Although they said they were going to rebuild, they haven't. They could have rented space right away and put together a shoe-string operation to support dealers with warranty service and parts, but they didn't. The www.sym-usa.com website went on for over a year with no updates (the main page was still touting a "Summer Sale" through the following fall, winter, and spring), and then it disappeared altogether.


Alas!

Well, it's that time of the year again, at least for Symba owners in the parts of the world that get all snowy and icy during the Winter months.  I could have moved to southern California, or Texas, but New Jersey is my home and I've just got to bear it.

Here's a guide to winterizing your Symba.  It's advised if you are going to store your bike for more than a month, you'd best follow these procedures so that you get back on the road in the Spring with a minimum of hassle.