The Two Sym GTS 250i-s Are Ready... Pictures Included

[CvtRider]

Hello Everyone!

Finally! I have arrived and settled in for my new long work trip in Malaysia!

Also, I am happy to report that both of our new Sym-s are also bought, equipped and ready to go!

First, my fiancee's ride:
This one we had purchased about a month-and-a-half ago. It is a fuel injected black GTS 250i with the EVO-series front clip.



Next, my pearl white fuel injected GTS 250i, also with the EVO series body. Mine now also has a 35 liter Givi top box / back rest combo, which she does want to wait with on hers until she gets use to the bike's handling completely.





I really was going to buy a black one too, but when we saw this one on the dealer showroom floor, well... it did not take much convincing from my missus to get the "white one" . Now I am stuck with endless bike washing, plus my options of replacing the front clip to a GTS/VTS style has diminished to near-zero... LOL.

I am not sure if it can be notice on these photos, but we have done a few changes to the bikes almost right away to enhance them a bit.

1) The OEM Maxxis tires had to go the same day we got the machines. They are terrible on wet roads and on road markings. Instead, with the help of my cousin-in-law to be, we had mounted a Metzeler Feelfree set on both Syms. They are simply awesome as made the scooter so much more predictable, stable and easy to control even in a steep lean position.

2) The EVO series front clip looked too "busy" (or cluttered) with the ribbed/chromed turn signal housing, so we had a local vinyl shop place a flat black overlay on them. They not only improved the bikes' looks but provide excellent sunshade for the signal lights - dramatically increasing their contrast ratio in broad daylight. By the way, we have done this to both (front and back) signal lights on both of the bikes.

3) Replaced all incandescent turn signal and fog lamps with LED ones. This also made the bikes' looks nicer as there is no more amber glow to the lights even when they are off. In the next day or so I am going to post a detailed procedure on how we did the conversion as I have some nice photos to show the results.



Now, we just need some time off and in the coming weeks we are going to head over to visit UB (Uncle Burger) who is also an active member of this forum and who is also located here by the Equator, in Malaysia.

Happy scooting, Everyone!

CVT Rider

[Ronnie Ventura]

Heya CVT Rider. Took ya long enough to get back in here, LOL!

I see white wins No matter; it definitely is the better-looking one amongst the colors available. No worries about the front clip; you'll get bored sooner or later, and then swap for the VTS and repaint the whole monster

Hey, I know that place (in your residential photos) ... Ohhhh yeah, I know where you're at on the island now hehehe ... Used to be my playground; that area. Stayed thereabouts for a good number of years, too.

You changed the tires? You should've given me a heads-up on that LOL ... there are lots of us who'd gladly buy the Maxxis Pros off you. Funny you feel that they're bad ... cos we have been mighty pleased with its price-performance ratio and have actually been snapping up those swap-when-new tires ever since SYM changed the OEM Maxxis to the "Pro" model. The older OEMs are sucky; that we admit. If you detect slippage, check your tire pressures - the SYMs are particularly sensitive to them; play with them 'til it feels right. Generally we stick in slightly more than the manufacturer-recommended.

Another thing worth observing about handling of SYM VTS200 and 250i Evo: the stock rear shocks are under-damped ... and the front forks are notoriously known to be under-filled/unbalanced with fork oil: yeah, even brand-new and right off the production line. Although most can live with the under-damped rears, the forks are normally yanked when new and its oil replaced. Yeah I know ... not exactly great news for new bike ownership, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do ...

And, oh - very important: do block off the supposed central air intake on your Evos (if the dealer hasn't done it for you yet.) Simple operation by cutting out an old piece of automotive interior rubber matting and sticking it behind the hole. Allow the bottom to remain unsealed cos you'd want incoming rainwater to run downwards and not pool in the hole.

I am supposed to be riding up to Penang this weekend but had to postpone due to some family commitments. Will keep you posted once I get on my VTS again.

[CvtRider]

Hello UB!

Well it took awhile to get everything squared away. Right after my arrival I had to go to work, plus during lunch breaks and evenings I had to run around to get the bike purchased, insured, registered, etc.

At the same time, I was working over at my future cousin-in-law's tire shop tearing the wheels out of the brand new bike to get the tires changed out . Then came the LED light swap, the Givi box mount and quickly almost ten days had gone by

1) On the Maxxis stuff: we still have both sets. One has about 50km on it, the other set about 70 km as first I had done the very first stage of the break-in drive, then stopped at the cousin-in-law's shop to swap the tires ( I am picky so I had done all the work myself - besides the tire mounting job) . We didn't have any time to sell them off yet so they are still around .

2) About the shock absorbers:
   a) Do you have any recommendation for the front fork oil? When I have some time, I will pull them out from both bikes and will refill them again with the proper amount. I will also measure what comes out to see how uneven/low they were.

  b) How about the rear shocks? They don't look like something that can be refilled so I am not sure what to do about their under dampened behavior. What is your take on them?

3) Would you please expand on the "central intake" term a bit? I am not sure which intake we are talking about.

I know that nothing was done to the bike as the local dealer here did not know much about them. Here are a couple of good stories for you:

- After the first oil change (at 50km), the mechanic only wanted to drain the oil. I told him to remove the strainer too, which looked strange to him. I am glad we did it though as there were a few aluminum shavings hung up on the strainer - some leftover from when the gearbox was made.

- The idle speed was way too high on the white bike (about 2,400 RPM), so the clutch was always partially engaging (something that is a big no-no as the bike was constantly crawling forward, plus as the result the clutch was heating up). I told this to the mechanic right away, but looks like he has never seen an EFI unit before as he started to turn the throttle setting screw right away. I told him that it is most likely that the idle control motor that needs adjustment, but he went ahead anyway. The result was the same high RPM, plus now the ECU was confused as the home position of the throttle valve got screwed up. Luckily, the Malaysian Sym assembly plant was only 45 minutes away so we drove the bike there where the factory tech readjusted the whole throttle body, while shaking his head around. Anyway, after changing the idle control settings with the scanner tool, the bike started to run just fine

Well, we are around this weekend and next one, then we are away (outstation - as they say in Malaysia) on the following one. We will contact you soon via SMS so we can work some of the details out.

Looking forward to seeing you in person, UB!

Thanks for the nice comments and hope to see you soon! Keep in touch!

[Ronnie Ventura]

Hey there, CVT Rider

1) On the Maxxis stuff: we still have both sets. One has about 50km on it, the other set about 70 km as first I had done the very first stage of the break-in drive, then stopped at the cousin-in-law's shop to swap the tires ( I am picky so I had done all the work myself - besides the tire mounting job) . We didn't have any time to sell them off yet so they are still around .

I'll be talking with you about this soon enough

2) About the shock absorbers:
   a) Do you have any recommendation for the front fork oil? When I have some time, I will pull them out from both bikes and will refill them again with the proper amount. I will also measure what comes out to see how uneven/low they were.

  b) How about the rear shocks? They don't look like something that can be refilled so I am not sure what to do about their under dampened behavior. What is your take on them?

a) I've tried the uber-expensive race stuff to the average ones ... and I've settled on Shell Advance fork oil (it comes in a red 1-Liter bottle.) Has just the right viscosity for both the VTS and Evo forks. While on the subject of the forks: Evo ones have a known problem of busting their oil seals prematurely, so keep an eye on them. Fortunately they go bad within the warranty period; but hopefully you wouldn't have to make any claims for it.

b) The rear shocks are sealed units. They tend to go bad fairly quickly, too. Something about SYM Taiwan not doing their due diligence when rushing out the heavier and more powerful Evos to Malaysia without recognizing the less-than-stellar road surfaces here. In all fairness, they work ok ... if you're not the type that hits the twisties often. If you do, it can be pretty hairy at full-lean with the rear doing the Macarena ever so often ... Solution? Change them out for aftermarket ones. There's only ONE make and model currently available in Malaysia for the Evo ... and that's from YSS Suspensions. RM780 for a set in KL; not too sure if Penang has it yet. KL just had stock of 'em a month ago.

3) Would you please expand on the "central intake" term a bit? I am not sure which intake we are talking about.

That's the hole on your Evo front clip, directly under the SYM emblem ... in between the headlamps.

- After the first oil change (at 50km), the mechanic only wanted to drain the oil. I told him to remove the strainer too, which looked strange to him. I am glad we did it though as there were a few aluminum shavings hung up on the strainer - some leftover from when the gearbox was made.

Sad to say, that's the usual reaction from mechanics here. Most of them think of themselves as Mr. Know-It-All of motorcycles. You do need to constantly give them a kick and a shove to do what you wanted done on your bike. Do it often enough with the same mechanic (stick to a "designated" SYM mechanic in the shop, if possible) ... and he'll get it right on subsequent visits ... although not without some mumbling and cursing under their breath

- The idle speed was way too high on the white bike (about 2,400 RPM), so the clutch was always partially engaging (something that is a big no-no as the bike was constantly crawling forward, plus as the result the clutch was heating up). I told this to the mechanic right away, but looks like he has never seen an EFI unit before as he started to turn the throttle setting screw right away. I told him that it is most likely that the idle control motor that needs adjustment, but he went ahead anyway.

Read my comment above A note to add about local mechanics that are not working in a SYM dealership, and have not laid their hands on bikes with EFI (read: supersports, superbikes) ... Avoid going to them for engine work. As far as I know, even authorized SYM dealers here have not had their paws on the EFI programming tool ... well, except my guru in KL So, you're best advised to head on over to SYM @ Alma (where you went) to get any engine-related matters sorted.

Well, we are around this weekend and next one, then we are away (outstation - as they say in Malaysia) on the following one. We will contact you soon via SMS so we can work some of the details out.

By the way things are looking on my end, I'll probably be making my Penang ride next Saturday (May 29) - see my reply to jim63's topic thread, "Summer touring coming soon" - for details of this ride.

Initially I was thinking maybe I'll ride up to Penang to get you and your missus first thing Saturday morning, and ride down to KL together ... then running back up to Penang again almost immediately through the coastal roads of Perak. But this could be too much of a rush for you guys ... Another way is to have an evening ride after Friday's work down to Ipoh, stay a night, then ride on down to KL together Saturday morning.

Lots of ways to make this work; let me know what you think.

[CvtRider]

Hello UB! 

Thank you very much for the nice and detailed reply!

That's the hole on your Evo front clip, directly under the SYM emblem ... in between the headlamps.

You know, this bike has so many air intakes that a bit of narrowing down had really helped out . I am planning on working on the bikes in the next two weeks so I will use that opportunity to get the central air intake sealed.

Evo ones have a known problem of busting their oil seals prematurely, so keep an eye on them. Fortunately they go bad within the warranty period; but hopefully you wouldn't have to make any claims for it.

Hmm. I have to look into this too as until now I thought that the front end of the two bikes were totally identical. Thanks for the heads up! I am going to start looking at Sym part numbers to see what the difference is between the two forks.

Also, we are going to put the rear shocks into the budget as for now, shelling out all that money for the bikes had put a big dent in the piggy bank - but definitely I am going to look into this as well.

Sad to say, that's the usual reaction from mechanics here. Most of them think of themselves as Mr. Know-It-All of motorcycles. You do need to constantly give them a kick and a shove to do what you wanted done on your bike.

Thanks for the confirmation on this! Until now, sometimes I left the bike at the shop while I was chatting with the sales guys... but from now on (and after getting into this oil change and EFI trouble) I will definitely going to stay next to the bike while it is being serviced to make sure that it is done right. Thanks again!

By the way things are looking on my end, I'll probably be making my Penang ride next Saturday (May 29) - see my reply  to jim63's topic thread, "Summer touring coming soon" - for details of this ride.

If I am not mistaking, next Friday is not a working day at our factory so we can definitely meet up with you in Ipoh sometimes Friday. We are thinking of getting there earlier in the day and if you have time, we can chat a bit as once we start the tour, there will be very little talking - for obvious reasons

Hope to see you soon, UB!

[Desliderman]

Nice rides.  I can't get enough of riding mine.

What do the "PPPP5555" and "PPPP9999" mean?

Don in KC (Kansas City) USA.

[CvtRider]

Hello Don,

Thanks for the kind words!

Yes, these are definitely lovely machines and we do use ours almost every single day. You are pretty lucky with the weather in KC as it does not really get very cold there in the winter - unlike in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where I reside when I am not working in Malaysia. So looks like that you will be able to get lots of miles on that SYM every year. 

Oh, about the PPP... stuff.
Here in Malaysia, they require license plates for motorcycles on the front too and so when we had purchased the bikes, the dealer wanted to put these large, black, rectangular patches on the windscreen to be the front plates, but we asked them to deviate from that as they not only ruin the looks of the bikes but make it hard to look in front when pulling into a tight parking spot. So we went out and looked at other motorcycle brands that don't have a large front area to see where the license plates were installed and how large the lettering was. From there, we have gone back to the shop and had come up with these plates, which do start with the letter "P" for Penang State in Malaysia, but the rest I had simply touched up to cover the real numbers there. If I had just blurred the plates, they looked bad on the photos so I decided to play with the letters and numbers a bit.

Thanks again and maybe see you in KC some day as I have friends over there

Best regards,
CVT Rider

[Ronnie Ventura]

Hey guys ... wait for me!

When I am (eventually) there, I'll be east to southeast of you folks; in NC. Maybe we can do 3-point relay ride  ... CVT Rider to Don in KCity ... CVT Rider + Don to UB in the Outer Banks, NC ... CVT Rider + Don + UB to St. Paul, MN ... and so on forth til everyone gets home

But not too sure as to what would be my ride then ... heheh ... a GTS250i? A Burgman? A (Triumph) Bonnie? Maybe I'll just settle on the SYMba first