Symba Appears in Local News Report on Scooter Industry

Story link: MyFoxTWINCITIES.com

It's not great news (scooter sales off by 67% compared with prior year - oof!), but there is a great shot of the Symba.

Taiwan's Super Cub History...

The Super Cub is the most manufactured motor vehicle in history, having been made not just in Japan but throughout Asia for the past 52 years.  

In Taiwan, Honda chose to license manufacturing to local companies operating on the Island, rather than pay the stiff import duties levied on imported vehicles.

The company they chose to manufacture Honda motorcycles for them was Sanyang Industry Co. (SYM), which started production of the Super Cub in 1962. This photo is of the SYM museum in Hsinchu, Taiwan.  Note the C100 Cub on the right and the Symba on the far left, with all the intervening models in between.


Today, SYM is one of the major manufacturers of both motorcycles and automobiles in Taiwan.  No longer under license from Honda, SYM produces a line of world-class quality scooters and motorcycles that are designed in Taiwan by SYM engineers, and compete with Honda and other major brands head-on.  SYM has won praise and admiration for its extremely high quality standards and the resulting durability of its scooters.  Thus, we have the Symba, which came to these shores in 2009, two years after SYM's entry into the USA.

Download it Today - The Symba Service Manual!

The Symba Service Manual.  Every Symba owner should have a copy of this document.  If you ever need to adjust your valve clearance, set the ignition timing, gap a new spark plug, replace the main fuse, etc... this is the source for technical specifications and instructions on how to make such adjustments and repairs.


As far as I know, this is the only copy available in its entirety online.


Download it here.

The Symba is for Sale in California! Finally!

The Scoot Shop of Sacramento, CA announces the arrival of the Symba to dealerships in sunny California.  What took so long?  The answer is, it was the very stringent and incredibly slow CARB (California Air Resources Board) certification process, which can take upwards of a year or more from the date of application to approval.  Without a CARB certificate, a scooter or motorcycle can't be legally sold in the state of California.  Period.  California is a very important state for scooters, partly because its the nation's most populous state (with nearly 40 million residents), but also because more scooters are sold there than in any other state by a wide margin (runner up:  Texas).  Also, California has the distinction of being where, in 1959, Honda opened its USA headquarters and introduced the Super Cub to American scooteristas.  The Cub was a big hit - and inspired at hit song, too - the 1964 Beach Boy's tune, "Little Honda".  The arrival of the Symba in California signals the return of the classic Cub to its American spawning grounds, and (finally) gives Cub enthusiasts there the opportunity to get back on their favorite ride!

Binh is Back (home)!

Our friend and intrepid Symba-trekker Binh Cheung has completed his incredible ride to Alaska and back!  Both rider and Symba made it in good shape - Binh showing himself to be quite the minimalist (the photo above is his Symba with all the gear he took on his month-long trip.  No chase vehicle - just Binh, Symba, tent and sleeping bag!) and the 2010 Symba proving its durability and endurance!  Binh has posted a summary of his ride and a bunch of great photos at SYMplifylife.com.


Editor's note:  The previous post about the fire at Carter Brothers has been removed.  I've made the decision not to distract Team Symba from our primary interest - the bike!

Binh's Amazing San Jose to Alaska Journey - Update...

A remarkably rested and healthy-looking Binh Cheung stopped by The Seattle Scooter Center and posted this short video of his visit.  Enjoy!

Alaska Symba Trek - 1300 miles in 3 days!

Here's an update from Binh on the road to Alaska:


Got to Seattle late last night.

First day was a late start only did about 250miles thru the central valley.  Stayed just north of Chico on hwy32.  Did the second oil change around 300miles

Second day was a long one, over 450miles.  I wanted to make the ride into Seattle a shorter one for the third day.  Stayed a little past Bend Oregon.  Did the third oil change around 600miles.

Third day.  This day had some drama.  My original route was snowed covered.  I had planned to go over the Gifford Pinchot NF passes but got stuck in the snow.  Had to turn around and go around.  This added over 150miles to Seattle, turned out to be a 450+ miles instead of the 300 as planned.  I had to go by local direction which made it take even longer.  The bike started to make funny noises and I noticed the license plate starting to crack, epoxyed it.

I was only going to stay the night and continue north but decide to stay in Seattle for a day then head north.  This break gave me time to do break in maintenance: valve adjust, chain adjust, clutch adjust, 4th oil change around 1275miles started using synthetic.  Bike sounds normal now and runs much smoother and quieter then the previous day.  The funny noises was cause by a very loose drive chain.

Epoxy didn't hold up so my buddy Fred here in Seattle made me a backing plate for the license plate so it can be held using all 4 holes.  Bike now has over 1300miles and runs strong.  The fastest I got it up to was just shy of 70mph down hill and about 60mph on the flats.

I've added more pics to photobucket:

http://s11.photobucket.com/albums/a158/binhkc/Symba%20Alaska/

From San Jose to Alaska and Back - On a Symba!

Friends and readers, meet Binh Cheung and his new Symba! The two of them embark today on a ride from Northern California to the Arctic Circle (and perhaps Arctic Ocean) and back:  an 8,000+ mile, 1 month, 300 mile-per-day endurance test for both man and machine.  As you can see in the photo (credit:  Binh Cheung), he's packed all his gear plus an auxiliary gas tank on the front and a few spare tires on the rear rack.  


It's a test I'm sure the Symba is up to, and here's hoping that Binh is as durable as his ride!  Not to worry - Binh's an experienced endurance rider, having already taken road trips on 50cc scooters from his home in San Jose to Denver and Seattle. He probably feels over-powered on the 100cc Symba!  


We'll be posting updates here, but just in case we get behind, you can also check Symplylife.com.  

Here Come the Symba Customization Projects...

Here's a nice one!  A Symba owner repainted his legshield and side covers black and added a rally stripe on the front that matches his helmet.  Very creative and well done!  For more details about how he did it, see the Symba Forum.  By the way, if you've customized your Symba, please post your photos on the forum when you can!

Installing the Symba "Long" Seat...

Have you purchased the long (bench) seat for your Symba, only to find that it comes without installation instructions?  Not to worry! A member of the Symba Forum has generously posted photos of the installation.  Have a look, here.

How to Start Your Symba After the Long Winter...

If the cold and snow has forced you to leave your Symba in the garage for months, and now you find it difficult to start, there's some excellent, first-hand advice on how to get her started and running well again - here.

Symba Commercial !!!

Canadians Finally Get the Symba!

According to the Scooter Underground, Canadian scooteristas (or "CubCanucks"?) will soon be able to unload their hoarded loonies on the Symba of their choice at their nearest SYM dealership.  Apparently (but not surprisingly), the Symba is widely regarded as "Dekey" and has been anxiously anticipated since its introduction in the States.  Oh, and here's a link to SYM Canada.