It's ironic that the most thorough review of the Symba done so far is in a city newspaper rather than a motorcycle or scooter magazine (or website)! The LA Times put together an intelligent and rider-oriented piece that really does the Symba justice as a non-Vespa, but still very classic, choice for urban scooterists. Great video, too! Click on the LA Times masthead above to to to the review. The video is posted below.

The Symba Generation is Born!

This is the first Symba ad I've seen in the mainstream press. It appeared alongside a very positive review of the Symba in the October '09 issue of Scoot Magazine. I picked up my copy at Border's Books just the other day. It's a good ad, although a bit slogan-heavy with three different versions, as if the designers of the ad liked them all and couldn't make up their minds which to go with. My choice would be, "The Symba Generation is Born!", because it's forward-looking. However, the large photo of the Symba parked next to a vintage Super Cub really works with, "Make new friends and keep the old" in a very special way. The third one is, "The Wow is Now!", which only really means anything to those of us who knew the bike back when it was only available in Taiwan as the "WoWOW" and for years pestered/cajoled/begged Carter Brothers to bring it to America.

Symba Owner's Manual - Available Online Now...

It's always good to have a digital copy of important documents, and every Symba owner should have the Symba Owner's Manual on their PC or Mac. I've posted it here. Download it to your Symba folder for safe keeping.

Download Your Copy of The Symba Wiring Diagram

Planning to install an electric accessory? Here's the Symba wiring diagram!

symba_wiring.pdf

Symba Review at Motorcycle.com: What a Crock!

Do you agree with the above? I certainly don't, and I'll bet if you are a fan of the Symba you won't, either. It's the rating given the Symba over at motorcycle.com based on ONE review - posted by somebody who definitely does not "get it", and thinks the Symba was designed for "grandmas". Oof!

Please, please - if you have a few moments to spare, go here and post your impressions of the Symba. Let's set the record straight!

Team - Don't Skimp on Protective Clothing!

I wish I had a dollar for every time I've given "the wave" to a passing harley or GSX-R and noticed that the rider was wearing shorts, t-shirt, sneakers, and no gloves. Once a rider on a Buell came up along side me on my Symba at a red light and, in a nice way, made fun of my wearing a Shoei RF-1000 (full-face) helmet.

Fact: if you're not wearing the proper protective gear, you can get just as messed up hitting the pavement at 40 mph on a Symba as on a Sportster. So please, my fellow Symbaistas, don't skimp on the protective riding apparel! That means: gloves, jacket, full-face helmet, long pants, and riding boots. Every ride - no exceptions.

For some important information on the value of protective riding gear, please visit the Gear Up! Project website*.

* The Gear Up! project is copyright 2009 Kate Rhodes. The Gear Up! image is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 license

The Symba Has its Own Song in Taiwan...

As most of us know, the Symba is made in Taiwan. Over there the Symba is known as the "WoWOW", and it has quite a following among young people. Here is the popular band, "Wonfu", performing the "Every Day, WoWOW!" song at a concert in Taipei.