Sym Voyager 250 GTS

[Flange]

the rear is 130/70-13, standard is a Maxxis. I was a bit surprised that it wore so quickly, maybe the Conti will do better - the dude in the shop thought it would. Time will tell...

[MarkH]

the rear is 130/70-13, standard is a Maxxis. I was a bit surprised that it wore so quickly, maybe the Conti will do better - the dude in the shop thought it would. Time will tell...

Mine is 150/70-13 which is not much different, and considering I have more weight & 400cc I wouldn't really expect the lifespan to be all that much different. I am running the original Bridgestone Hoops and I would say that it is very likely quite a range of lifespans would be found between different brands of tyre. I suppose it will take a while to find out how long the Conti will last, but I suspect that you will get a LOT longer out of it than the Maxxis.

[Flange]

Yair, I suspect you're right there Mark. Maybe the Bridgestone is the key. Are they dual tread compound ?

Given that your Burgman is quite a bit more powerful than the Sym and heavier to boot, one would expect it to use it's tyres quite a bit more quickly, all other factors being equal.

Most of my kms are open road running with lots of hill work so I guess that will impact on the equation too.

Happy with the 400 ?

[Dave Lobster]

My 400 had its back tyre changed at the 12,500 mile service. It wasn't completely worn out, but it wasn't as hot as it could have been in the wet. All my mileage has been two up, up and down the motorway. Not flat out caning it, but certainly not hanging around like a tortoise.

I've been happy with mine. Can't recommend them high enough.

[MarkH]

Yair, I suspect you're right there Mark. Maybe the Bridgestone is the key. Are they dual tread compound ?

Given that your Burgman is quite a bit more powerful than the Sym and heavier to boot, one would expect it to use it's tyres quite a bit more quickly, all other factors being equal.

Most of my kms are open road running with lots of hill work so I guess that will impact on the equation too.

Happy with the 400 ?

I have no idea of the compound make-up of my tyres.

My 400 is great for commuting about Auckland and does a pretty decent job as a tourer. It really seems quite happy to cruise along at 110kph (speedo is crap and reads 120, but GPS comparison says 120 on speedo is around 109 actual). I have been over the bombays several times - no problem getting 140 on the speedo uphill heading south or 130 on the speedo uphill heading north. I don't push through the corners like a sports bike, but is does handle pretty good for a scooter and I enjoyed going around the Coro loop. Top speed is only around 140/155kph (actual/indicated), but that is enough for travelling at a normal speed with enough reserve for passing. There is plenty of storage under the seat to let me keep my wet weather gear on hand all the time, not a bad thing with NZ unpredictable weather. It is also pretty happy dawdling along at 60kph around the city.

It was kinda handy to have a full motorcycle license from way back and getting a free choice of engine size - the Burgman 250 has the same list price as the 400. With a lot of motorway and open road riding I prefer the 400.

[Dave Lobster]

the Burgman 250 has the same list price as the 400. With a lot of motorway and open road riding I prefer the 400.

I've had a 250 for a week when my 400 was getting a new clutch. For two up work, it's pretty poor when compared to my 400. Far more thrashy and VERY thirsty. As thirsty as the 650 we've had the use of too.

[The Baron]

Hi.
I took the Sym Voyager 250 in for a WOF. It passed. But the head light needs to be adjusted up.
So Q. Where is the adjustment and how do it get to it?
I will need to know oneday if only to change light bulbs etc.

I will find it if I pull enough bits off, but if you know, it will save time.

Thanks

[insane1]

there should be a forum for this scooter that might tell you more just google it .

[NZscoot]

Hi Flange, I have a Sym Citycom and want to do the same with the air cleaner. Did you leave the metal plate with the bigger holes in your airfilter? I guess you removed the fine mesh. How did you keep the foam in place??

How did your exhaust mod go?? The Citycom's exhaust is also a heavy beast. One day it may go too.

[Flange]

Hey there Dude

Give The People your thoughts on the Citycom. They too get great reviews.

Yes, I left the perforated metal plate in place, removing only the wire gauze.

To hold the filter foam in place I just drilled a few fine holes in the plastic and zig-zag'd some lock wire in front of the foam.

For what it's worth, I've gone back to a standard paper filter, reason being that the foam quickly seemed to choke up and even after cleaning appeared to not flow air properly. The symptom which I observed was a loss of throttle response - the performance or economy didn't seem to change significantly, just the throttle response. After putting a new paper filter back in the throttle response has returned to normal.

I used to have a Yamaha R6 which had a foam filter, but that was very large, a hemispherical shaped jobbie about 600mm by 400mm which filled most of the inside of the airbox and thus had quite a large surface area. I guess that for a foam filter to be successful, quite a large area is needed. Likewise a CBR1000 which I made into a race bike for a guy had a couple of cylindrical foam filters, again producing quite a large surface area.

I might try removing the perforated metal plate as well at some stage, That would effectively produce a much larger "opening" for the air to flow through if ya get what I mean. Just zig-zag a bit more lock wire on the back side of the foam to hold it in place.

And, I haven't had the chance to fit the new muffler yet, too busy workin' and ridin'.

The Sym has now done over 12,000km with no probs, cementing the belief that these really are a quality piece of kit. Just chewed out the second back tyre, a Conti Twist. It actually failed, developing four or five large blisters. If it weren't for the blisters the tyre would probably have given a couple of thousand Ks more, as it was it gave about 6000km. The front tyre is getting pretty worn so I'm replacing them both.

Finally, I got pissed with the wife pinching my 250 and leaving me to ride her little 100, so I've bought a second 250, guess that's pretty unique ? I was actually going to buy another new one but was told that "production has been halted" whatever that means. From what I've read these bikes are very popular everywhere and sell like hot cakes so I can't see why Sym should suspend production, unless they're going to release a new model and want to use up the old inventory perhaps. Instead I found a practically new one on Trademe, only 500km old. Good enough for me. It's interesting to ride two identical bikes and feel the differences, and strangely enough, they do feel quite different even after I've set them up the same.

Cheers
Flange

[MarkH]

The Sym has now done over 12,000km with no probs, cementing the belief that these really are a quality piece of kit. Just chewed out the second back tyre, a Conti Twist. It actually failed, developing four or five large blisters. If it weren't for the blisters the tyre would probably have given a couple of thousand Ks more, as it was it gave about 6000km. The front tyre is getting pretty worn so I'm replacing them both.

Are there any Bridgestone Tyres that fit your Scooter? I got 16,000kms out of my rear tyre, my front has done 20,500 and is still going. I don't take it easy on my tyres and have been on many group rides through twisty roads and kept up with a bunch of regular bikes. I replaced my Bridgestone Hoop tyre with another one and I will do the same for the front when it needs it - I have no complaints with my tyres.

[Flange]

Are there any Bridgestone Tyres that fit your Scooter? I got 16,000kms out of my rear tyre, my front has done 20,500 and is still going. I don't take it easy on my tyres and have been on many group rides through twisty roads and kept up with a bunch of regular bikes. I replaced my Bridgestone Hoop tyre with another one and I will do the same for the front when it needs it - I have no complaints with my tyres.

Foxtrot Uncle Charlie Kilo, that's a pretty good mileage ! The dude Muzza at Whakatane Motorcycles has put Dunlops on for me (I trust him, so left it up to him to to put on good tyres at a good price) but if these tyres don't go the distance I will certainly look at Bridgestones next. What sort of Bridgestones are they ?

[MarkH]

Foxtrot Uncle Charlie Kilo, that's a pretty good mileage ! What sort of Bridgestones are they ?

That should be Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo.

They are the standard Bridgestone Hoops that Suzuki supply with the scooter, I think they picked some good'uns when they chose them. The rear is a Bridgestone Hoop 150/70-13 and the front is a Bridgestone Hoop 120/80/14.

Looking at a list of tyres online I see that there is indeed a Bridgestone Hoop 130/70/13

[Flange]

As previously described, the standard muffler on the Sym 250 is a bloody heavy piece of kit, around 8kg, and mounted as it is a fair way aft of the swingarm pivot this produces a lot of unsprung weight. Unsprung weight is the arch-enemy of good suspension action.

I was given the can off a mid 80s Honda VTR250 which looked broadly the right size and shape, and best of all only weighs about 2kg. So, off with the old one and on with the new thus:

First an adapter is needed to bridge the gap between the standard header pipe and the internal diameter of the VTR muffler which is considerably larger than the standard Sym item. We used a bit of aluminium, lathed it to size and hacksawed some splits most of the way down the length of it to enable it to clamp down.

Then we ground off the old bracket and welded on a new one made from a bit of mild steel sheet.

Finally, a bit of VHT paint and a hose clamp and it's done.

So, what's it like ? The Fashion Police have decreed that it doesn't look as good as the original item, and I tend to agree with them. I will make up a heat shield, primarily for safety reasons but also because I think this might tidy up the aesthetics, but the bottom line is that I think it looks OK but not great.

How does it sound ? It's a bit louder than standard and this is not what I wanted. Also the exhaust note is not particularly pleasing when riding it, but I haven't heard how it sounds when ridden past. I can put up with the sound if the suspension action benefits sufficiently however.

How about the suspension action ? I expected quite an improvement from shedding 6kg of unsprung weight but was surprised just how great the improvement was. Ride quality is much better now with virtually none of the typical scooter thump when hitting a bump. Likewise when cornering fast over a bumpy surface the tyre sticks to the surface much better. Ground clearance is not really an issue on the Sym 250, but this mod does produce quite a bit more ground clearance on the right hand side should it ever be needed.

To summarise, this was a very successful mod indeed purely on the grounds of improvement to the suspension action. Aesthetically it's a bit of a mixed bag and the sound needs a bit of working on but hey, I can live with that.

Thanks to Jimmy Steadman for turning up the adapter and doing the bracket work.

Cheers
Flange

[Flange]

And of course what about the mixture ? The plug indicates that the mixture is still about right, and there's no discernable difference in throttle response or power up the Ohope Hill - it still gets to about 85 km/hr by the top.

I do notice a bit more popping under deceleration but that may well be due to the fact that the new muffler lets a bit more noise through. I am tweaking the idle air adjustment to see if I can tune this out.

Cheers
Flange