Comments on: Test ride: SYM Citycom 300i

By: Phipsd

Phipsd — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 05:13:32 +0000

I have an 09 Citycom with 14000km on it. EBC pads on the front fixed the mushy front brake. The bike is much quicker and faster now than when new and pulls harder on the hills as well. Performance is excellent, cornering outstanding and weather protection decent. The stock Maxxis may not be state of the art but they work well enough even in the wet. Somehow tarsnakes in the dry seem to be an issue though.

The hard seat will breakin and I find I have plenty of room for my over six four and size 14′s. Ear plugs are a necessity however.

This bike is a real Q-Ship on steep mountain hairpins. I find I can make much better time than with the big bikes when the going gets tight. It’s so much fun to ride that except for long trips, my V-Strom 1000 is mostly gathering dust.

When travel gets brisk or gusty mountain winds pick up; I just slide forward until my knees are just touching and it’s like the bike is on rails. After more than 40 years of riding; outstanding.

By: LarryG

LarryG — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 01:51:03 +0000

I purchased a 300i in September, partly based on this review and others on the net. I also spoke with people at Slaughterhouse, Scooterworks, POC Phil, and friends. I agree with just about everything here, including the slightly angled seat. This is only my 2nd scoot and I notice that I have to do a LOT more counter-steering than before. My Aprilia was more flickable–just a weight shift could steer it. Of course, it was lighter and slower, too.

My only real disappointment is the tires–these Maxxis don’t grip as well as the Pirelli ST66s I had on the Aprilia. This is noticeable on turns and steel bridge grates, too.

If you change the price from $5400 MSRP to $3000 actually paid, this scooter beats any competitor in value! Although it does not have the Italian cache, it is not far from the design of an Aprilia Sportcity.

So far I really enjoy riding both short commutes and longer rides.

Larry G

By: Paul Jones

Paul Jones — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:13:39 +0000

I have a 300i that purchased on 8/01/2009. I had completed my basic riders course the weekend before. My sum total riding experience was 10 hours on the range with the instructors close at hand.
The day I picked it up I thought what in the world have I bought. It was much bigger than the 150′s we rode in the class. I have ridden 5800 miles since the first day, and commute 34 miles round trip by interstate. WOT indicates 81mph, and I have no problem passing cars. The scoot handles well in rain, and will go across black ice in the workplace parking lot better than I can walk in my riding boots.
I purchased the scoot for what is is- an awesome commuter vehicle that gets 51mpg running high speed. It has plenty of top end to pass semi’s, and the bike crowd has no idea who this crazy guy is on the road everyday.
If you want to just tool around on a sofa I was told to get a Burg, RV250, or another laid back scoot. Personally, I like to be able to have a commuter and a fun scoot that corners like a cat, sips gas, and gets me to work every day.
Paul R. Jones
Sandston VA

By: pocphil

pocphil — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 20:07:20 +0000

I’ve put around 1200 miles on my demo CityCom, I’ve run it on local scooter runs of over 3 or 4 hours and had no problem with butt fatigue and I have the “American Average Ass”. I think this scooter has the best ergos in the industry.

Now that it’s broken in, my top speed confirmed by GPS is 89 mph. On day one out of the box our top speed was 81 mph.

I also agree Carter puts too high of a price on their SYM scooters. That’s been the number one reason customers have been buying Grand Vista 250′s instead of the CityCom. Charging $1000 more than the competition is too big of a swipe for a bike that doesn’t have the “V” word on the legshields.

We have the prototype luggage rack at our shop and the prototype windshield. The rack is built so well you could easily shake the whole scooter by the rack alone. The windshield is probably 4″ higher and at least 4″ wider giving a nice bit of hand protection and much better sound envelope on the freeway.

By: illnoise

illnoise — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:31:08 +0000

I certainly have plenty butt padding, and Ron technically qualifies as “buttless” under a little-known provision of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

I realize the lower “cruiser” seats (helix/RV250/Morphous/Silverwing) are probably far more comfortable for long trips, but I just don’t care for that styling or that riding position, and for a more upright “scootery” scooter, I find the Citycom seat quite comfortable. Then again, I actually think the old Vespa sprung-leather saddle seat (not the benches, they’re terrible) is more comfortable than a lot of modern scooters.

As far as knee-room, I thought it was reasonably spacious, I’m 5’10″ and it didn’t concern me. Of course, as I pointed out, I’m used to smaller scooters, many of which have notoriously little legroom. If you’re a fan of feet-forward cruiser-type scooters, it’s probably somewhat less spacious.

By: oldscooterguy

oldscooterguy — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 06:00:53 +0000

I can’t believe my eyes! I read… “The seat was very comfortable, after a 30-mile ride, I hopped off the saddle and realized that the seat had never crossed my mind, and my crotch hadn’t fallen asleep. (Ron thought it tilted forward a bit too much.) The seat is also great for 2-up riding, the passenger has a good deal of room and isn’t sitting too high.”

I’ve been riding scooters since Ronald Reagan’s re-election in 1985. Of the various scooters I’ve owned/ridden (about 100) my 1987 “Snow mobile on LSD” Helix is comfortable for up to 3 to 4 hours.

I test rode a Citycom300i 3 days ago and had “bench butt” after 3 miles! The seat is hard as granite. Perhaps the reviewer and his friend have extra pading in their butts, ALOT of extra padding, but the seat on this scooter is as uncomfortable as going thru a divorce with children.

It’s a nice bike, but the RV250 is superior in many ways, including ergonomics and affordability. Besides riding about 100 different scooters I’ve sold about 15 different lines of scooters this decade, and SYM is currently one of the brands we carry right now. I cannot, for the life of me, understand how anybody can find that seat comfortable. The Citycom 300i sits just a tad longer than a Kymco Grand Vista. In other words, if you’re any taller than 5’9″ you’ll feel cramped.

It’s a nice concept that needs to be sized for Americans. Please don’t get me wrong, SYM makes great machines, really great machines, but the ergonomics on the 300i are sorely lacking.

By: illnoise

illnoise — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 21:29:09 +0000

I agree, hardd1, without looking up the actual numbers, Carter Brothers’ pricing has always seemed to me to be a bit higher than the competition. Maybe that’s just perception, and I’m sure they’d argue their bikes are a little better, and maybe they just plain cost more to make. But however great SYMs are, Genuine and Kymco built up the U.S. market for Taiwanese scooters, and now they dominate it with a big market share and better brand recognition and great dealer networks, so you’d expect Carter Brothers to be a bit more competitive with their pricing, just to get people to consider their bikes when comparison shopping.

I’ve said some negative things about Carter Brothers in the past, but most of SYMs scooters are pretty darned great, and they’ve dropped a few fantastic products in Carter Brothers lap in the last 12 months. Carter finally seem to be realizing that fact, and they’re getting much smarter about marketing and understanding the scooter market lately.

By: hardd1

hardd1 — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:56:58 +0000

SYM builds a great scoot….but Carter Bros are not bashful when it comes to assigning a MSRP for one…a 10-15% reduction in their MSRP structure would help the dealers add more sales do to competitve pricing …