Motor Scooter Review: SYM RV250

by Rick
(Fredericksburg, Tx, USA)

I fell in love with this scooter the moment I first test drove it in the local scooter store's parking lot. The handling was great, with good balance, and it didn't jerk forward when I pulled back on the throttle. The automatic tranny shifting was flawless and imperceptible. It was smooth, quiet, and felt like a well-polished machine.

Fit and finish was very impressive. The front and rear lighting was equally impressive. The front is a combo Halogen/LED with side mounted fog lights. The light footprint it made on the road at night was very good. The highbeam made it easy for me to see out over 200yd ahead. Very bright and well-focused!

The rear light assembly sits high enough to be easily seen by drivers behind me. Also very bright.

Gas mileage with city driving averaged around 68-70mpg during break-in period. Pushed to about 76-78mpg on the highway (speeds varying between 50-70mph).

Lots of storage space under the seat, enough to fit a XL full face helmet plus a medium open face. It also has a front storage area in the fairing with a lighter socket inside for powering a mobile device/GPS/MP3 player, etc.

It has a cup holder, but I found it to be not a very good one. It's located on the center dash between your legs and flips open by pressing a push tab. It has 4 small, shallow, square-ish, trays inside. A twenty ounce soda bottle will slide around and can easily fall out if you start or stop suddenly. A 1 liter bottle, however, fits nice and snug. I've noticed that the cover can pop open suddenly when I hit a sharp bump in the road. This could startle and distract you when riding.

The only real downsides are two things. One, the handling can get a little squirrelly at higher speeds with a crosswind. It only weighs 384lbs and you need to be aware and focused at all times when driving this scooter over 40mph. Remember, it's a scooter, not a full sized motorcycle!

Second, getting parts for this thing has been a nightmare, recently. The parts warehouse here in the US burned down. The new distributor is in Canada and getting parts shipped from there has been spotty. The part I had ordered took a month to arrive. There is word going around of a possible new parts warehouse setting up here in the US. If this happens, this situation should improve.