Newbie Knows He Wants A Kymco, But Which One...

[axy]

I just got a new 2010 Yager. I had a 250 GrandVista for a few years and wanted something more sporty. I sold it and got a Ninja 650r.

For Ninja fun, you need Ninja 14 or 10. 

[Laser3003]

The 650 is more then I'll ever need....
Good Bikes....I guess just not my thing....
I do look good on it tho.....

[MrKymco]

SYM HD200 for your purposes imo

[aidanpryde18]

SYM HD200 for your purposes imo

I don't know if I would recommend a SYM right now until they get their distribution back in line. The way it's looking, with having two American distributors could be poison to dealers.

Don't get me wrong, SYM makes nice bikes, but if parts supply dries up or takes forever, that defeats the purpose of getting a commuting tool. That being said, if you don't mind hunting for parts you might get a great deal on an HD 200 right now.

[TechGuy]

I like the SYM bike but it has been several months since the fire and nothing official has happened.  I am not sure I would want to be saddled with this issue.  It may work it way out but not today.  I have scooter friends that are dealers and I hope it works out for them.

[jprestonian]

I like the SYM bike but it has been several months since the fire and nothing official has happened.  I am not sure I would want to be saddled with this issue.  It may work it way out but not today.  I have scooter friends that are dealers and I hope it works out for them.

Several?  Almost a year (June, 2010)!  Officially, Lance Powersports is the distributor for the Western U.S., but still no word on elsewhere... and it may not stop with two distributors. That can be both good and bad, actually.

Our shop can't even get new SYM models to sell right now in the prime of riding season, while Buddy 125s and 2T Stellas fly off the floor as soon as the truck drops them off. It's looking a lot like our shop may be a Genuine-only dealer pretty damned soon.
.

[TechGuy]

Apparently Alliance Powersports (no website) is taking over the SYM distributorship. TeamSymba.com has announced it and Lance's Facebook page alludes to Alliance.  Not sure what all this means but this is what I find today. Looks very recent.  The domain for Alliance looks very new.  

Late edit... Apparently MRP posted this content

Now, given my past with SYM and how I consider them to be pretty dam sneaky I don't think they are loyal to any party here. They want money from Carter, they want money from Lance. They want to move the units sitting in California. Heck, they wanted money from me and I said no way. If you have a track record like this who is going to trust you?

Alliance Powersports as the new SYM US West Region Distributor. That much we know. I wish Michael and his crew well, but they need to make up for all the messed up things that have happened.

Alliance is the sister company of Lance Powersports Inc
Fiddle 125 (blk, white, green, red)
Symba (blk, blue, red)
Following 1-2 weeks:
Citycom 300
Mio 50
Fiddle 50
Symply 50
HD200

The email I got ends with "SYM is one of the leading scooter manufactures worldwide and we are excited about this opportunity to represent SYM and offer you the best service and support." - If SYM gave a crap about the American dealer or consumer they would have stepped in and done what Kymco did and that's invest. Solved the mess, gotten consumers their warranties, and helped Carter out. I honestly feel from all the Carter employees I've spoken to it was SYM that let them down on more than one occasion having to justify every single warranty. You want to sell in America look at STR / Kymco how they merged. It made sense, it continues to make sense.


Lance / Alliance Powersports | 3788 Milliken Ave | Unit C | Mira Loma | CA | 91752
1-951-361-9000 x 111.

http://tinyurl.com/3b6nays

[TechGuy]

I am going to reply to my own post:

Given this information and the track record provided by SYM (and Carter)... I would be very hesitant to purchase and own a SYM scooter.  They are excellent quality scooters... getting close to Kymco and Honda from a straight quality stand point. But SYM corporate does not appear to be supporting the US market very well.

Kymco USA had some issues during this financial recession.  I am not sure to many talked about this but Kymco Taiwan purchased the remaining stock of Kymco USA and it continues to support the US market. Could it stand to improve it..yes, like most large, geographically dispersed companies using a distribution network of dealers. 

We are seeing new models and apparently we are seeing lower MSRPs in what sounds like it will be a stronger scooter year. Sounds to me like Kymco is taking advantage of their Taiwanese competitors weaknesses. They are are also bringing in models that neither Vespa nor Honda can compete with.

I could be an interesting year. Kymco may have more "skin" in the game and be willing to take on more risk.