SYM RV250 general impressions from those who have or have had one.

[kcphoto2008]

Some time next spring I am planning to move up from my 150 to a 250. 250cc's is as far as I am going to push the upgrade. I like my 150 a lot but, with my intended move out farther in the countryside, I need a larger scooter and more power. The one thing I do not want to do is go so big that I cut my fuel economy too far. My 150 is getting over 85mpg and I want to at least get 70mpg from my next one.

Right now I am weighing the positives and negatives of four scooters that are 250's. What I am looking for is feedback from current or former owners of the RV250. I have read the posts on here. What I want is an old Clint Eastwood kind of feedback. You know the good, the bad, and the ugly. You can even  if you like.

[ut1205]

The SYMs are great machines.  If you haven't already, check out this site http://symforum.com/.  You can get "feedback" from real owners.  The U.S. distributors warehouse burned and they are not selling parts but they can be sourced from the distributor in Canada.  There is an E-Bay seller in Taiwan selling OEM SYM maintenance parts cheaper than you can buy locally.
 
I have owned the HD200 since June.  I just turned 2100 miles and have done nothing except change the oil.

Last week, Craig's list in Atlanta, GA had a 2006 RV250 with 5,XXX miles for sale for $1,700.00

[Matt]

I have a 08 RV250 38,000 km/26,000 mi. Nicely broken in.
I've been keepiing my milage since I bought it and avergae 3.8 litres/100 km or 75 mpg for 180 lb 5'9". B est cruising speed for me is 120 kmh/75 mph @ 7500 rpm. I have not taken it to the red line. The storage space is hugh. I've done most of my city chores with the RV250 and the only things I have not been able to carry are: 2x4 lumber, 4x8 sheet of plywood or a 24 case of beer. There is enough space under the seat that it can be rented out as a small apartment. I done belt change, oil changes, plugs, tyres, and are no more diffcult than the majority of other scoots.
The bad: I hate the frame mounted mirrors. I can't see anything directly behind me as far back as the horizon. This may not be a problem for you. See physical description above. The larger windscreen flapped a lot at highway speed. There is a cautionary note on the larger screen that you shouldn't exceed 90kph. For my riding style (straight up) the RV250 needs another the back rest to go back another inch. There isn't much wrong with the RV250. It has been a lot of funny to ride.

The RV250 has only been in Canada since 08 so the Ebay posting must be a typo.

There were only three 250 cc contenders when I had decided to move up to 250. Vespa 250, too expensive, had a bad reputation as a hanger queen. More time in the shop waiting for parts than riding. Kymco B&W 250. Rode one for the weekend and the seat was TERRIBLE!. Couldn't do more than 90 minutes before I had to take a break. First long ride with the RV250 was over 800 km.

[Dan]

If you are strictly looking at new model 250cc scoots the RV250 is tough to beat.

[Kiwiscoot]

I would've recommended the Citycom, but then you mentioned 250cc. The Citycom with it's 262cc EFI would do everything you want and more. Totally different beast to the RV250 tho.
happy hunting that dream scoot - they are all compromises.
Kiwiscoot

[kcphoto2008]

Hey great responses. Thanks for the input from all. Today was an off day from work for me so I went visiting some dealers. Not a lot of scoots to look at but I did get some more impressions of the dealerships in my area. The guy who sells Kymco gave me a price on an in stock Xciting 250 that is going to be tough to beat. If I had the money at this moment, we would have been doing the deal.  

Oh well, I'm not in a big hurry to move on a 250 so I'll play the waiting game a bit longer and see how it works out for me. I do like that dealer who sells Kymco and one of the local SYM dealers a lot so I feel very comfortable that either one will be good to work with on the sale and future maintainance.  

Oh Matt, thanks for all the info. I ride a lot too, my 150 has over 33,000 miles on it right now.

[Steve_YYZ]

Well, I'm just finishing my first season with my RV-250 and overall I'm very satisfied with it. As you can see by the photo below, I modified the seat to fit my size as I'm 6'6" tall and 240 lbs so I needed more legroom than the stock front backrest would provide. So I had it made into a bench seat and also added extra foam, so it's super comfortable even on long rides.

I've figured my mileage around 70/75 mpg per US gallon and that's ok by me. I've also got the larger windscreen and yes, it does buffet SOME while going fast, but not enough that it's a problem for me. Besides, when caught in rain it's very nice to have. Also, with our colder weather here this fall, the large screen has edges that stick out and deflect the airflow around your hands so that's a great relief as well.

As to the bad, well like others I think the mirrors need improvement on subsequent models and I'm looking at ways of moving them farther out. But I do also like and need the swing-closed feature for when I store my scoot. What I have done is put small convex mirrors on the top outer edges which has improved the overall view, especially the "blind" spots left and right. Directly behind is still the problem necessitating lifting my arm and looking under the armpit to see behind.

Simple question/answer. Would I buy it again knowing what I know now? The answer to that is a resounding YES!!!!

[puddleduck]

I've had my 2008 SYM rv250 from new. I have 17, 000 kms on it and it still very smooth.

The good:
-Great top speed (130km/hr gps verified) single rider 180 lbs, no gear.
-Lots of Trunk space (can fit my tent and samll camping chair under seat, sleeping bag and clothes get strapped to passenger seat.
-still nice and flickable like the smaller scoots.
-great fronts and rear lights for visibility for me to see and be seen
-Great gas milage
-Comfortable for long rides (300 kms on 1 tank of gas.)

The bad:
-built in mirrors are too close so you see your shoulders more then what's behind you. THE FIX: using convex mirrors for blind spots or buying after-market to attach to brake reservoir.

- seat not far back enough (I'm 5'10") FIX: cut off stoppers to allow seat to go further back and shaved plastic and foam from back rest.

- stock wind shield height wrong so wind hits right at helmet so lots of buffeting (again 5'10") FIX: bought extra large wind shield for winter months and cut down stock to "sport" look for summer.

I wish it had more power when I load up to go camping. top speed drops to 120 km/hr when under load of two people or gear.


the UGLY:
- Parts replacement is expensive: Air filter is custom shape so got quoted $75 from dealer. FIX: save old filter cut out paper and purchase 3x9 filter foam.
-Parts replacement is Expensive 2: dashboard cubby door has cheap plastic tab to shut and I snapped it. new door $40.

I heard there is an RV300, and would love to have it in Canada.

[AndrewR]

I own the RV 250 for two years and have 12000km on it. No technical problems with and exception of half of the LED ring on front light died.  I thought it was repairable but the dealership says that it is not.  The only way to correct it is to buy new front light system for the cost of $260 CDN.  Too much money so I disconnected the wire and made the LED totally blind.
I also noticed when I tested the scoot's stability that the scoot vibrates badly after I take off my hands from the bar so I have to grab the bar back quickly or I would crash.  I had Piaggio Fly150 before and the scoot rode smoothly with hands off the bar regardless the speed. 
Anyone knows what the reason for this behaviour might be?  Poorly balanced front wheel?
Andrew

[jinx]

Had the same observation of bar shake on our RV. Talked to the dealer about it, and he advised the handlebars are rubber mounted and will shake because of this. Good news is they do a better job of absorbing jolts from the road. Seemed to be an honest fellow, so I reckon this might be accurate. I got used to the feeling after some miles of use.

Hope this helps;  Jinx

[puddleduck]

To lessen the vibration get heavier bar end weights. I find the stock ones too small. if you look at the Vespa gt 250 the bar ends are larger. when you add a top case they provide you with even bigger and heavier ones. maybe look on e-bay for a set. i have the stock vespa ones and find no problem about vibration.

[desliderman]

I don't have any complaints about the power and comfort on a ride.  It's a great scooter for the long and short haul.

Here are my minor complaints.. 

1.  The odometer reset at sometime around 6600 miles.
2.  The front brake pads are noisey.  My dealer tells me that it could be fixed by finding some other pads from a different mfg.

The Carter Brothers situation is an entirely seperate issue. 

[Kiwiscoot]

I don't have any complaints about the power and comfort on a ride.  It's a great scooter for the long and short haul.

Here are my minor complaints..  

1.  The odometer reset at sometime around 6600 miles.
2.  The front brake pads are noisey.  My dealer tells me that it could be fixed by finding some other pads from a different mfg.

The Carter Brothers situation is an entirely seperate issue.  

My SYM Citycom - 27000kms plus going perfect. Longest trip was 900 miles in 19 hours - no sore butt, but tired hands - the Sym handled it better than the rider. I can recommend a Sym.

[jim63]

We have owned our SYM RV250's over 2 years now. Made 2 long trips both close to 3000 miles without a mechanical failure. My 2008 and my wifes 2009 have been a pleasure to ride, especially after we put the large windscreens on. Only parts that went bad were 2 headlights on mine, one at 13k miles the other at 18k miles, currently have over 27k miles on the scooter. My wifes bike is over 10k miles with zero problems. My commute is mostly via interstate and cruise at 65-70mph no sweat with my 240lbs on it, the bike will go faster I just prefer this speed range keeps the RPM's under the 7k mark. Would I recommend buying one to someone else, yes!!

[Topcut33]

I shopped around for a scooter and the best one  I could come up with was a SYMRV250 with 36 yes 36 miles at my local Honda dealer ..I stole the bike for $2999.  I put different mirrors on and a windshield extension and I'm a happy camper.  I'm 73 years young and I had a 2005  Vulcan 750 and every time I took it out it seemed to get heavier...I wish I would have gone to the scooter  long before this.  Can anyone tell me how I can get the front off to excess the oem mirrors ?....Thanks Steve for your reply on removing my OEM mirrors..That's gonna save me a lot of time and extra work I thought  I was gonna have to do........My scoot is in my daughter's garage about three miles from here so tomorrow  I will go over and take care of that. ...You guys are great....Thanks again.

[Maggie]

Great deal!!  Welcome to Maxi Scoot, Top Cut.


Not to send you to another forum but take a look here... this is from a guy who is actually a member here as well, Steve.

http://symforum.com/index.php?topic=1591.msg9211#msg9211

[Topcut33]

Where do I get the large  windshield like Steve has ?  Mine is a 2008 SYMRV250

[tangojetta]

Found a 2007 Sym RV 250 with 500 miles on it for $2000.00,  It's a good price?

Thanks

[happyoldscoot]

Did a lot of research before I bought my RV250 two years ago.  13,000+ happy miles.  ZERO problems with the machine.

[tangojetta]

Look at the SYM RV250 today, look like it was drop on both sides, had a hack speaker install. Here are photo of the SYM. It now has 580 mile on it.

[mistereri]

Hi from Austria,

RV 250 are great machines but one problem with the stock windshield, its a bit short and during 7 months cold you get really cold buffeting on your chest.
If you live in warm places and you do not need the highway than its ok the original screen.



http://www.euronetbike.net/isotta/scooters/sym/joy-max-300-evo-09/windshield-medium-protection-full-attack-for-joy-max-300-evo-vers.2009.html

Greetings

Jon

[Maggie]

For the record,  I approved this account based....