15,000 km service

It's that time again.  The Joymax has reached its 15,000km service at just over 16 months old.  Major items that needed to be looked at were:

• Rear wheel bearings - these were apparently some of the worst the mechanic at the dealership had seen and were begining to affect the oil in the gearbox etc.

• Rear brake disc - had this replaced as it was developing a lip on the outer edge.  I'd thought the grinding noise from bearings was partly down to dodgy brake pads / disc.  Turns out the pads were fine and the disc probably didn't need replacing yet.  Oh well, I've got a spare...

Other than the above the bike just had a regular service including the following items:

• Rear Brake Disc (sourced from SYM) - £76.95
• Carriage Costs - £5.95
• Sundries - £3.00
• Workshop Oil (0.80 ltr) - £5.20
• Gearbox Oil - £3.62
• Environmental Charge - £3.50
• Labour Charges - £43.00
• Vat @ 20% - £28.24

Total Charge: £169.46

Still waiting for my replacement front mudguard from SYM and chasing up the dealership for a replacement exhaust heat-shield that appears to have been damaged prior to me picking the bike up after the insurance repairs.   

The bearings took over a week to show up and the mudguard has been ongoing since mid June.  Bearing in mind this is a bike that is on sale / in production it disappoints me how long lead times are.

Crash, Bang, Wallop

Well...  After many years (over 10+) of care free riding I've finally come a cropper and been knocked off the bike.  Coming out of work after a short 8pm - midnight shift I was caught on the left-hand side by a car and sent rolling down the road with the bike following me.  Seems the bike has come off worse from the accident than myself.  I've suffered a broken metacarpal in my left hand, which now has a pin holding it all together, whereas the bike has more significant damage.

Broken mirror, scuffed brake lever, damaged front fairing,
minor scratches to the screen.

.

Scraping down the side of the front main farings.

Damage to the bellypan / footboards.

Damage to exhaust cover (not sure what damage may
have been caused to the exhaust / pipework)

Damage to the air box.

Damage to pillion footpeg / center stand
and surrounding fairing.

On speaking to the insurance company we're looking at getting the bike repaired for a total outlay of around £1500, not including at additional faults found.  I could have had the bike written off but it's currently on finance and I forgot to purchase the all important gap cover that allows you to bridge the gap between the book price and the price of a new bike. - Lesson learnt, an important add-on to anybody taking out finance!

I could have paid £1500 to bridge the gap between the book value of around £2200 and the costs of a new bike, which is still retailing at around £3500.  My bike is just over a year old, was in great shape, has two brand new tyres and should be relatively new after repairs.  Really didn't make much sense to be spending additional money on top of my regular monthly finance payments.

---

As for me...  I've spent a good few days gracing the local hospitals, sitting in waiting rooms for hours on end, to be patched up with a little pin sticking out of my left hand.  Seems I'm healing well and hopefully should be pin free for my fly / ride holiday planned at the end of July.

My hand just after the accident.
I nearly left it like that thinking it was just a bad bruise.

My hand after being bandaged up
ready for my pin to be fitted at
Pinderfields hospital, Wakefield.

Oh... Not again...

Unfortunately after a few months of riding the Joymax has developed the same problem with the front LED running lights.  A couple of the bulbs are starting to flicker like I had on the previous set.  Okay you might think... until you get pulled by the cops for having faulty lights - thankfully not happened.

I called into the local dealers (Padgets, Dewsbury) to follow-up on the last warranty claim.  They made a phone call to SYM and got told that the person they needed to talk to was on lunch.  - Apparently I was expected to wait there like a spare part until said employee came back.  - and they wonder why they loose customers...  Customer service people!  I left after 20 minutes of pacing up and down and told them I'd call in later.

Anyway, my next post will make this all fairly academic... :)

12k service

Just got the Sym back from its 12,000 service.

As mentioned in a previous post, there wasn't a vast amount that needed to be done.  Mainly minor niggles and wear and tear items that needed to be replaced.

A breakdown of costings were:

• EBC Rear Brake Pads - £6.64
• Drive Belt - £42.98
• Oil (0.80 ltr) - £5.20
• Grease / Lubes - £3.00
• Environmental Charge - £3.50
• Labour Charges - £43.00
• Vat @ 20% - £20.87

Total Charge: £125.19

The major item that seemed to cause problems this time around was the replacement of the speedo sensor that runs from the front wheel to the clock binnacle.  Although the dealer was nice enough to offer a courtesy bike (a Honda S-Wing / FES 125) Sym took well over 4 weeks to supply the correct part (sending the wrong one more than once).

As mentioned in an earlier post the idea of spending £100 every 3 months doesn't fill me with joy, but I'm aware it certainly could be a lot more with other models / dealers.

It's that time again...

It's been a while since my last post.  With the weather being no longer fit for ride-outs to the Yorkshire Dales and the like, I've pretty much been using the bike for the day-to-day ride into work.

The bike is due for it's 12,000km service which has come around pretty much on time.  I bought the bike back in March 2013 and the 12k service is due after 12 months. - In theory I'm a month ahead of where I should be which isn't too bad considering the use the bike gets.

Things to note that I'm due to take into this service are:

 - The speedo has been rather erratic of late.  It's spent the last 3+ months returning to about 5km rather than the dead straight 0km return.  The other week it failed to show anything, and the last day or two it's started to bounce about all over the place.  - I'm taking a guess that it's a faulty sensor on the front wheel as it seems to happen every time we have a bad spell of weather.

 - The security flip on the key hole either hasn't been falling into place when the button is pressed, or falls back onto the key by itself making it a nightmare to get the key out.  Something I find a pain in the backside when you're trying to get away from work in the early hours of the morning.

- The center stand won't spring back by itself.  Think it's just a build-up of dirt on the spring / pivot, but again a bit of a pain when you've got to ensure it's kicked back out of the way before setting off.

- Think I've worn the rear pads down to their bare minimum.  There might be some slight scoring on the disc.  Need to check with the dealership on if they think it's salvageable or not.

Overall the bke has been running great.  Not overly happy about having to get it services every 3,000 km, but that seems to be the way things are going with most 125 models these days.

Finally Sorted

Finally after the best part of 4 months chasing both SYM UK (Moto GB) and two local dealers (P and D Motorcycles, Wakefield / Padgetts, Dewsbury) I've managed to get my daylight running lights sorted on the Joymax.  The replacements  came in the form of the two integrated circuit boards in which the LEDs sit and were fitted within the space of a couple of hours.

Thanks to Padgetts for taking up the warranty and fitting the lights once they came in.

You only have to read my previous posts to get an idea of my opinion on the overall process.  Poor customer service and drawn out lead times.  The reason scooter dealerships are going under on a weekly basis!

6 and 9km service combined

Due to work commitments and lack of funds, that and SYM's rather short 3km service intervals, I had to look at combining both my 6km and 9km service.

As part of the service the bike went through a thorough vehicle check as well as the following key items:

• oil change
• valve clearance check
• tyre pressure check
• spark plug replacement
• greasing of parts (where needed)

Since purchasing the bike in March 2013 I've done just over 9,000km and also in need of:

• New Air Filter (to be ordered and fitted when available)
• Rear tyre (was on the legal limit in places)

Servicing Costs

• Workshop Oil (0.80ltr) - £5.20
• Air Filter - £17.85
• Spark Plug - £6.29
• Environmental Charges - £3.50
• Labour Charges - £43.00
• Grease/Lubes (£1.00 x 3) - £3.00

VAT: £15.77

TOTAL: £94.61

Still waiting...

Well... it's been well over a month since my last post and I'm still awaiting a successful outcome from the warranty claim on the daylight running lights on the Joymax... - Yep I'm getting rather fed up!

Having been let down by my original dealer, I spoke to SYM who seemed to be aware of the issue and suggested looking at filing a warranty claim with another local dealership. Been fairly local to where I live I decided to choose Padgetts in Batley, West Yorkshire who filed a claim for me which was accepted and put into action.

Weeks have passed since filing the claim and all I seem to get from either SYM UK is different stories on where my replacement part is (either in Taiwan or Bulgaria) or in a bunch of boxes they haven't got a clue what's in... or Padgetts who seem to be under the impression I should be doing all the donkey work rather than them...

And they wonder why dealerships are going to the wall...

The joys of ownership

Well... I've had the bike for about 5 months now.  To summarise a lot of what you'll read below - the bike is performing really well with a couple of niggly problems that need to be ironed out.

Over the last 5 months it's covered over 6.6km and taken in a variety of sights around the UK.
(left to right - Dent railway station / Viaduct - North Yorkshire, Albert Docks - Liverpool & Fountains Abbey - North Yorkshire)

The engine appears to be settling in well.  A slight whine, but I think that's me more used to a carbureted engine rather than fuel injected one.  It can cruise quite nicely at 70mph without feeling strained too much.

Still got the issue with the LED side lights...  As you can probably see from the first picture, I'm now down to no more than about 2/3 of them correctly working.  Informed my local dealer (P and D Motorcycles, Wakefield) of the problem to be told it was probably because I'd had an aftermarket alarm installed and it had caught some connectors causing an intermittent fault.  On closer inspection this appears to be complete rubbish.  Having given the problem a good look over it looks as if one or more LEDs have failed on each side of the bike (each on their own circuit board) that have caused a number of the other LEDs to work intermittently / fail.  Having spoken to Sym it appears they're aware of a problem and are now willing to fix the issue under warranty via another dealer.

A word to the wise...  Don't get a black bike!  Not that I'm vain or anything, but it shows up everything!  I use the bike 7 days a week, 365 days of the year so it gets a fair beating.  There's nothing worse than your pride and joy getting a scratch on it. :)

The gremlins are taking hold

Looks like the gremlins are starting to take hold. :(  The bike is barely 3 months old and already I've lost 7 of the LED lights (both front and rear) as well as a new problem with the speedo...

Whilst traveling into work the other day I noticed that speedo needle was no longer moving and I was getting no increase in millage from the electronic trip counter.  From what I can gather, as well as experience of similar problems on Italian based scooters, I'm imagining it to be a problem with the speedo sensor.  - They've got a bad habit of picking up road dirt / rain water and getting damaged quite easily.

Thankfully, from speaking to the dealer where I originally purchased the bike from, each of the problem items should be covered by the 3 year warranty.

As of today (1 day after posting) the speedo seems to have sprung back into life.  It must be either a faulty connection or some water / dirt has got into the sensor.  Hopefully they'll replace the full part as part of the bikes 3000km service.

Flashing in the dark

Well, I've had the Sym for just over two months now.  All seems to be fine apart from a noticeable flashing coming from the front of the bike whilst in dark conditions.  On closer inspection I've noticed that I've lost 6 of my LED accent lights. - Not something you'd expect from a 2 month old bike!

I've emailed SYM UK to see what they've got to say and if this is covered by the 3 year warranty.  - We'll await an answer...

Leg Pain

Not sure if this is related or not but I appear to be getting bad aching pains in the top half of my legs (groin / upper thigh area) that travel down towards my ancles.  

Bearing in mind this has only recently happened I'm starting to wonder if it's linked to owning the Sym...  The pain seem to be isolated to just my right leg - the leg I mainly use to steady the bike.  Not sure if the seat / leg positioning is causing bad pressure points or not. :o/

300km (first) Service

Well, the bike went in for it's first service yesterday.  Have to admit I was rather dubious of the need for a service at only 300km, I can cover that distance in the best part of a week!  Apparently it's the norm to ensure that the bike has been correctly run-in and no foreign object have appeared in the oil etc...

The service schedule for the Sym is:

• Pre-Delivery Inspection
• 300km First Service
• 3,000km / 3 months

then every other 3,000 / 3 month interval.

The breakdown of my 300km service was:

• Environmental Charge - £3.50
• Workshop Oil - £6.50
• Grease / Lubes - £1.00
• Labour For Parts - £55.00

Inclusive of VAT I was looking at a total bill of £81.24.  A tad expensive for an oil change...

Due to the bike been stored outside I needed the centre stand and lock cover greasing due to them not correctly springing back into their retaining space.  Other than that there was little to do to the bike.  Looks as if the shop even gave it a good clean for me! :D

Although the bike has a 3 year warranty you're hands are somewhat tied into ensuring the bike follows it's correct service intervals.  Think it's time to learn how to change the oil myself to cut down on some of the overall costs.

First 300km

I picked up my new Sym Joymax 125i on the 9th March 2013 from P and D Motorcycles in Wakefield, West Yorkshire - England.  From what I can gather I'm the first to take on board one of the new models, so I hope I don't become the guinepig for future buyers...

The dealership had the 300i in white (very in colour at the moment) as well my 125i in black.  I was tempted to go with a white version of the 125 but I've heard of long wait times so I opted to go with the black model that was sat there waiting to be bought.

The 125i cost me £3499 + £71 for registration and road tax.  Personally I think that was a fair price considering Piaggio are asking nearly £4,000 for their 125 models.  I opted for finance anyhow which left me little scope to look at reducing the price through discounted on-the-road deals etc...


I've been riding the bike for about a week now, covering just over 250km. - Mainly 20 mile round trips between work and home.  The tank was just over half full when I picked the bike up and has cost me £14.47 (10.49 LTR @ 1.379 per LTR) to fill the tank from nearly empty to the brim.  So far I've covered about 60km and the needle is still fixed on full. - Here's hoping it's not a faulty fuel gauge.

Link to my Fuelly account showing how the bike is doing on MPG.

So here's a few pictures of the bike...


The bike has a great street presence added to by the inclusion of a passenger back rest - taking it away from the standard sports scooter look.  Unlike many other models both lights are lit when the bike runs in either running or full-beam mode.  The inclusion of the LED accent lights give the bike a modern look.  The indicator LEDs in the mirrors are bright and can easily be seen by other motorists.  Unfortunately the fog light option below the headlights isn't included on the 125 models and just has the bulbs installed.  A closer look in the future may provide answers on if this is an easy add-on install or not...


Unlike many other maxi-scooters in its class the SYM comes with a 125cc fuel injected engine.  Hopefully this should cut down on many of the cold start / running problems seen by other caburatted models.  The bike is well specced up with both dual rear (adjustable) shocks and linked front and rear brakes.  The only downside seems to be the inclusion of a mild steel exhaust rather than a stainless option.  Something that wont last too long to the muck and rubish the English weather will throw at it.  Others have commented on a price tag of nearly £400 to replace this!

Under the steering colum you'll find the key hole as well as the button for the hazard warning lights.  As mentioned earlier, unfortunately the button for the integrated fog lights has been left off the 125 model.  SYM have decided to add a security measure in which you will need to insert part of the key into a hexagon shape to the right of the key hole.  All fine and well until you've got a pair of gloves on / try it in the dark.  That and you can see the key becoming worn and a pain to fit once its used a few times...


The bike has great under seat storage.  For me there's enough room for my flip front Caberg Justissimo helmet as well as open faced helmet to the front of the compartment.  Certainly more than enough room to get a few bags of shopping in there. :)

Pre Sym Thoughts

After much searching on the net I've struggled to find any concrete information about the Sym Joymax 125.  You'll find plenty of videos about previous models (the GTS / Evo) and the current 300cc variant but little information about its smaller brother the 125.

Up until now I've owned a series of small, medium and maxi-scooters.  I've experimented with:

• Peugeot WRC 206 100cc x 2
• Peugeot Elystar 125cc
• Piaggio x8 125cc
• Piaggio xEvo 125cc
• Piaggio X9 125cc
• Aprilia Atlantic 125cc

All have performed well up until the poor Atlantic deiced to seize its engine and leave me with little option than to look at a new bike.  Having experimented with the Italian market I figured it was time to try something new and look at the Sym models.  I've ridden 125 and 200cc variants of the Joyride over in Greece / Cyprus and always found them a great ride / really well pulling machines.  Others I know have commented on their reliability so I thought I'd give them a go...

I've placed an order for a black 2013 model Joymax 125i.  From what I can tell it's the 125 fuel injected version of what used to be the GTS.  Sym appear to have played around with the model titles that much from market to market it becomes hard to establish exactly which model is which.  I'm quite sure I've bought the latest model - least I hope so... :)

From doing a bit of searching around the 125i seems to be pretty well specced machine.  Details can be found at:

http://www.bikez.com/motorcycles/sym_gts_joymax_125_2012.php

From what I can tell, the only missing part on the 125cc model (apart from the engine obviously) compared to the 300 appears to be the lack of integrated fog lights.  No idea if the wiring loom is included, but I'll have a closer look when I pick the bike up...