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 Scooters, Sunshine and Quads in Provence |
If you’ve ever wished you could fly around the world testing the latest scooters and thought what a laugh it’d be, lounging around the pool, soaking up the cosmopolitan atmosphere, watching the ladeez - and maybe even doing a bit of riding whilst you’re there well it’s not all fun and games I can assure you. This latest press launch, held in the beautiful region of Aix En Provence in the South of France was non stop from the moment we landed - apart from a few beers here and there to help us relax after a hard day’s work.
The launch was to showcase Sym’s latest creations, the Trackrunner 200 and Quadlander 250 ATV’s. There were also two versions of the little Mio to play with and the Voyager 125 and 250 cruisers. Our first day was spent on a hunt around France for ‘Princess Symi.’ The assorted journalists, dealers and professional liggers were given a new Voyager to play with and a set of clues and told to find checkpoints along the way which, with a bit of luck, would eventually lead to the Princess.
I started out on the 250 Voyager and managed to follow the course for the first 20 miles through the beautiful French countryside and I even found the first check point where a pretty PR girl was handing out the next book of clues. The Voyager looked much nicer than the unfinished prototype I tested in issue 39. The ride was smooth, engine quite powerful and it handled well. The motor has been tweaked slightly as well to give the scoot a more useable 80mph top speed, which is nice and it does make a big difference. The brakes weren’t up to much though to begin with, but after they’d had time to bed in they were much sharper. As an overall scooter the Voyager is definitely worth a look especially if you fancy a cruiser type machine without breaking the bank.
I swapped scooters with Ole at the checkpoint and to begin with the 125cc machine seemed quite sluggish compared to its bigger Brother but after only a few miles it proved itself to be quite a nippy scoot and would happily sit at around 65mph. The brakes on this model were much better; they are linked on both machines but still give quite good feedback to the rider. The Voyager also boasts hazard warning lights, front fog lights and a fancy LED front headlight surround. There is also plenty of storage space on the scoot. The underseat area is quite roomy (and illuminated) and there is a fair sized glovebox with a12v socket to charge your phone. There are also a couple of small storage pods near the dash and a floorboard mounted flap lifts up to reveal another storage bin - you could lose stuff forever on this scoot! Talking of getting lost… |
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Lost in France
After setting off from the checkpoint in a group of a dozen riders from various parts of Europe we headed towards Provence where things got a bit confusing. After negotiating our way along the same narrow cobbled alleyway for the third time I decided to overtake my German comrades and find the Princess on my own. An hour later and I’m still lost in France and suffering from heat exhaustion, luckily I bumped into Ole so at least we were lost together and we got to see much more of the country than everybody else!
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Eventually we found our way to the Châteaux (by luck rather than good judgement) where the worlds press gave us a heroes welcome – better late than never! The mini skirted Princess was waiting for us as well, “Pleased to meet you, your Royal thighness”
The Mio is a lovely looking machine; it oozes style and has a retro feel to it. I’d already done a test on the 100cc Mio last year and was suitably impressed with it; check out issue 31 for a full road test. The fifty is powered by a four stroke motor and is pretty similar to the 100cc; it just loses a few of the chrome details to help keep the price down to a very reasonable £1599. I expect it will sell in greater numbers than the 100cc in the UK due to its learner legal appeal, the fashion conscious Brits will love its curves and it’ll look great parked up outside a trendy London Café bar.
After a late night we were up and out at the crack of dawn and on the bus to an off road centre in the mountains to put the new quads through their paces. The quads were the main attraction for many of the assembled press and dealers and they weren’t to be disappointed. We were all like kids in a candy shop as we got off the coach to be met by a fleet of brand new ATV’s ticking over in the early morning sunshine. I was very impressed with the styling and quality feel to the quads, as was everybody else. The machines are powered by four stroke, liquid cooled, single cylinder engines. Both machines have a forward and reverse gear so simply select a gear, press the thumb operated throttle and hang on tight! The motors are quite torquey and will happily wheelspin on the loose stuff to help you slide around corners a bit faster.
I took the 200 Trackrunner out first and we did a couple of miles on the road to get used to them before going to the track to get some ‘air’ on the jumps. The quads not only looked the part but they performed exceptionally well too. We all gave them a proper caning around the track before our guide took us off piste and through the tricky terrain of the forest. Massive boulders, protruding roots, steep slopes, loose gravel and precarious drop offs were around every bend. At one stage a German rider screeched to a halt, like a stubborn mule and refused point blank to go any further. Our guide rode the quad down onto safer ground for him and we continued on our mini adventure. The Norwegian bloke in front of me decided to test out the strength of our ‘Tonka Toys’ by hitting almost every tree in the woods but the Quadlander he was attempting to drive just bounced off and carried on! After a BBQ lunch we persuaded our hosts to take a few of us out again.
This time I took the 250 Quadlander, this machine takes it’s styling from an MPV, although I don’t expect to see too many Mums using one for the school run! Our guide took us on the hardest route but the only thing that hampered the quads was the inexperienced drivers. These things will go over almost anything - including a cliff as Moore Large boss, Steve Oliver almost found out as he was left dangling with two wheels off the ground! The Quadlander has an extra four horsepower over the Trackrunner which would be quite handy if you were planning to use it on the road, but saying that the 200 was plenty of fun as well and I’d be happy to have either of them at home in the garage.
Whilst at the off road centre we also discovered this latest four wheel drive machine and after putting it through its paces the British were suitably impressed, the other Europeans weren’t quite as amused though!
After surviving the course it was time for a cool refreshing drink and a wash to remove the French scenery from our dusty clothes. I’m no off road expert but a Swedish Quad journalist said “Ze AT Wee’s are very gut” and he went on to tell us that the Sym machines would be in his list of top three machines in Sweden where the quad market is massive, praise indeed. There are quite a few accessories available for both models including, a winch, screen, aluminium foot plates, and various bags. Quads really are a lot of fun on or off road; you need a car license to drive them on the road in the UK though. If you live anywhere near the countryside or an off road course buy yourself one, it’s the best fun you’ll ever have on four wheels, ride it to the track thrash it around all day then ride it home again.
Used by kind permission of:
Ian Grainger 'Iggy'
Freelance Journalist and photographer |
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