(You can stop staring at your scrapbook because the cubs will be landing soon. Image source)
Many of you have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the first new cub type scooters in the USA since Honda discontinued the Passport back in 1983 (actually, there have been others but nothing worth mentioning). Well my friends, the wait will finally be over in just three weeks. You can expect the first of the cubs to begin shipping May 5th from SYM‘s headquarters in Alabama. The long awaited Symba will be followed by the Fly Scout just one month later, shipping from California.
The Symba has all its cards laid out on the table, and it’s a pretty nice hand. Will the Scout be able to trump the Symba? Well, I know she’s got a few tricks up her sleeve. We won’t really know until around mid June. In the meantime, be sure to visit your local dealer around the second week in May to kick some Symba tires!
15. April 2009 at 9:37 pm
Cubs are pretty and stylish, but that engine is completely outdated. Yes, i know it’s been modernized in the past 40 years, but still. Even worse is having to switch gears: even semi-automatic, who wants to? It’s tedious and boring. High time to fit a modern injected CVT on the Cub, perhaps the Zoomer-engine is a nive replacement, since it’s injected, clean and quiet.
16. April 2009 at 12:16 am
have you seen these new models of the FlyScooter?
http://www.if.net/contests/Featured/1288591
16. April 2009 at 1:45 am
Hi Anon!
I agree that they do have a unique style about them. As for the shifting, it’s not “great”. It does make for a more involved riding experience, like you might get from an old shifter like a Vespa or Lambretta, but after a thousand miles you’ll either get used to it or find it tedious (as you stated).
I think where the cub’s charm lies is in its retro Japanese style, a refreshing departure from the retro Italian style so often associated with scooters here in the USA.
I think when properly accessorized they make for a great in-town commuter. They are relatively small and light with great stability from those 17″ wheels. If I could afford 2 scooters, the cub would be my “meeting up with friends” scooter… not my cross-town or intercity ass hauler.
16. April 2009 at 3:54 am
Anon….Honda’s new SH150i is basically what you’re asking for. It’s a modern version of the Cub with a CVT, fuel injection, disk brakes, etc. The styling is considerably more modern but that’s the way things go.
16. April 2009 at 12:47 pm
Anon again! Guys, i ride an SH300i myself (yes i live in Europe) but back in the early eighties my first 50cc moped was a Cub. Now that they’ve produced more than 60 million of them and after 40 years, really not that much has changed. You still get the chunky-clunky 3 gears with chain and carburetor. Look what Honda has done with the Zoomer or even the Ruckus. My point is: The Cub is an icon, but it deserves a better engine and gearbox.
16. April 2009 at 2:47 pm
Shifting is boring?
…only for Europeans. Try selling that garbage to a motorcyclist.
I personally like having the option to shift. I like have the option to lug my bike for better fuel economy. I also like being able to wind out the gears when I need more power.
The only thing boring about modern scooters is the fact that there is no shifting.
17. April 2009 at 6:17 am
I wish we got all the euro Zoomer’s tech in the North American Ruckus’s. The F.I. and 4-valves would be trick. Gotta one up Yamaha with their liquid cooled, F.I., 3-valve 50′s (C3, Vino 50).
17. April 2009 at 12:32 pm
Shifting = wicked fun, in a car or on a bike.
18. April 2009 at 10:09 pm
These rejuvinated old Honda Cub bikes are just the ticket for RVers.
20. April 2009 at 5:52 pm
I sit me or does the Scout have a waaaaay better ring to it compared to the “Symba”?
Why does Carter have to cheese up cool bikes with really stupid names?
Does every new model have to incorporate the word SYM?
Cheeeeeeeeesy!
20. April 2009 at 6:44 pm
I’m sorry Tim, but shifting is a nuisance. I do all my riding on city streets, and I find the need to constantly change gears a major distraction from the riding experience. Plus, on a small displacement bike the useful power band is so narrow that getting up to speed takes too many gears.
I’m currently riding a Honda CT110. It’s similar to the Cub I used to own but has a four speed transmission instead of three speeds. Like the Cub, it has an automatic clutch which makes pulling away from a stop easier, and first gear is so low that 2-4 are the only gears I ever use. Still, the extra gear means that to reach 45 mph I have to upshift twice instead of once, then downshift twice at every stoplight. Both the Cub and the CT would be much better rides with automatic transmissions. It’s too bad that was never an option.
23. April 2009 at 2:59 am
From your picture, they look very stylish, not sure if I like the sound of gears though. I think the Symba name is cute, maybe that’s why it doesn’t appeal to all? I agree it would be a great second ride. I wonder if we’ll get them in Australia?
30. April 2009 at 10:50 pm
I like the sound of gears!
Has anybody seen one in person yet?
4. May 2009 at 7:02 pm
Have the Symbas arrived on the west coast yet?
Any more updates?
8. May 2009 at 9:47 pm
I love the shifting! That and the large wheels are the main reasons why I want to get one of those.
In my teens I actually rode a cub in Greece and as I remember – after shifting and holding the foot down was acting like a clutch, making the shifting much smoother.
12. May 2009 at 1:50 am
I wish they would import the Citi110 by Daelim (South Korea) into the US. I live in SK and they use them to deliver anything and everything. You can’t kill them…ok, maybe. But the Chicken/Pizza delivery guys here can’t seem to accomplish that goal!
16. May 2009 at 3:50 am
Well, they are in stores now and appear to be attracting some attention. I hope to give one a test next month. Not exactly the freshest scoop, but it’ll have tah do.