I can't find any active underbone thread in this forum so I decided to make one Anyway, what do you think about these small bikes (or scooters, depending on the person )? I included a poll about which model would you like. Feel free to choose.
AFAIK the only new underbone you can buy in the US is the Symba, but they are rare and I've never seen one on the road. The only underbones I ever see are old Honda Trail 90/110s. I'm a big fan of the basic underbone design because they're rugged and highly efficient. Over the last 40+ years I've kept at least one old Trail 90 around and have put 5800 miles on the CT90/140 since last March. It takes a pounding on the trails nearly every day and keeps on going. BTW My daughter has a 1965 Cub with a Lifan 110cc engine and my ex-wife who lives in Thailand has a Yamaha underbone.
IMO, They can be considered as "gas mileage champ". Mine has a Yamaha T105 (called Vega R, the pic below), bought used from friend with about 64k kilometers (about 40k miles), still can go vigorously and get more than 1L/50 km (about 120 mpg) with constant 45 mph. Just replaced the piston set, and i want to modify it to use hand-actuated clutch. ( Anyway, Is Honda really want to bring the C-Series back to the U.S.?
After years ( bought my first 50cc trail in 1963) and a lot of miles on the C70 and CT 50/90/110s I couldn't be more happy with my Symba. Same bike with 30 years of upgrades. I suspect some of the Honda underbones we don't get here would be as good or probably better but with no chance to experience them I had to vote Symba.
I was wondering why these people chose that avatar name. Doh! http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=716979
I am a fan of the original Cub/Super Cub, and the early '80s Passport, and the CT Trail 70/90/110. I definitely do not like the newer plastic crap (Innova, Wave, etc.) and as much as I want to like the Symba, I just feel the old Honda quality is not there.
How would you know if you don't own one? Having worked on and sold Syms I've felt that their products were pretty high quality, and you might consider that SYM was Honda's Super Cub manufacturer for years.
I seriously doubt SYM made my 1981 Honda Passport. It was a very solid bike. Such things as the swing arm, the chain case, the axle adjusters, and numerous other parts were much more robust than what is on the Symba. I'm pretty sure that even the frame itself was a lot heavier and stronger. The plastic leg shield was definitely heavier. And it had a full length seat stock. I looked over a Symba pretty good at a local dealer, I was seriously considering buying one after reading a loooooong ride report about a couple who rode them across the U.S. and Africa. When the Symba first came out it had a weight capacity of 200 pounds. I weigh 220, so that wouldn't work. Then they changed importers, and the weight limit went up to 300 pounds, with no known changes to the bike. Somehow, the bike just did not feel solid like my old Passport. I love its looks, I've always been a Cub fan, Honda, Piper, and Chicago. I still might get one, I haven't absolutely ruled it out. I would definitely have to have the long seat, I'm 6' with a 34" inseam, and I did not fit on the 2 piece seat. Actually I fit right in the middle of it, where the bar was. Another problem is, I already have 3 scooters which will match it's performance, a Zuma 125, a Vino 125, and a Genuine Stella 2 stroke. The Stella's quality leaves something to be desired, but it is definitely not flimsy, it is built like a tank, and weighs almost as much. If I could sell the Vino, I might go for the Symba.
We have a few underbone bikes available in Mexico, Yamaha's T105 and T110, Honda Wave 100 and several Chinese underbones... I seriously considered them before getting a scooter, but they have even less power than a 125cc scooter! The scooter also has underseat storage and some of them a flat floor, to me, that gives scooters the edge in practicality. In my opinion, the underbone is "only" superior because of it's ruggedness and big wheels, the former wasn't a priority for a short commute bike, the later was important but not as much as the power advantage of the scooter, so I went with a scooter. I know there are more powerful underbones in the Asia market, if we got some of them here... I'd have one instead of the scooter.
I have 2 125cc scooters (Yamaha Zuma and Vino) To me the main advantage to an underbone type bike is it's manual transmission. My scooters won't climb worth a s**t because of the very narrow gear range of the CVT. They do not have low enough gearing to climb mountains, while a manual transmission bike can be geared down to climb anything. Honda realized the need for super low gearing with their Trail 70/90/110 with the dual range transmission. Since a CVT is so limited in gear range, they are geared for top speed, not climbing.
SYM make terrible auto bikes, but their semi-auto symbas and fully manual Honda CB designs are great. I frequently see SYM 125'S hauling tonnes of stuff trailered. My vote goes for the Sonic. Same engine base as the CBR150R, manusl and can be tuned to scream! Get google going and have a look.
Up until recently I had two C70's, a red 82 and a blue 83. I love these bikes. I also have an 85 Aero 80 that I picked up for next to nothing. As crazy as I am about C70's, having a fully automatic bike is also nice. I thought about getting a Symba, but for a fraction of the OTD cost, I got a mint / museum quality C70 AND an Aero80. I prefer the instrumentation of the Cub / Passport. It's a thing of beauty in my mind. I love, love, love my Passport.
