New,,to me,, sym VS125.

[sidthesloth]

G'day all, I sold My Zx50 about a month ago, so the search was on for a good second hand scooter for running to work and back (as well as any other excuse to ride, of course). After looking at a few I decided to buy a sym VS125, 2008 model, 17,000 kms on the clock. This scoot runs well, is nice and comfortable, but seems a little sluggish, I put this down to having done so many mods to my zx that I am now spoilt and want more go.
The only catch with it is that I had absolutely no intention of doing any mods, other than roller weights. well, that theory got blown right out of the water when i found a 2011 Sym VS150 advertised for $650, listed as a write off. damn, I now have a red 150 sitting there with a near neww engine, only 1,755 kms on the dial. As it is a write off, I have not ridden it on the road, but in the drive way, it seems to have a lot more pep on take off than the 125. Thinking that the 125 cvt would be worn, 3 years, 17,000kms, I swapped the cvt from the red one into it. with the 14 gram rollers it was hopeless, with the stock 10 gram rollers it was exactly as it was to start with, so that is a good sign for the original cvt. Today I swapped the carbs and absolutely no change.
So, now I am at the best part, swap engines and have what promises to be a very nice ride to work.
any thoughts on whether the mileage would be enough for this lack of performance, or is it just that it is a 125 and I may be expecting too much from it?
With regards to the red one, I am trying to track down some parts to get it back to roadworthy, then see if I can get it approved for rego. If this fails, then i have it for it's intended purpose, a parts shop in my back yard.
This is my first 4 stroke scoot, so any advice will be appreciated.
Cheers,
Sid.

[aeroxbud]

the sym will feel very differant being a four stroke makes power in a totally differant way and will carry more weight which will dull the performance some what thats why i love two strokes. SYM make some good bikes with good build quality and there are some performance parts out there if you want them

[90GTVert]

Being used to 2Ts in my scoots, I find that getting onto a friend's 150 GY6 starts off well... but then quickly disappoints. Never rode a 125. The 150 starts strong, showing off plenty of torque for a small engine. My problem is that once the RPM starts to pick up to where I'm used to power coming in, it's falling off. It leaves it feeling dead up top compared to the 2Ts. Great scoots for transportation and 2 wheelers are always fun, but the 125-150 4Ts just don't have the same soul IMO.

17,000 miles could very well be part of the problem. A compression test might tell you how much of a problem.

I definitely think adding displacement is the way to start off for the 125, whether it's from a big bore or just swapping in the 150 powerplant.

[sidthesloth]

Yes, I think I am spoilt from the zx. I think the term sluggish was a bit harsh, as you say, a 4 stroke won't compare to a 2 stroke. After swapping the carbs yesterday and finding no difference, that decided for me, engine swap. I don't want to mod this one, other than rollers.
If I get the other one on the road, then I will have some fun modding that, simply for the fun of doing it.
That was 17,000 kilometres, roughly 11,000 miles. This scoot still runs nice, starts at the touch of the button, I have only had it for 1 week, but no misses or coughs, just start and ride.

[sidthesloth]

G'day all, made the required phone calls yesterday and today. Turns out that my parts scoot was a statutory write off, this means that it will never go on the road in Australia again. So, that will save me some money on parts for that one, and I have a heap of spares. The damage was mainly scratching to the plastics, with one broken front indicator light. The structural damage was that the engine hanger was bent, causing the rear wheel to be pushed to one side. The frame is not bent, but I guess they looked at it and considered it to be beyond repair.
I pulled the engine out of the red one today and all looks good, so the swap should go tomorrow. Have include a pic of the unusual wheel angle.
Does anyone know if the CDI settings would vary from the 125 to the 150 engines? Just wondering if I should swap those too.

Attachments:

[90GTVert]

The CDI stuff should be the same as long as one's not AC and the other DC or something like that. Doesn't really matter though, you've got the stuff from both scoots so you should be able to work with it either way.


As long as it's just bent mounts, no worries for the engine swap. Looks like it's not really the wheel at an angle, but the whole engine. If the wheel alone were at an angle you could have big problems and/or a loose axle nut.

[sidthesloth]

Yeah, I thought the cdi would be the same, but this one being a VS150S, I was just wondering if they might have a different tune. I will try both and see what turns out.
The whole engine is at an angle, the hanger bracket was bent, but the frame mounting points were fine.

[sidthesloth]

OK, engine swap is done, had a bit of fun getting it started. Was about to remove the engine again to check the valve timing, but found the problem. While checking for spark, none while cranking but spark after releasing the starter, found kill switch was off. I have never seen a kill switch that will allow a starter to run, my blonde moment. Checked valve clearances before installing engine, inlet were ok, a touch large at 0.127mm exhaust were less than .102 so reset them to 0.127, I figure better a touch loose than tight. Runs well, initiall takeoff is better, but once running down the road, honestly, not a whole lot different than the original engine. This does not matter, as the engine is near new, so should be good for a few years to come. Have to do all the legalities tomorrow.

[90GTVert]

That's normal for scooter kill switches. They usually just kill the ignition system, not the starter or any other electrical stuff.