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Post by voodoosix on Jul 13, 2008 18:39:23 GMT -5
today i picked up a Tomos Nitro 150cc. found it on craigslist by a man who bought it for his son and then the son got into trouble and the dad decided to sell it. '08 model, trunk, 375 mi...............$1000 seems like a nice little unit, the fit and finish is definitely not up to par with SYM's other offering but its not terrible either. we'll see how well it withstands my scrutiny!  so far my biggest gripes are- -trunk is smallish.. wont hold my 3/4 helmet, -plastics are a little rough around the edges, -handle bar was mfr'd with tube with a slight elbow in it (not straight), -looks like something corrosive was spilled on it in a few places (headlamp lenses mostly- not sure if this was done by prev owner so i cant fault the bike over it), -wiring doesnt appear to be as watertight as im used to, -centerstand operation isnt as smooth as im used to (the Malaguti could be put on centerstand effortlessly with no hands), -screws and such are not as beefy or corrosion resistant as those on my Malaguti, -brakes are not as strong as the Grimeca units on the Malaguti. on the plus side- +the wife really likes it as its more accommodating for a passenger, +it's quiet. my 'Guti was a piped 2stroke, almost too quiet for me, +good torque. holds 50 mph uphill, +plenty of floorspace for my size 13 boots, +flat floorboards, +the ride is really nice without the flimsy feeling of some other chinascoots ive been on. +top speed checked by wife following in car- 64mph. +estimated fuel economy (according to stock odometer) is 93.3mpg. +speedometer error is only 3 mph at top end (speedo says 67mph at 64 mph real world) the new price on the receipt was $1799 from a B&M dealer. my initial thoughts are that Tomos seems to have winner on its hands by teaming up with SYM, but only time will tell. one more thing, this one is silver even though Tomos' website only shows red or black options. ive also seen blue and yellow colors now. |
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Post by phaze on Jul 14, 2008 7:21:17 GMT -5
and yet you post no pics come on voodoo you think im gonna take your word for it.lol
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Post by voodoosix on Jul 14, 2008 10:26:27 GMT -5
been raining since i picked it up, let me get her washed 1st!
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Post by voodoosix on Jul 14, 2008 13:23:02 GMT -5
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Post by phaze on Jul 14, 2008 15:54:16 GMT -5
thats too cool i was thinkin it was gonna look like a moped, its got some racy looks yo it. silver looks nice. i bet that kid listens next time lol
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Post by voodoosix on Jul 14, 2008 16:41:31 GMT -5
i just did a 30 run down the BRP (Blue Ride Parkway), it was able to hold the speed limit the whole way and maintain 45/50mph up the 8% grade to get there (cars do 35 up this road). im kinda disappointed in the braking and all around handling though, it does ok on leisurely rides but it is not the corner carving monster that my Malaguti was. its a case of give and take i guess, i can go faster on the top end but need to take the corners a lot slower. i did forget to get a close up of the decals i put above the headlights!   also, the $1499 price i mentioned above was for a 50cc, i looked at the reciept again and realized they bought 2 Nitros. the 150cc was $1799. |
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Post by voodoosix on Jul 16, 2008 15:10:06 GMT -5
went to the dealer today and theyre going to replace the bars under warranty. ill have to buy an entire headlamp assembly ($113) just to get replacement lenses though, at least ill have a few spare parts on hand.
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Post by YellowScooter on Jul 16, 2008 17:38:30 GMT -5
What was wrong with the headlights? I reread it twice, Did I still miss that part of your eval? It's been a long day for me, I probably just need to goto bed n start again tomarrow... I think it's like comparing apples to oranges, comparing a chinese made A-B scoot to an italian sportscoot, costing twice as much, built to compete with the likes of the Italjet Formula and Dragster, but who am I?  |
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Post by voodoosix on Jul 16, 2008 19:55:30 GMT -5
i guess i didnt go into much detail on whatever was spilled on the bike- it's on the headlamp lenses and melted the plastic. looks nasty but not noticeable in the pics. i was hoping to just be able to get the lenses but no dice.
i know the 'Guti was a higher dollar unit but i feel it's ok to compare since the higher end bikes get a villin'ish rap around here. the "just as good" saying gets thrown around and im just saying- my china scoot is not as good as my euro scoot. not even close.
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Post by voodoosix on Jul 19, 2008 14:53:23 GMT -5
figured id try and fix the headlamp lenses myself before spending $113 on new ones-
i used 800/1000 grit wet sandpaper and sanded out the melted spots then used 1500grit to make the whole thing uniform. followed with polishing compound in a drill mounted polishing sponge.
worked perfect, just took some time.
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Post by windbreaker on Jul 19, 2008 16:10:15 GMT -5
Nice looking scoot.
I noticed you had a date stamp of 1/1/04 on pictures you claimed were taken last month.
PM me if you'd like to rent out your time machine.
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Post by voodoosix on Jul 19, 2008 19:00:53 GMT -5
actually i had to travel back there to get the camera batteries out of the wife's xbox controller! (that reset all the timers)
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Post by automattic on Jul 25, 2008 11:54:26 GMT -5
Are you sure this bike is made by Sym? Does the tag on the bike say it was made by SYM?
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Post by voodoosix on Jul 25, 2008 12:13:28 GMT -5
the Nitro and Velo are made at the SYM Xiamen Xiashing factory www.sym.com.tw/eng/company/relatedcom/amoy.phpthe mfr plate says Xiamen Xiashing and comes with paperwork (and keys) from SYM seen here-  as posted by another member (mine came with the same thing except the model is XS150T-3 and XS1P57QMJ engine) *note. the quality inspector seems to have missed my handlebar error, though my wife thinks im just being picky. ill post a pic later and see if anyone else sees it. |
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Post by tapinga on Jul 25, 2008 21:08:18 GMT -5
That's exactly what my Certificate looks like and the keys have SYM on them. I just recently purchased two 2008 Tomos Nitros - one is blue and the other is red. I can post pics if anyone would like to see them.
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Post by voodoosix on Jul 25, 2008 21:21:06 GMT -5
welcome tapinga,
we may have to start a Tomos gang soon! lol. i wanted red but took the used one in silver to save $800....i hate silver!!!! argg!
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Post by slowscootin07 on Jul 26, 2008 0:50:47 GMT -5
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Post by voodoosix on Jul 26, 2008 7:38:45 GMT -5
no the side stand isnt auto retracting. wanna trade?! lol.
id actually prefer the auto retracting one after owning Ducatis for many years.
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Post by grkman1 on Jul 27, 2008 21:57:23 GMT -5
I have a black Tomos Nitro 150 for about 6 weeks now. I have gotten as high as 92 mpg and really love the ride and for what I see the quality. It always starts very very fast, is extremely quiet, does not hesitate at all. I have brought it back to a small shop here in the Athens Georgia area, and the owner of the company was very surprise as to the quality of the scooter. He had said that at the first service oil change, he sees in most chinese bikes, small metal filings in the oil. He said that my Tomos Nitro had very few filings, and that this is a sign of better metal in construction of the motor.
All in all I really like the ride and gas mileage. A close friend of mine bought a used 250cc Jonway Scooter, and you can really tell the diference in the quality of the 2 bikes. I am very happy with it but thought about getting something larger so that both my wife and myself can ride on the scooter. I know that with the 150cc 2 people have been on it, so we shall see.
George
Athens, Georgia
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Post by voodoosix on Jul 28, 2008 5:22:33 GMT -5
welcome aboard grkman1, my last tank of fuel yielded 93.3 mpg... according to the stock odometer  and a measured amount of fuel. we're up to 6 Nitros that i know of and counting...... |
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Post by grkman1 on Jul 28, 2008 8:30:00 GMT -5
Hi Voodoo,
The graphics on my Nitro are much different then yours. I will have to take pictures and post them. Also there is talk on this thread that the Tomos is actually a subdivision of Sym? I was under the impression that Tomos is a European company in Slovenia, that has commission (I guess) a Chinese company to produce the scooter. I guess 2008 is the first year for Tomos to build Scooters, as they have built Mopeds for years in Europe (Netherlands etc.) Maybe this is why the Nitro has a bit more quality then your average Chinese scooter.
George
Athens, Georgia
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Post by grkman1 on Jul 28, 2008 8:31:53 GMT -5
One more thing, the amber lights on my Nitro had light bulbs in them, no but wire harness. I had them hooked up to turn on everytime the engine is on. Looks great
George
Athens, Georgia
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Post by voodoosix on Jul 28, 2008 10:47:46 GMT -5
Tomos is actually it's own entity in Slovenia (famous for the mopeds), Tomos USA (the American distributor) sources our scoots from SYM's Xiamen factory in Xiashing China. so they are SYM made scoots with the Tomos name on them. these are only sold under the Tomos badge in the U.S. as the "rest of the world" Tomos doesnt offer them. www.tomos.si/i looked at my "dead lights" and had planned to hook them up and get rid of the stalk turn signals but one of them has no guts (just a bulb). i need to find someone who's willing to swap me pieces so i can get them working. |
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Post by grkman1 on Jul 28, 2008 17:54:35 GMT -5
So is this why these scooters seem to be of higher quality then your normal average Chinese Scooter that I have seen?
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Post by voodoosix on Jul 28, 2008 19:05:44 GMT -5
So is this why these scooters seem to be of higher quality then your normal average Chinese Scooter that I have seen? the biggest thing is that i dont think Tomos would allow Tomos USA to just slap their name on just anything, im sure these had to be scrutinized before Tomos would give them the OK. Tomos is a name that carries some weight- like Vespa, and isnt something they want messed up. the thing they have going for them is that they arent made by a clone mfr (building a scooter around the looks of another), the people making these know how to design and make scooters- as they've been doing it for a long time... and for the likes of Honda. that being said i cant say that they are leaps and bounds better than other Chinese scoots but after looking at and riding many others- they are the only ones i was able to bring myself to buy. id put these on equal footing with other "house" brands like Keeway and CF Moto and would hands down take one vs the usual mail order suspects due to mfring experience and being backed by two of the bigger names in the business (SYM and Tomos). |
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Post by grkman1 on Jul 28, 2008 21:42:56 GMT -5
Well thanks for the info and your feedback. Regardless, I am having fun with mine. After purchasing mine in June, I thought about possibly selling it and getting something bigger and a little more powerful, but I like the idea that it is not too heavy, and do 60+ mph (I really dont want to go faster then that), and gets great gas mileage. If I purchased a 250cc, it would be heavier, get about 50-55 mpg and sure go a little faster, but is it worth the extra bucks for worse gas mileage, and a little more speed? I have my doubts. Good luck with ours.
George
Athens, Ga
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Post by voodoosix on Jul 29, 2008 18:25:07 GMT -5
how does your fuel gauge read? mine wont budge for about 40-50 miles then after that it seems to be pretty accurate. this is nice as the one on my Malaguti is way off.
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Post by grkman1 on Jul 29, 2008 19:23:22 GMT -5
My Fuel gage acts the exact same way. Stays on Full for a while, then all of a sudden goes down, regardless i still love my Tomos
George
Athens, Georgia
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Post by tapinga on Jul 29, 2008 20:32:56 GMT -5
Hi guys, I've tried posting a couple of pics of my Tomos Nitro. I am loving my scooter. The first trip to the gas station gave me around 70+ mph. I'm very happy with that - just like you guys stated my gas hand stays on full and then rapidly goes down. George: How did you get the lights hooked up to come on when the engine is on? My dad and I noticed that it had bulbs, but they never come on. By the way, we are from Northeast GA also. I purchased these scoots from Scooter Superstore in Norcross. Have either of you looked for any accessories for the Tomos? I am wanting a windshield and a top case for mine. I found them at heeters.com, but thought I would look around some more.   |
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Post by voodoosix on Jul 30, 2008 5:34:07 GMT -5
that red looks great. i wonder why mine didnt get the Nitro decals on the front...
Heeters has the only windshield ive seen on one but i havent really looked for one though- just happened to see that particular one.
i might switch to a SHAD topcase later, as id like one that matches the bike better than the one i have.
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and a measured amount of fuel.