...my first ever Kymco Downtown on the road yesterday.
A very fine looking beast, but it seems like the Sym 300 they are extremely rare on our roads.
Why have so few of these Taiwan 300s been sold in the UK?
Are they just too expensive...?

gn2 wrote:but it seems like the Sym 300 they are extremely rare on our roads. Why have so few of these Taiwan 300s been sold in the UK? Are they just too expensive...?

With regards to KYMCO & SYM I think their biggest hurdle (in the 'West') is reputation...

Taiwan is part of China*- a country with a poor reputation because of the cheap products they sell...

KYMCO were founded in 1963 after breaking away from honda, the company originally made parts for Honda. The company built its first complete scooter in 1970 and began marketing under the "KYMCO" brand name in 1992. Kymco has become the largest scooter manufacturer in Taiwan, and the fifth largest scooter and manufacturer worldwide. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kymco

Sym Motors used to assemble Honda motorcycles way back in 1962, and in 1969 they started to assemble small Honda cars.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SYM_Motors

I'm hoping SYM know what they're doing now...

*So the 'government' of mainland China believe, however if you were to ask the (politically motivated?) Taiwanese they are uncannily similar to the (politically motivated?) Scottish, Welsh and Cornish when asked about their 'national identity'.

I doubt that price has anything to do with it.
I bought mine becasue of local dealer support over anything else, but had the price been too high, then I wouldn't have done.
My original choice was a 400cc+ between Yamaha, Suzuki and Piaggio in that order, but with piss poor dealers and huge prices, it was never going to happen.
I did have to go to Bristol to find one to sit on, which was a wrench, but it was a lovely Friday afternoon and I didn't have anythign better to do so that was OK. I made a decision instantly and then drove to my nearest Kymco dealer and ordered it that afternoon. Never looked back.

Absolute madness isn't it.
Most of the guys around me here are dressed similarly too, even on some stonking big bikes.
I know I don't wear the most perfect gear for a fall, but I do wear, at least, a decent waterproof, or an armoured jacket, plus jeans and stout shoes, I'd never go out in shorts and teeshirt. Lost too many knees when I was a kid to even contemplate it now.