Considering a Honda scooter? Kymco and SYM were Honda's Taiwan manufacturing partners for 40 years — they build the same kind of engineering at meaningfully lower prices, with longer warranties, and we're on Bay Road since 1998.
The Honda DNA story (briefly)
Kymco was Honda's Taiwan manufacturing partner from 1963 to 2003. For four decades they built Hondas under license. SYM signed a technical agreement with Honda of Japan in 1961 and built Honda Civics and Accords, plus Honda scooters and motorcycles, under license for decades.
The engineering DNA, QC discipline, and tooling at both companies all trace back to that Honda era. Today Kymco supplies powertrains to BMW Motorrad (the C 600 Sport and C 650 GT maxi-scooters use Kymco engines). Kawasaki rebadged the Kymco Downtown 300i as the Kawasaki J300.
None of these arrangements would exist if the engineering wasn't real.
Honda vs. what we sell
| If you wanted… | Consider instead |
|---|---|
| Honda Metropolitan 50 ($2,649, 1-yr warranty) | Kymco Agility 50 ($2,699, 2-yr unlimited, 102 MPG EPA) or SYM Mio 50 ($2,699, EFI, 110 MPG) |
| Honda Ruckus / Navi (50cc / 109cc) | Genuine Roughhouse 50 ($2,699) or Wolf Lucky ($1,649 — half the Ruckus price) |
| Honda PCX 160 ($4,099, 1-yr warranty) | Kymco Like 150i ABS ($3,299, ABS standard, 2-yr unlimited) or SYM Fiddle 4 200i ($3,999, ceramic-bore) |
| Honda ADV 160 ($4,499) | Kymco People S 150i ABS ($3,799, 16" wheels) or SYM Jet 14 200i ($3,999, ABS, sport posture) |
| Honda Forza 350 ($6,499) | SYM Citycom S 300i ($5,499, 83 mph, freeway-legal) or Kymco Downtown GT 350i ($6,599) |
The case for the alternative
- 2× the warranty. Kymco gives you 2 years unlimited mileage, transferable. Honda gives you 1 year. SYM gives you 24 months unlimited parts AND labor.
- Lower entry price. Comparable cc-to-cc, the alternative typically lists 15–30% lower.
- Same engineering DNA. Kymco and SYM were Honda's manufacturing partners. Same factories, same QC discipline, just without the Honda badge tax.
- Specifically: BMW Motorrad uses Kymco engines. If that's not a credibility marker for Kymco's powertrains, nothing is.
When a Honda actually IS the right answer
Test ride any alternative this week
We let you ride before you buy. Agility 50, Like 150i ABS, Fiddle 4 200i, Citycom S 300i, AK 550i Premium — all available for a 30-minute test ride. Call ahead.