Sym Joyride 300 road test: how the high-wheel city scooter (and more) performs

High-wheelers, i.e. scooters with a 16-inch front wheel rim, are very popular: even if they force you to give up a bit of under-seat space, they are able to tackle the battered asphalt of our cities with ease and in (discreet) safety. After all, the sales ranking has for years seen the first three places occupied by the Honda Sh (125, 150 and 350) exchanging positions. In the 300 cc segment, competition is fierce: one of the last to enter the field, with a competitive price (5,000 euro compared to the Sh350's 6,000 euro) was the Joyride 300 by Sym, which is equipped with a convenient keyless ignition that allows you to forget the key in your jacket pocket and a USB socket in the rear shield compartment for storing your smartphone.

One of the model's winning features is undoubtedly the flat platform, made possible by the presence of the 16" wheel at the front (14" at the rear): on city transfers that space between the rider's feet is often occupied by the gym bag or shopping bag, a real convenience. Pushing the Joyride 300 is the 278.3 cc single-cylinder engine, with 4 valve timing and liquid cooling, capable of 26 hp that Sym also uses on other models - the low-wheelers (14" at the front) Cruisym and Joymax Z+ and the high-wheeler Hd - as a guarantee of its good performance.

And, in fact, the single-cylinder's response is one of the qualities we liked best during our test, which took place on urban roads as well as on the ring road and a little motorway (130 km/h are well within the scooter's reach and protection from the air is good). When starting from a standstill, it almost feels like being on an electric vehicle, so prompt and vigorous is the response of the small single-cylinder engine. And to say that the weight of the scooter is not too low: dry is 186 kg, to which we must add (in addition to the rider's weight) the weight of the 12 litres of petrol that enter the tank, whose inlet is placed in a central and raised position, just below the switch of the keyless system: convenient, you can refuel while riding.

The seat is 77 cm above the ground, so that everyone can touch it with both feet. The habitability is good for riders under about 180 cm: those who are taller graze with their knees the back of the shield and risk painful blows when braking (moreover, the area is also angular). Talking of brakes: the Joyride has two discs, a 260 mm wave disc at the front with radial caliper and a 240 mm disc at the rear; braking is good but you have to squeeze the levers very hard, a useful prevention against panic-stops but you have to take this into account when you are going at a slightly lively pace supported by the sincere and neutral behaviour of the scooter (in fast bends you travel quickly without jolting). The suspension works well and only suffers a little (especially at the rear) in the deepest potholes and most pronounced bumps. The load capacity is decent: a jet helmet with long visor and a rain suit fits under the seat and there is still some space left over; the luggage rack for the top box is standard: we have no doubt that it won't be vacant for long. Not least because the Joyride 300 aspires to longer trips, worthy of a weekend, leaving traffic and parking problems behind.