The bike

 

The bike is a 2010 SYM Symba, a re-issue of the legendary Honda Cub that rocked the motorcycle world in the 1960s.

It is created by SanYang Industries,  a Taiwan-based company that has manufactured bikes—including the original Super Cub—for Honda since 1954.

I could go on for pages and pages about this bike, but if you’re keen, read specifications, price, reviews, and availability at SymCanada.com, the bike’s importers in Canada.

To make my bike gear-ready, I installed a front rack over the front wheel, and then zip-tied a wire basket to the rack. The basket kept a plastic jerry can with 5L of spare gas, a bottle of oil, and tool kit handy. It also distributed some weight towards the front of the bike…

 

In the rear, I popped off the passenger seat to reveal the red stock rack, and then zip-tied a barbeque rack to extend the rack’s capacity…

 

A couple of Ogio saddle bags hung over each side. They held clothing, books, maps, and my secret tonic for a day on the saddle: an ultra-compact camp chair.

I secured three water-proof dry bags to the rear rack with bungee cords. Bag 1 has a tent, sleeping bag, and sleeping pad. Bag 2 has weather gear (rain suit, extra gloves, flip flops). Bag 3 has food and cooking tools…

 

This kept the weight of the gear between the two axles, where a passenger’s weight would go anyways. It doesn’t get much simpler than that.

The 4-litre tank ran for about 95 kilometres, meaning the 2000-kilometre roundtrip cost about $56.00 CAD in gas.

 

Watch 2 useful videos about the Symba and Cub:

Compared: SYM Symba and the Honda Cub

About the Honda Cub: Discovery Channel