Bolwell Firenze 250cc Scooter - Road Test

Melbourne on a 250cc Scooter Part 2
By Tom Griffin
March 2007

Firenze 250cc Scooter
The last few days of my trip I was able to swap my Gmax 250 over for a Firenze 250. I sat on the Firenze, fired her up and then pulled out into the traffic. You really want to know the first amazing thing that I noticed? No, not the power or the sharp looks but simply how comfortable my bum was in the seat! It was unbelievable. I spent the next 40 minutes on the bike in peak hour traffic heading out of town and I stepped off the bike feeling like I hadn’t left my lounge chair. I would love to have had the time to tackle the Great Ocean Road on this bike. It was pure comfort and I can’t give enough points to the Firenze for that.

Performance?
Let’s face it, the Firenze is the king of the cruisers and that’s where its very impressive strengths lie. Having said that, it does sport a 250cc engine that’s always ready to wind out when you need it. It was not as quick off the line as the Gmax 250cc I will admit but in my opinion, it doesn’t have to or even need to be. It just doesn’t make you feel like you want to ride it like that and I say that in a positive way.

Looks?
Oh yeah, the Firenze 250 has all the looks to take out the heavyweight cruiser title. The front of the scooter looks awesome. The headlights are one above the other rather than side my side in other models. It really suits the style of the panels. The windscreen slides up flawlessly from the front panels and completes the image. From behind the Firenze has a healthy set of taillights and some pretty smooth lines to go with it. The front and back of this scooter come together with a semi-step through area between the dual level seat and the front leg guards to give a great profile.

How about storage?
I thought you would never ask. The storage on a Firenze is second to none. I fitted my backpack and a spare open face helmet under the seat and the rest of my luggage into the top box that was fitted to the rear. The attention to detail is what really makes you smile though. When you open the seat on the Firenze a little courtesy light comes on to help you see what you are doing while the seat raises itself with a small pneumatic arm.

What else makes the Firenze a pleasure to ride?
Ok, here are a few more points that I feel are worth mentioning. Small features that really added to the whole experience for me. Firstly, the dash display on the Firenze. It’s got everything you could possibly need at your fingertips, even a clock and the best park is its all digital. I found the trip meter functions very handy for checking fuel economy and so on.

The steering on the Firenze was something else worth mentioning. As I said earlier, it steers like a bike half its size but there was also other points I found interesting. The Firenze has it’s rear view mirrors mounted on the front guards of the scooter. What this means is that when you are sitting at a set of lights with your handle bars not straight or turning a corner you are able to see directly behind you at all times. One last thing I will add about the handlebar set up is the correlation between them and the seating position. Now I know you don’t want to hear me go on again about the comfort of the seating so I won’t, but I will say that when seated in on the Firenze the handlebars are at the perfect height and width for excellent comfort and steering.

The Wrap up.
Well there really isn’t much left to say here. I think I have covered pretty much everything that made the Firenze 250 a great ride for me. As I mentioned, it’s not just the big things (like a well powered 250cc engine and great panel styling) that make the Firenze a great bike but the attention to detail on the smaller things as well (the dash display and the storage courtesy light).

SYM have somehow managed to combine styling, power, storage and comfort into one pretty awesome package and full credit to Bolwell for introducing it into Australia. All in all, I give this bike 10/10. I felt like I was riding in a BMW version of a scooter the entire time. If you can get the chance test ride, or even just see and take a seat on the Firenze you would be doing yourself a favour. Not only that but you will understand why this has become one of my favourite scooters in such a short time.