Bolwell Firenze 250

My love affair with bikes started 30 years ago when I was 20 years old and found myself the proud owner of a Honda CB250. Soon after - a CB 360. That was until an oil slick in the Broadway at Reservoir - cause an accident - ouch!

I stuck with push bikes after that until an add for a little Honda Scooter caught my eye a year ago - $2000 - this could be good.

After a little fast talking the "boss" reluctantly let me have my way. After a little research - the Honda felt a little small , but I was surprised at how much "grunt" a 50 cc machine actually had ! (I'm a bit over 100 kg).

I eventually settled on a Bug Jive. Purple. 2 stroke and cute. Got to 70 km/h at times but found wanting in the hills of Greensborough.

After 4 months I traded up to the Bolwell Arriba 125. Top bike in every respect - marvelous leg room, great motor and could cruise at 80km/h and at times get to the 100km/h mark on the Ring Road. Incredibly nimble, it had a 2 year warranty - yep a great bike - mine for the next 2 years.

That was - until I spotted first hand a Burgman - then a Majesty - saw an add for an X9 ,mate - they were the coolest scooters ever and I gotta get one !!!

Wife was really "peeved" - this would be the third bike in a year.

Checking prices of the maxis dealt a huge blow to my hopes of getting one of these beasties - so it was off again to my Bolwell Dealer - Lucio in Fairfield, as knew the Bolwell range had some bigger bikes.

Well the Le Grande caught my eye BUT the Firenze was an absolute stunner. When I got a price that was several thousand lower than the Majesty and Burgman, I knew the dream was alive !!

After a huge amount of groveling (the missus again), and that beautiful black beast of a machine was all mine!

My teenage daughter and son both wanted lifts to school on the Firenze -they recognize cool when they see it!

Make no mistake - the scoot is awesome - but first, last and foremost it is a very, very cool machine.

It is beautiful black, with the sleekest lines, awesome very cool front light with circular LED parkers, fog lights and twin headlights under and over. Super cool LED array at the rear. Huge space under the seat, (with courtesy light) cup holders, 2 other glove compartments, sexiest digital dash, easy to read and beautifully backlit, 12 volt lighter socket for accessories.Seat is great (looks good too) with great backrest, tons of room for the pillion with their own pop out footpegs. The fuel filler cap is a spring loaded affair that is operated by the ignition and the ignition has a great ignition cover to stop any tampering.

I don't think I'll ever get sick of people asking me about the bike whenever I park it :-)

OK it's cool, everyone knows that BUT what is it like ?

Running in the 50cc Bug was tough - you really wanted to "floor" it to get going - you have to be patient to run it in properly.

The Arriba being a 125cc was capable of good speeds but you still had to be careful not to push it too hard.

The Firenze running in period was a delight. The speed limit of 100 was no problem. With a twist of the wrist 130 km/h comes very, very quickly. In fact after a passing manouvre in and 80 zone I checked the speedo and I was doing 110 !! It really has long legs and the 250cc motor is very quiet and smooth and gives virtually no warning that you are going fast.

Consequently city running around with a little freeway work was perfect for running in and you NEVER get in anyones way.You can easily stay with (or ahead) of the traffic.

I have not yet mastered the art of doing 60km/h - it is very hard to tame the "beast" and get it to go that slow.

Without trying you can get away from all but the most determined "revhead" from the lights.

The bike is superbly balanced, easy to ride and although it feels like a big bike it is still nimble and easy to scoot around the traffic at lights.

The Sym dudes got it very right when they designed the mirrors that swing in to the bike and make the bikes profile even smaller to squeeze into the tightest spots. (More on the actual mirrors later).The mirrors can be flipped in and out whilst riding - great !

The lights are great for 2 reasons - They work at night and really light the way - they are great also because the bike can be really seen.

The fog lights are great "to be seen" lights and I keep them on all the time.

Low beams are great, very bright (best bike lights I've ever had) The high beam is perfect - no problems doing a 100 and lighting the way.

Very cool "parker" light - a nice LED ring !! Very BMW ish.

I've now done 3000 km on the bike and the car has been permanently junked ! I would sell it but for a 15 yo nearly 16 yo wanting to learn to drive.

My history indicates that I've now had the Firenze for nearly 4 mnths and it's time for a change BUT I can't think of a reason to change!! I have all the power, comfort, and cool I need.

Riding position is brilliant - the handlebars are perfectly placed for long comfortable riding.

Fuel economy is consistently 22-24 km per litre of petrol. That is real riding - fast city and some highway stuff.

I derive great pleasure knowing that I can load some gear in the bike and go anywhere I like - I mean anywhere - I'm thinking a road trip up north would be very nice ! Any takers ?

Fairings keep you remarkably dry in the wet - providing you are moving - the rain is not a big problem at all.

Every day in every way I look for an excuse to go for a ride.

The cup holders - still have yet to figure out how to ride and suck coffee with a full face helmet on ! However I must admit they do come in handy for cans and coffee bought at shops and taken to an event close by - and I must admit - when I get to give the grand tour to complete strangers who ask (happens all the time). They do work well - not a drop spilt.

Bad things -

The mirrors are versatile - however they leave a big blind spot behind you. I fitted 2 wide angle round mirrors to the corners of the bike mirrors - $5 well spent !

The latches on the glove compartments are poor - I will be asking for a fix under the rather marvelous 4 year warranty.

Let's get serious - if someone plonked a Burger, Silverwing, or big Majesty at my doorstep - I wouldn't say no BUT because I had to pay for the bike the Firenze is the best value Maxi on the Aussie market for sure. It is not even a compromise it's a great bike in virtually every respect.

Initially I was looking around at smaller 125cc scooters to travel about 30km one way into work every day, but 3/4 of this is on a highway with lots of log trucks. Saw the Bolwell Firenze on the floor of the local dealer and was immediately impressed even though it was more than I was thinking of spending.

From first ride I was hooked and things just keep getting better. I now use this bike as my primary means of transport.

Fuel economy has been pretty good so far and I average around 4.5 - 4.7 l per 100km. Doesn't seem to matter whether I use standard or premium ULP in it for economy.

Most of my riding is at 100 - 110kmh and it travels pretty well at this speed. I weigh nearly 100kg and have some pretty big hills to navigate. Will slow down to 100 or just under on the bigger ones.

Going to and from work a lot of my riding is also in the dark and high beam is more than adequate to deal with traveling at these speeds. Low beam is certainly bright enough but to be safe on an otherwise unlit highway I need to slow down a bit. The 'foglights' help a lot with expanding out the side vision.

We have been having some pretty bad weather over the last month since I got the Firenze, and I have been struck with a lot of high winds whilst traveling and this has taken a bit of getting used to. But now I know the bike isn't going to get swept off the road by wind or a passing truck I feel a lot more comfortable. It does get buffeted a bit but generally stays on line. The only time I get buffeted as the rider is when the wind is coming from the side. Getting a smaller scooter would have been a mistake for my type of riding. In calm weather it is an absolute joy to ride and can't wait to take this on longer trips.

Ventured onto a dirt road the other day, was a bit tentative at first but it handled really well.

I fitted a Sym top box and with the underseat storage is more than enough for general use. I even had to take it out to the airport the other day because my car wouldn't start and managed to fit my backpack under the seat, a laptop in the top box , and a suitcase strapped to the seat with no problems. I think the car is feeling a bit neglected because I now ride the Firenze everywhere.

My only complaint so far has been that occasionally it will lose acceleration for apparently no reason. It is usually after I have slowed down and am trying to pick up speed again, and is very infrequent. After about 5km it picks back up to normal. I am hoping it is just a running in thing but could be bad batches of fuel, or even the gearing isn't selecting correctly on some occasions - I know it is a CVT but it still has to be in a correct ratio. It doesn't run rough, just won't rev.

Even so, most of the time it runs pretty well, and will accelerate even when sitting at 100 or 110 providing I am not riding into a big head wind.

I would recommend the Firenze to anyone looking at the 250 size scooters.

An ideal blend of power and great handling, lots of storage and still very economical. I wanted a quieter 'cruiser' kind of scooter, and the feet forward position also makes it very comfortable and safe. If you are considering buying one, it will look big in the showroom, but it feels small and nimble once you ride it. Make up your mind after your test ride.

I thoroughly enjoy riding the Bolwell Firenze 250, but find it a bit disconcerting that the fuel gauge can be a bit iffy, and from the one long ride I have done, it doesn't seem overly economical, as I thought it would have. All the other points, whether good or bad, seem to have already been covered by others, so I wont go repeating what has already been said.

Have not ridden a motor bike for about 14 years so I was a little apprehensive when I first ventured out. Having had the Bolwell Firenze 250 bike for a week and travelling about 800 km I find the bike economical around 335 km per tank or 25km per litre, travelling consistently over 100 km hour this would drop dramatically. Bruce's comments were great and helped me to choose the bike. The style, ride and comfort are great if you want a scooter that handles well and has the ability to keep up with traffic, this one is the scooter for you. Storage is fantastic and at no time have I had to carry a back pack, but remember I use this bike mainly for going to work 75 km one way. Travelling in the dark in the morning to work and home in light. I have invested in roo shoo's ie small plastic whistles that are actuated by wind. This seems to stop roos leaping on to the road, but be sure to invest in a good pair, as the cheaper variety do not emit a very good sound. I mounted them on the wing mirrors.

After one week I find the bike very easy to handle and very much at home on it. If you are after protection from the wind and weather and are not phobic about riding a scooter, give it a try, you may be pleasantly surprised.

Whilst I have only been riding for a relatively short while, I quickly realised that I loved it so much I would have to upgrade my first 100cc Peugeot for a larger touring scooter. I recently purchased a new Bolwell Firenze 250cc (sold outside Australia as the Sym GTS Voyager 250 and also known as the Joymax in some countries). After just three weeks of riding this scooter I can confirm that the upgrade is the most enjoyable decision I have made in recent memory!

Apart from my experience on the Peugeot Speedfight, I have also hired a Bolwell LeGrande (Sym Joyride outside Australia) and ridden it for a day up in far north Queensland (think tropical paradise!). The LeGrande is a 171cc scooter and was my first experience with long rides on the open road with significant twisties (look under Sym Joyride for my review). I thoroughly enjoyed my day on the LeGrande and found it a very comfortable scooter for touring.

The initial comparison is that the Firenze is an even more stable scooter than the LeGrande, most probably due to having 13" wheels and being quite a bit heavier (173kg dry). The weight of this scooter was the most noticeable difference when I first bought it. I have found that I need to be careful when manoeuvring it by hand as it feels as if it would be easy to drop, especially by letting it tilt too far from upright. I try to keep it slightly tilted towards my body so as I can use my lower body to help stabilise it. I also keep the side stand lowered when manoeuvring it "just in case".

It definitely feels more stable on the tight corners and I have surprised myself how confident I feel going through the tight twisties around the Melbourne hills. Whilst I am not the best person to judge the relative power and acceleration compared to other scooters, it does not feel as if it would be the fastest 250cc off at the lights. This suits my riding style. It definitely has the power to easily cruise at 110kmh with more in reserve. I am told that it is speed limited to 130kmh although this is not stated in the owner's manual and I haven't tested it.

The brakes felt very solid from the first moment I rode the scooter and they are improving as they wear in. The manual makes reference to the left brake lever being a "front and rear brake lever" so they are linked although there is no further information on the ratio of front and rear brake that gets applied.

I have found the seat comfortable for the rider although I have only done a couple of stretches of around 90 minutes at a time so far. The riding position is very upright which means that the screen is a bit too low for me and I do get wind buffeting around my helmet at speed. Another feature not mentioned in the owner's manual is that there is an adjustment for the riders backrest. There are adjustment screws under the seat and it can come forward two notches. I like it all the way back where it is set by default but it is nice to know that there is some adjustment available. The rear seat is very wide and I have sat in the pillion position once while stationary on the main stand and could easily reach the foot-pegs. It felt comfortable despite it being wide.

The Firenze clearly looks like a maxi-scooter with lots of plastic around the front and a long, wide seat area. It has one small storage compartment for a mobile phone or similar and another bigger lockable glove box at the front. It has a couple of drink holders and some more storage for small items on the central tunnel near your feet and I guess this could be useful to some. The under seat storage is enormous and my large flip type full-face helmet fits easily with lots of room to spare. It looks like another smaller open face helmet would fit in as well but I prefer to use this space for my wet weather gear and the other "stuff" that seems to collect over time. There is a light in the main storage compartment which is handy at night and the seat is held open with a hydraulic rod.

The lights on the Firenze are stunning! On low beam the headlight provides excellent lighting in front and quite a way to each side. The separate high beam light is also very bright. I used to ride around using high beam all the time on my Peugeot but I can't do that on the Firenze without getting flashed by oncoming drivers. There are LED lights around the separate high-beam headlight which no doubt look "cool" to some but their purpose escapes me. Unfortunately, the fog lights do not meet Australian Design Rules so there is a cover over the fog light switch. It does have a hazard flasher switch for all four indicator lights to operate at the same time. This is well thought out as you can turn the hazard lights on and lock the ignition and they cannot be turned off until you turn the ignition on again.

The LED tail light is brighter than most other bikes and scooters which I think is a good safety feature. I went on a scooter group ride recently and there were lots of comments from the other riders on just how bright and noticeable the tail light is during the day. The only down side is that if any of the LEDs fail then I understand you have to replace the whole tail light unit or, if out of warranty, maybe just accept that some of the 20 individual LEDs are not working.

The main centre stand is very well balanced and does not take too much effort to operate. In fact it takes less effort than my old Peugeot (the extra weight of the bike is not noticeable when operating the centre stand). There is also a side stand that is linked to the kill switch. I think this is an excellent feature that should be on all automatic scooters with side stands so as the engine cannot be run when the side stand is down thus avoiding the risk of accidentally twisting the throttle and having the scooter run off the stand and fall over. I did park it on a slight down hill slope recently and was not confident that the side stand would hold so I am getting into the habit of using the centre stand all the time. There is no parking brake which would help make the side stand more secure although one can easily be improvised with some Velcro wrap-around tape or releasable cable ties.

One feature I really like is the foldable mirrors. I have to park my scoter in a tight space both at work and at home so being able to quickly fold the mirrors in when parking is a real bonus. They are mounted forward of the steering column and screen on the front moulding and give good rear vision to each side but not quite as good vision directly behind you. A standard mirror mount on the steering column is available on each side so I will see if installing a standard mirror on one side may help give vision directly behind; a slightly convex "blind spot" mirror is another option I am looking into.

The fuel cap is released by turning the ignition switch to the left without pushing the key in. The cap is spring loaded and you simply push it back into position until you hear the locking click. I am not sure how durable this will be over time so I am being careful when filling up and when locking the cap. The filler is located low to the side of the centre tunnel near your left foot. I guess this is good in that it keeps petrol well away from the storage areas. I assume the tank is around the foot well area so this will keep the weight low. There is no kick start option included on the Firenze.

One of the surprises to me with upgrading from a 2 stroke to a 4 stroke is the improved fuel consumption. I managed to get 22km per litre (around 4.5 litres per 100km) on my first few fills. I have managed just over 270km before the reserve warning started flashing and the manual states that there is 1.2 litres left at this point; this should mean about 25km to go. I am expecting the fuel consumption will improve a bit as the engine gets run in.

Some of the other features include a 12V accessory socket in the glove box for a phone charger or similar; a trip meter; an oil change warning light with reset switch; and, a very handy digital clock that is easy to read while riding. A claimed security feature is an ignition cover that can be activated using a matching part of the plastic key end to prevent anyone trying to force something into the lock. It works by requiring the magnet embedded in the key end to unlock the cover. A quick test confirmed that it is not easy to unlock the cover without the standard key end (unless maybe you carry a magnet around with you as well!).

There are only a few accessories currently available. Givi in the UK do have a top box case carrier (SR230 - MONOLOCK case carrier) but I am not sure how easy this is to get in Australia. Futurescootering.com has some accessories that look interesting. Have a look at his modified front panel, chrome steering column and side mirrors with LED turn lights!

I am a bit surprised that there are so few Internet forums discussing this bike as yet as it has been released in the UK and elsewhere for quite some time.

Human nature is to justify ones own purchases as "the best" but trying to remain objective I have only found three "negatives" so far. The first one is the lack of third party accessories, especially a larger wind screen or "laminar lip"; the second is the weight of the scooter; and the only other one is a pet issue for me - the indicators are not audible. Most of the other scooters made by Sym seem to have excellent audible indicators but not on the Firenze. Oh well, the mods to the screen and getting audible indicators are now challenges for me to solve! I am now off to the gym to solve the weight problem (in more than one way!).

I will put updates in the comments section as I gain more experience with the fabulous Firenze.