Our world is full of weird and wonderful motorcycles. Some of them are badass—think low-slung cruisers like those from Harley and Indian. Meanwhile, others are razor-sharp—think the crop of hyper-naked and supersports from Europe. But at the same time, some bikes are just weird. You know, like they’re not quite sure what they want in life?
There are quite a few bikes like this that come to mind. Personally, the whole adventure-scooter craze is guilty of this, with bikes like the Honda X-ADV teetering between scooter and adventure bike. Well, as it would turn out, another manufacturer is trying to come up with yet another cruiser crossover thingamabob.
I’m talking about Taiwanese brand SYM, and its recently unveiled prototype called the TTLBT. Now, I have absolutely no idea what that five-lettered acronym stands for, but just thinking about it makes me hungry for a BLT sandwich. Unfortunately, SYM’s TTLBT isn’t a sandwich. Heck, I’m not even sure if it’s a scooter. Or maybe it’s a sport-tourer. Or perhaps something in between?
Well, according to SYM, the TTLBT’s styling was taken from, get this, a turtle. Now, I don’t know about you, but this thing looks nothing like a turtle. Plus, I’m not exactly sure if a turtle is an apt spirit animal for any motorcycle.
Nevertheless, what I do know is that this thing is built to ride pretty far. It’s clearly trying to find its place in the popular maxi-scooter segment in Europe that’s dominated by the likes of the Yamaha TMAX and Honda Forza 750. But I don’t know, something just looks a bit off with the TTLBT’s proportions.
That being said, beneath the surface, this thing seems to have the muscle to make it a highway-munching, long-distance-touring maxi-scooter. It’s powered by a 508cc engine, but SYM doesn’t disclose what kind of engine it is, but it’s more than likely a parallel-twin engine, and the same one used in Maxsym TL 508 scooter. If that’s the case, then this thing is good for about 45 horsepower and 37 pound-feet of torque—well within striking distance of the Yamaha TMAX.
To complement its decent performance, SYM throws in a bunch of tech, too. The TTLBT comes with two ride modes—normal and rain, as well as throttle-by-wire and cruise control. It even gets some performance-focused rider aids like cornering ABS and traction control (yes, this thing has a six-axis IMU—pretty wild for a scooter). Oh, you can even switch traction control off if ever you feel like trying to pop wheelies on this thing.
Of course, the TTLBT gets the whole shebang when it comes to infotainment. It’s rocking a seven-inch TFT screen with voice activation, navigation, and music playback. The screen allows you to connect your smartphone via Bluetooth and even comes with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay as standard.
In true maxi-scooter fashion, the TTLBT is sprinkled with convenience and comfort-focused amenities. It gets a nifty saddle with three positions of adjustable lumbar support. Under the seat, you get 37 liters of storage space. The bike even comes standard with panniers providing 14.4 liters and 13.6 liters of storage on either side. And on longer trips, you can slap on a top case thanks to the built-in luggage rack. Of course, a USB-C charger housed in the front compartment allows you to power up your devices as you ride.
So there you have it, an oddball maxi-scooter sport-touring thing that kinda wants to be a whole bunch of things all at once. Will it sell? Heck, will it even make it to production? Well, only time will tell, but given how popular maxi-scooters are in Europe and Asia, it’s more than likely that there’s a market for this thing.
Sources: Motociclismo, SYM
