TOMOS Nitro 50 Review

I am a bit new here but I decided to write the review anyway. I own a TOMOS Nitro 50 scooter and I will tell you of my ownership experience so far.


Introduction

My dealer Zone Moto in Montreal sells primarily Chinese Scooters. I researched these scooters in the Canadian market and concluded that 3 brands would be high enough quality for a non mechanically inclined person. (I cannot even screw in a light bulb!) I boiled down my choice to Linhai, Keeway, and my Tomos. The Tomos was the biggest and heaviest bike of the three. Tomos has a large parts warehouse in Toronto. They have been present in the Canadian market for many years. The Scooter is built by SYM alongside the SYM Simply. SYM makes quality products. How could I go wrong? So I ponied up the $1,500 and purchased the bike.

My TOMOS was delivered at night. I came out of my apartment building and found it running. It was coughing and sputtering and ready to stall. I had the delivery driver adjust the idle to make it idle bit faster. It then revved at 3,000 RPMs when warm 1,000 when cold. I have since readjusted the idle. It now revs at about 1,200 rpm when cold or when warmed up.

There is a dead spot in accelleration when the bike is cold. It can stall if you give it just a bit of gas. I am assuming that this problem is because I am still breaking in the scooter. But you never know.


Ride Quality

I find that accelleration is brisk. The scooter easily gets up to speed and keeps up with traffic. Top speed is 35 mph (GPS checked) but with the wind behind me! The bike is still relatively new so I am sure that after break-in I will get 35mph without a problem. Accelleration when the bike is warm is very smooth. The powerband is predictable and the scooter is responsive.

Ride quality sucks! The scooter has a very harsh ride. I get tossed around a lot. I feel every bump, crack, and pot hole. I swear that the thing gets airborne when it hits big potholes. The center of gravity is VERY high. That makes the bike less stable to ride. Mind you I have been spoiled because I also own a Honda Aero 80 and it rides like a dream. My question is... are all Chinese bikes so harsh? I will certainly be replacing my rear nshock with one that will also lower the center of gravity but I won't do it during the warranty period.

Breaking is fantastic. The breaks are responsive and do their job well. I am surprised by how good they are. The thing stops on a dime. The tires are pretty grippy. The 12 inch wheels help the bike to corner well.

Ergonomics are also good. The dash is well laid out. The analogue guauges are pretty accurate for a Chinese scoot. I clocked 30 on my GPS and the speedometer read 31 mph. No complaint there. The dasboard also includes a tachometer. Nice touch for a low end bike. All of the contolls are exactly where you would expect them to be. They seem to be of good quality.

Underseat storage is ample. I get my 3/4 helmet in with room to spare. I bought a trunk and it was pretty difficult to mount because the rack on the back is stylized and it doesn't have strsight rails for mounting anything to it.

This is a big heavy scooter. It weighs in at 249 pounds. The seat is comfortable with lots of padding. The scooter's deck is large. I can certaily put a bag of groceries between me and the front of the deck. I am only 5'6" but I can imagine that a person over 6' would find that they would be comfortable on the bike.

Quality Fit and Finish

I find that my Nitro seems like its miving even when it is standing still. I love the look of it. I have had probllems mostly with the plastics and mostly because of poor PDI. My dealer Zone Moto should be shot!

One day I was driving down the street feeling the lively harsh ride I have come to expect from the Nitro when suddenly I heard a grinding noise. I then heard a crack and saw my front fender fly off. Apparently what had happened is a screw came undone and fell off. The fender assmbly is mated to the body with a metal bracket that has 2 screws on each side to the fender but only one to the scooter frame! If you lose this screw pow there goes your fender, Now you would think that with only about 30kms on the bike the dealer or the importer would replace the fender under warranty. Nope. A new fender costs $75. Oh well, that is life.

Another plastic part that boke is a triangular piece that surrounds the gas cap. It fastens to a single screw under the seat. This is accomplished by a narrow strip of plastic that attaches to the screw. Now seats on a new bike are usually difficult to close. So I applied pressure to the seat and the narrow part of the triangular piece broke. I will order a new one when I pickup the fender because Zone Moto are french and it was too difficult to explain what part it is.

Okay I have had some issues with the plastics on the bike. They seem very brittal, but I heard that is the case with many Chinese scooters.

The metal parts seem very well done. Welds are neat and the bike showed no signs of rust. The mechanical parts seem durable and well screwed together.

The assembly of the Nitro is pretty good. The paint is beautifully done. There are no squeeks or rattles. The parts seem well integrated. It may be built by SYM but it certainly doesn't have the same quality. It isn't bad and it is certainly one of the best Chinese bikes I have seen, but it isn't up to a Taiwanese or Japanese product either. To be fare it doesn't cost the same as one of those makes either.

Even with the problems I have had, the TOMOS Nitro 50 seems solid and pretty well made. I would bet that it will last many years. I blame the dealer for poor PDI and not the importer or manufacturer for the problems I have had.

Future Modifications

There is one mod that I will do pretty soon. The importer recommended it. If you take off the CVT cover there is a nylon spacer that prevents the belt from going all the way on the drive spindle. If you use a hammer and a chisel you can remove this spacer and you will gain 5 mph or more without damaging the bike in any way.

I will definitely buy a new rear shock with one that is adjustable. I will probably purchase a "nitro" shock (Pun intended.) I don't know if I am capable to change the shock myself. If anybody has advice I will happily welcome it.

I hope you enjoyed my review of my first impressions of my Nitro 50. So far I have only driven it for 50 miles or so. I will update my ownership experience as time goes on.

[Admin]

Very nice review! Thanks for sharing it with us! I'm sure it will help many people out.

Good work.

[inuyasha]

Hi
great review
One mistake though, Tomos are not chinese, Tomos is a Slovenian company
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomos
Take care and ride safely
Yours Hank

[sbcwinn]

Sorry Hank,

The TOMOS Nitro scooter line are manufactured in China by SYM. The 2-stroke mopeds are still made made in Slovenia. They are no longer legal in North America (pollution laws...)

In fact TOMOS North America is also distributing Tao Tao scooters in North America as well as my Nitro.

Check out www.tomosscooter.com

[sbcwinn]

I posted the wrong link. Please go here....

http://www.tomosusa.com/pages/snorfietsen

[sbcwinn]

Only Tomos Canada is distributing Tao Tao and the mopeds are still available in the USA, not in Canada.

[inuyasha]

Hi
Thanks for claryifing that for us
Heres my Daughters Tomos Revival ST

TomosRevival-L by inuyasha50, on Flickr
Take care and ride safely my friend
Yours Hank

[sbcwinn]

The Tomos Revival is a beauty! Looks like an A55. All metal. No plastic. She sure must be proud of it and rightly so. Chain driven. No battery. Elegance and simplicity as well.

Its beautiful. I am envious. LOL!

Cheers!

BTW what scooter do I see below it? Looks nice too.

PS - I like your quote from MacArthur. Kind of says it all doesn't it?

[inuyasha]

Originally Posted by sbcwinn

The Tomos Revival is a beauty! Looks like an A55. All metal. No plastic. She sure must be proud of it and rightly so. Chain driven. No battery. Elegance and simplicity as well.

Its beautiful. I am envious. LOL!

Cheers!

BTW what scooter do I see below it? Looks nice too.

PS - I like your quote from MacArthur. Kind of says it all doesn't it?

Hi
Thank ya kindy my friend
Shes the pride and joy of my riding stable "April" my Aprillia SR 50 R Factory
http://www.scootdawg.net/album.php?a...9&pictureid=37
For more info
http://motorscooterguide.net/Aprilia/SR50/SR50.html
Take care and ride safely
Yours Hank

[thumper650]

Removing the washer will give you more top speed. I took mine out, but unfortunately my new weights are too heavy so my acceleration between 15 and 20 is terrible.
I also have an oragne (mine looks pink to me ) de-restricted CDI.
Cruises at 35 indicated, but I have no idea how fast it really is.

[giantsnewyoka]

Just bought this brand new. Started it up for the first time, and the engine started- but i drove about 1/3 of a mile and stopped at a stop sign. When I stopped the engine stalled. It does that every time I stop. Any ideas? I am new to moped and scooters, so please help me out!

[thumper650]

Originally Posted by giantsnewyoka

Just bought this brand new. Started it up for the first time, and the engine started- but i drove about 1/3 of a mile and stopped at a stop sign. When I stopped the engine stalled. It does that every time I stop. Any ideas? I am new to moped and scooters, so please help me out!

Adjust your valves,
adjust your air/fuel screw if you have one
adjust your idle,
if it still dies, replace the CDI.

Mine refused to idle when I got it, nothing worked but the CDI replacement, and a bad CDI unit can act like a bad carb.

Do all the other stuff first, it's cheaper.

[bigdog]

I have a Icebear 3 wheeler it ran bad at first but I took it to a friend that is a motor nut. He took off all the pollution stuff and set it and now it runs great after it warms up. It seems like every time I ride it something little breaks. Welcome to Chinese scooters. The Americans Use 2 big bolts, the Japanese use 4 screws, the Chinese use 1 screw and ship it.

[JacobA]

Originally Posted by sbcwinn

I am a bit new here but I decided to write the review anyway. I own a TOMOS Nitro 50 scooter and I will tell you of my ownership experience so far.


Introduction

My dealer Zone Moto in Montreal sells primarily Chinese Scooters. I researched these scooters in the Canadian market and concluded that 3 brands would be high enough quality for a non mechanically inclined person. (I cannot even screw in a light bulb!) I boiled down my choice to Linhai, Keeway, and my Tomos. The Tomos was the biggest and heaviest bike of the three. Tomos has a large parts warehouse in Toronto. They have been present in the Canadian market for many years. The Scooter is built by SYM alongside the SYM Simply. SYM makes quality products. How could I go wrong? So I ponied up the $1,500 and purchased the bike.

My TOMOS was delivered at night. I came out of my apartment building and found it running. It was coughing and sputtering and ready to stall. I had the delivery driver adjust the idle to make it idle bit faster. It then revved at 3,000 RPMs when warm 1,000 when cold. I have since readjusted the idle. It now revs at about 1,200 rpm when cold or when warmed up.

There is a dead spot in accelleration when the bike is cold. It can stall if you give it just a bit of gas. I am assuming that this problem is because I am still breaking in the scooter. But you never know.


Ride Quality

I find that accelleration is brisk. The scooter easily gets up to speed and keeps up with traffic. Top speed is 35 mph (GPS checked) but with the wind behind me! The bike is still relatively new so I am sure that after break-in I will get 35mph without a problem. Accelleration when the bike is warm is very smooth. The powerband is predictable and the scooter is responsive.

Ride quality sucks! The scooter has a very harsh ride. I get tossed around a lot. I feel every bump, crack, and pot hole. I swear that the thing gets airborne when it hits big potholes. The center of gravity is VERY high. That makes the bike less stable to ride. Mind you I have been spoiled because I also own a Honda Aero 80 and it rides like a dream. My question is... are all Chinese bikes so harsh? I will certainly be replacing my rear nshock with one that will also lower the center of gravity but I won't do it during the warranty period.

Breaking is fantastic. The breaks are responsive and do their job well. I am surprised by how good they are. The thing stops on a dime. The tires are pretty grippy. The 12 inch wheels help the bike to corner well.

Ergonomics are also good. The dash is well laid out. The analogue guauges are pretty accurate for a Chinese scoot. I clocked 30 on my GPS and the speedometer read 31 mph. No complaint there. The dasboard also includes a tachometer. Nice touch for a low end bike. All of the contolls are exactly where you would expect them to be. They seem to be of good quality.

Underseat storage is ample. I get my 3/4 helmet in with room to spare. I bought a trunk and it was pretty difficult to mount because the rack on the back is stylized and it doesn't have strsight rails for mounting anything to it.

This is a big heavy scooter. It weighs in at 249 pounds. The seat is comfortable with lots of padding. The scooter's deck is large. I can certaily put a bag of groceries between me and the front of the deck. I am only 5'6" but I can imagine that a person over 6' would find that they would be comfortable on the bike.

Quality Fit and Finish

I find that my Nitro seems like its miving even when it is standing still. I love the look of it. I have had probllems mostly with the plastics and mostly because of poor PDI. My dealer Zone Moto should be shot!

One day I was driving down the street feeling the lively harsh ride I have come to expect from the Nitro when suddenly I heard a grinding noise. I then heard a crack and saw my front fender fly off. Apparently what had happened is a screw came undone and fell off. The fender assmbly is mated to the body with a metal bracket that has 2 screws on each side to the fender but only one to the scooter frame! If you lose this screw pow there goes your fender, Now you would think that with only about 30kms on the bike the dealer or the importer would replace the fender under warranty. Nope. A new fender costs $75. Oh well, that is life.

Another plastic part that boke is a triangular piece that surrounds the gas cap. It fastens to a single screw under the seat. This is accomplished by a narrow strip of plastic that attaches to the screw. Now seats on a new bike are usually difficult to close. So I applied pressure to the seat and the narrow part of the triangular piece broke. I will order a new one when I pickup the fender because Zone Moto are french and it was too difficult to explain what part it is.

Okay I have had some issues with the plastics on the bike. They seem very brittal, but I heard that is the case with many Chinese scooters.

The metal parts seem very well done. Welds are neat and the bike showed no signs of rust. The mechanical parts seem durable and well screwed together.

The assembly of the Nitro is pretty good. The paint is beautifully done. There are no squeeks or rattles. The parts seem well integrated. It may be built by SYM but it certainly doesn't have the same quality. It isn't bad and it is certainly one of the best Chinese bikes I have seen, but it isn't up to a Taiwanese or Japanese product either. To be fare it doesn't cost the same as one of those makes either.

Even with the problems I have had, the TOMOS Nitro 50 seems solid and pretty well made. I would bet that it will last many years. I blame the dealer for poor PDI and not the importer or manufacturer for the problems I have had.

Future Modifications

There is one mod that I will do pretty soon. The importer recommended it. If you take off the CVT cover there is a nylon spacer that prevents the belt from going all the way on the drive spindle. If you use a hammer and a chisel you can remove this spacer and you will gain 5 mph or more without damaging the bike in any way.

I will definitely buy a new rear shock with one that is adjustable. I will probably purchase a "nitro" shock (Pun intended.) I don't know if I am capable to change the shock myself. If anybody has advice I will happily welcome it.

I hope you enjoyed my review of my first impressions of my Nitro 50. So far I have only driven it for 50 miles or so. I will update my ownership experience as time goes on.

Hi.
Nice write-up and I am also trying to see if I can get a better read softer rear shock. My dealer claims nothing available from the factory so I am removing the rear shock and start looking on the net for a better one possibly an adjustable one or one where I can change the sping.

[bigdog]

One of the shocks on by Icebear broke I put on 2 old shocks I had laying around much better ride.