Patrick Owens, a veteran scooter rider, won the 2008 coast-to-coast
scooter race on an SYM HD 200. The race took place from September
11-20, 2008, and covered over 3,000 miles from San Francisco, Calif.,
to Ocean City, Md. on Highway 50.

The coast-to-coast scooter race is an endurance race for scooters
and motorcycles up to 252cc. It is an endurance test for both machine
and rider. The winner of the competition is the rider with the fastest
combined time over the 10-day race. This year’s winner, Patrick Owens,
rode an SYM HD200 supplied by SF Moto (First Kick Scooters) in San
Francisco, Cal. The HD 200, produced by Sanyang Industry Co., Ltd. of
Taiwan, is powered by a 4 stroke, 4 valve ceramic-coated cylinder
engine that is capable of outperforming many larger scooters/bikes due
to its outstanding engineering. Patrick and his HD 200 were competing
against many top US riders and scooters, including Vespa GTS and GT200,
Piaggio MP3 and Skipper, as well as scooters and bikes from Genuine,
Honda and Lambretta.



Peter Cervantes, another veteran scooter rider for over 25 years, also
road an HD200 in the Cannonball race. Peter was not familiar with the
HD 200 just weeks before the ride and was very impressed by this
scooter which was loaned to him by April Whitney from Scoot Magazine.
Of this experience Peter Cervantes said, “I was very pleased with the
dependability and handling of the HD200. I also ride motorcycles daily,
so I enjoyed the larger wheels which gave this scooter better handling
than my vintage scooter which has 10 inch wheels.




One of the most impressive accomplishments of the HD 200 during the
race was the fact that neither HD200 experienced any engine issues,
unlike many of the other competitors. Most Americans would not consider
undertaking a coast-to-coast journey especially on a scooter. The
Cannonball Run race not only highlights to Americans the ever
increasing interest in scooters, it also showcases the reliability of
scooters as an everyday form of transportation. Whether you are riding
across the country or just around town, an SYM scooter can get you
there, safely, economically and with a lot of fun!

source: http://www.sym.com.tw/eng/news/index2.php?mode=detail&id=196&PHPSESSID=fcb4bfd4426e097eabd59bf6d156599e