The news about the development of the SYM VF3i was first leaked in 2016 when it was previously known as the
SYM Super Moped 175i. At that time, it was reported that SYM Motors was developing an underbone motorcycle model whose engine displacement surpasses the
Honda Winner and
Yamaha T-150. The Malaysian distributor of SYM motorcycles, MForce Bike Holdings Sdn. Bhd. later revealed that the SYM Super Moped would be launched during the third quarter of 2017; however, the launch date was later being pushed to the second quarter of 2018 to make way for the launch of the
Benelli RFS150, also distributed by MForce Bike Holdings. The SYM Super Moped was later being renamed as the SYM VF3i 185 and was launched on 5 April 2018. However, the ABS option was not available in Malaysia. The SYM VF3i was later launched in Vietnam on 17 December 2018 as the SYM Star SR 170. However, the SYM Star SR 170 is given a smaller 174.5 cc engine and comes with ABS as standard. ==References==