We fell in love with Yamaha’s TMAX scooter when we tested it several years ago. For the scooter category, it combined a relatively unique dose of high performance and practicality that put a smile on our face every time we rode it. Unfortunately, although available elsewhere on the planet continuously since that time, Yamaha chose to discontinue selling the TMAX in the U.S. market following the 2011 model year.
The TMAX available in the U.S. at that time displaced 495 cc. Yamaha has just announced that a newly designed 530 cc TMAX is back in the U.S. market for 2015. Although the 530 cc engine has been available in other markets since 2012, the 2015 model not only gets the larger engine, but gains inverted front forks and new radially-mounted, four-piston calipers to squeeze the dual 267 mm discs up front.
The 2015 model also gets LED headlights, together with revised front cowl, front fender, mirrors and instrument panel.
A new “Smartkey” system allows the operator to turn the TMAX on and off by simply pushing a button, and even lock the handlebars with a button push.
Yamaha says the 2015 TMAX will be in U.S. dealers later this month at an MSRP of $10,490. The only color available is Sonic Gray. Take a look at Yamaha’s web site for additional details and specifications.
If I am paying 10k for a scooter, it better have ABS! Everything else looks like a top notch scoot.
All the best,
Aaron Lephart
Scooters? We don’t need no sinking scooters, says me and Big K.
really need to proof read, meant stinking scooters
Sinking Scooters was funnier!
At 65 years, I purchased a used 2006 Suzuki Burgman 650. It shares a garage with a Ducati monster 750. I must say, with the fuel injected motor the Burgman starts instantly on a cold day and is much more comfortable than the Monster.
weird…
has beak, no one complains…
has weird plate holder, no one complains…
has poor gas mileage… ok you did complain…
only God know about maintenance cost as engine is down and below instead of in the middle center; therefore it will take more time to disassemble… no one cares…
it’s a scooter with fixed seat height, no one says: too high… too low…
poor Yami, it does introduce more powerful, with more extras and market supporting it FJ09 everyone complains trololol
I am 55 years old with a bad knee, deteriorating hips and arthritis in my fingers. Maxi-scooters are perfect for me. Cruiser seating, no clutch to pull, and a step through chassis. All with a much lower weight than most cruisers.
I’ve owned 45 motorcycles including a 650 Burgman and my current 09 Tmax. The Tmax is my favorite cycle I’ve ever owned. Under 500 pound wet weight, 50mpg, built in storage, and handling as good as any shifter bike I ever owned.
There’s a reason this bike is a top seller in Europe. Ride one if you get the chance. It will change your mind about what a scooter can be.
Aprilia does a pretty mean sport-scoot too:
http://uk.aprilia.com/uk/en/index/models/bikes/road/SRV-850.html
Now, that’s a scooter!
Mark … does the storage capacity of the Tmax match the Burgman?
No, it’s about 2/3 the size, plenty for a weekend trip.
The Burgman is the Gold Wing of scooters.
The Tmax is the FJR of scooters.
I,m late to make a comment but my brother loves his Burgman650 but is wanting this little hot rod scoot.
Fun to ride with ease and rip past some of those road yachts…
In France, the TMax is THE choice of 2-wheeled transport for drug dealers, gangsters and misc. scum. They are probably high on the theft list too. On the other hand, they do have their own race series in Europe 🙂
I’ve had a Suzuki Burgman 650 and a Honda Silverwing 600. I enjoyed them both.
I would like to try a Yamaha or a Kymco scooter. They are great for someone with an amputated leg, like me. But, I think the Honda ctx700 with the push button transmission would be the best bet for my needs. They have a lower cost and less weight.
I wish Honda would bring back the 250 Ruckus.
Heck, I would be happy if Honda would put fuel injection on the 50cc Ruckus as they do in the UK!
I agree, but it would be better if it was a 400 or 500.
What about a Ruckus 1000?
Ruckus 1299!
Goldruckus.
More storage, twist and go; low insurance cost, better weather protection, reliability, fun in traffic, user friendly, less likely to be stolen, and step through frame those are the qualities that sell scooters. Folks a $10k scooter is more common than you think. BMW, KYMCO, Suzuki, Vespa, Piaggio and Honda sell them.
One nice thing about scooter are the ergos. You put your feet where ever you want them, back behind you, directly under hips, a little forward, a lot forward like a cruiser, or all the positions in one day. And the step thru tunnel is really good for people with bad knees and hips.A lot of older touring riders are giving up their Goldwings and Concours for Maxi scooters.
Another nice thing is the lack of engine heat.
Seven years ago at the age of 54 I rode my first and only Saddle Sore 1000 riding a 2003 Honda Silver Wing. The ability to change my position on the seat and move my legs around made the ride doable for my increasingly arthritic body. That bike was a mile eating machine for me at 10,000+ miles per year the two years I owned it.
Bikes and Scooters are Apples and Oranges… I get scooters, but this Maxi scooter is a lot of technology to count for that price. Sounds like a fun ride (bigger motor, better brakes, buttons for everything!).
I suppose scooter pilots often want more power, more room, more tech, etc… Here it is. Just like bikes, we oftern want more than what we have. So now Maxi scooters have a new “king of the hill”?
I don’t get scooters, but I am hapy for them, and the choices they have of various models. I also don’t get cruisers, but there are lots of good ones out there. One day, I might jump into the scooter, or cruiser camp (or both?).. It is nice to have choices!
I wonder if this thing could do a burnout? Lock the front and gas the back…
Scooter lighting it up would change a few minds..!
Dino! Had One! Did That! Change Minds! New Believers!
Usually motorcyclists that have not ridden maxi scooters scoff at maxi scooters
Ignorance is bliss, ain’t it? Most have a mundane need for sameness and no nads to try something out of their box. The look on a clown suit wearing cruiser clone is priceless when they get smoked by scooter.
Q: “Ignorance is bliss, ain’t it?”
A: not so much. ignorance is bliss, knowledge is burden.
Must they be a “clown suit wearing cruiser clone”? That right there sounds like a little pent up bias that needs to be relaxed.Why couldn’t it be a “Pirate suit, Nazi Storm Trooper helmeted poser”?
Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike stereotyped biases?
Yep, stereotyping goes both ways. To each their own.
Yep, I remember the big red shoes made upshifts a pain, and the nose, I couldn’t close my visor…..but if I could find a Nazi storm trooper helmet that’s DOT….that would be too funky!!!
I had a Aprilia Scarabeo 500. Smoked a lot of “Hecks” Angel wannabees on it. Rode it in The Love Ride with 10,000 Harleys. No one talked to me.
You were invisible. Did you check your cloaking button? Clowns get nervous when someone with knowledge and confidence lands in their make believe world.
Twin cylinder scooters don’t get the same mileage as singles get but do accelerate faster. I have 3 Italian single cylinder scooters 250cc to 460cc that get 50 to 70 mpg that give me better weather protection and storage than any MC you can buy. Ride my 400 & 460 scooters long distances and they’re both just as fast as most cars on the road If needed I can ride them @ 80 mph all day. Sure, they don’t corner like my bikes but that’s not why I ride them. Ride them for convenience and practicality.
I had a Scarabeo 500 with the 460cc. It was hard to ride for more than an hour. I wish I would have gotten a Silver Wing. I’d probably still be riding a maxi scoot.
I’ve had the same issue with my `04 Beo 500GT. I’ve adjusted the seat length to see if that helps. Just sitting on it you would think it’s seat would be wonderfull. Have found my Piaggio MP3s much more comfortable(with added back support) for long distance even tho they don’t have the leg room of the Beo.
Yamaha won’t bring the 660 tenere here or build a dual sport wr450r,but this come on!
For those of you have never ridden a Real Scooter you will never Know! After ridding Dirt, Sport-Touring and Cruisers 45 years I love my Burgman 650 Scooter.
The automatic CVT drive makes it quicker than most bikes 0-55, with the fuel and engine being so low it corners unbelievable and how many of you can carry 4 bags of grocery’s?
Happy Trails
I consider my old Vespa P200e a “real” scooter but it said “motorcycle” on the registration
It would be fun to take one of these things and strip it all down to the bare essentials. You could probably take 100 pounds of junk off the thing. Then I’d get bored with the auto tranny and sell it at a huge loss…
Roland Sands did one, check it out.
Thanks for the tip. Theres a youtube on it. I’d still rather have a stocker but his was pretty wild.
Why that would make a 530cc Ruckus! Just might be just the thing?
Personally I don’t get the weight and price of Maxi-scooters. Nice scooter but I’d take a 2015 Yamaha S-max for $3600 as its the better buy not necessarily a better overall machine. I just bought a leftover Zuma 125 for $2200 brand new and for me its a toy and a third bike. I think the S-max is much nicer than the Zuma and it’s enough scooter for 90% of riders looking for a spare bike or city bike.
If the pockets are deep enough the new 2015 T-Max is very nice is you want a maxi-scooter and the weight and price to boot.
You would just really, really have to want a scooter to consider buying something like this. The asking price isn’t that far south of an FJ-09 with cases, or an NC700X if you just don’t like to shift. I don’t get it. Of course, plenty of things get by just fine without me “getting it”, so what do I know.
People buy lesser performing Harleys for double this amount. Go figure.
Jeremy.. You should see a red FJ09 with red FJR saddlebags. Stunning. Still about 6″ too tall for me, but very nice looking.
I’ve never ridden or even been interested in owning a scooter, but from what I can see, a big one like this offers a more relaxed riding position, more wind and weather protection, along with built-in storage and a lower seat height than an FJ or NC-X. I’ve seen a photo of this bike leaning into a turn, and it looks capable of a very aggressive angle. So, the only downside seems to be less – but satisfactory most of the time – power.
I have a 1700 cc Road Star with a carb that gets 46mpg. What the heck is with this thing and for that price?
I like scooters. I’ve been riding them and large motorcycles for decades. But there is no way I would personally spend $11K on a new scooter. Not this Yamaha, and not the uber-BMW model, or the large KYMCO either. If I was going to spend that kind of money on a two-wheeler, I’d opt for a used Honda NM04 in a few years when hopefully their used price would crash to something reasonable for me. My current Honda Helix with 6K on the odometer cost me $1300, and my BMW R100RT cost only $3000. I do have an ELIO on order for $6800 brand new, and I do hope they make me mine in 2016. If they do, I plan to sell all of my two-wheelers and spend the rest of my life riding (driving?) Elio’s three wheels.
I have been following the Elio. Got my fingers crossed that it will be a success.
I’ve got a 09′ Tmax and I love it! It’s my go to bike for in town running. I’ve got a Shad tail trunk on it and that, combined with the underseat storage, will carry every thing I need/buy. It handles great and the damned thing rips on acceleration! Whatever you do, don’t ride one cuz……….there might be a tear in the universe and you’ll find yourself coveting one.
if there is a tear in the universe, Beverly crusher will be on yours.
That’d be a really thick red nebulas.
I had a feeling that when the Majesty vanished and the S-Max appeared, that the T-Max was on its way again. I love the way that Yamaha injected some sport into its maxi-scooter, instead of just following the Silverwing and Burgman and just making a “touring scooter”. This is exactly what my daughter wants. A dose of fun added to an easy to ride machine with no gears to shift. There are other options out there but I just can’t agree to a weird Honda.
Re: “I just can’t agree to a weird Honda.”
Funny. I just thought of the Hunter S. Thompson quote: “When the going gets tough, the tough get weird.” ‘Bet they’ll be practically giving away Honda NM04s in a couple of years. It will probably attract equally weird people (like those dreamers who’ve left deposits on the “New 2016 Elio!”). This TMax looks like something I’d like to try, though.
I believe the Hunter S. Thompson quote is actually “When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” Some say it was a play on the saying “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
I don’t like the NM04 but appreciate that it might be pointing to the future. I see Harley’s market dying, literally. I’m rooting for the Elio. If it happens I’m going to dump my car and get one.
If it cannot deliver excellent fuel economy then what is the point of a scooter? Yamaha claims “46 mpg”. Odd that some manufacturers use the disclaimer of “at 55 mph (or 59 mph) such and such bike will deliver this mpg.
Some of today’s bikes get far worse mileage than some of today’s cars. Tires on bikes have a pitiful life expectancy. Tune-ups are often outrageously expensive (e.g., Ducati). Insurance can be usurious.
And now a 530cc scooter retailing for over ten grand.
As is often the case with such things,so many people claim to want one but it remains to be seen just how many will actually buy one. Perhaps this is why it has been absent fro these shores for a few years.
Many will claim to want one but the real problem is how many actually need one? A nice scooter but 10 grand buys a lot of other things out there. Good luck with that Yamaha.
Bikes vs. cars – bike + rider way less aerodynamic than car – so much worse that frontal area is outweighed by drag.
I have averaged near 60mpg on both a BMW F800ST and a Triumph Tiger 800 before. With the panniers, both bikes would seem to be less aerodynamic than this thing and make 80-ish hp at the wheel. Most manufacturers aren’t really trying to deliver great fuel economy.
Re: “Most manufacturers aren’t really trying to deliver great fuel economy.”
The one that has (Honda NC-700 series, 70+ mpg) is getting beaten up by the hardcore moto guys for making such a low peak-hp figure. A big part of the low relative fuel economy we see in so many motorcycles is engine tune. Reach for big hp numbers and you get poor efficiency at cruising power. To optimize cruising efficiency, you have to sacrifice peak power.
..and yet the NC 700 series of bikes has proven very popular all over the world! It’s the same thing with cars, boats, electronics, you name it. It’s just those wishing to distance themselves from the commoners of the earth. It’s a human trait that sometimes isn’t very flattering.
I think you miss the point of this…the rider of this machine already has a few bikes and wants a cool scooter…I would totally pull the trigger on this thing if I was in the right tax bracket.
Spot on!
I’ve never known anyone to have a TMAX as their first bike. Everyone I’ve known with one was an experienced rider, I have 35 years of riding experience, who wanted something different as a change of pace to replace a motorcycle or to “add to the collection” in their garage.
I had a 2009 TMAX and I loved it. It was pretty quick, handled fantastic, and the brakes were better than you’ll find on a lot of “real” motorcycles.
Hell, the man who owns the Yamaha dealership in my town has one in his “bike stable” and he loves riding it. He can’t say enough good things about what a fantastic machine it is.
I’ll bet that 90 percent of the people saying, “Holy sh*t, $10K for a scooter” have never seen a TMAX in the flesh….much less ever ridden one.
My wife likes scooters and was not too comfortable as a passenger on the TMAX so we traded it in on a new 2012 Burgman 400 ABS. That Burgman 400 is damn nice, but it rides like a big scooter while the TMAX rides like an automatic sport bike.
Last October, we traded in our 2012 Star Stryker 1300 on a new V Star 1300 Deluxe. If I would have known that the TMAX was coming to the USA in 2015, I would have held on to the Stryker for a few more months and traded it in on a new TMAX 530.
Reading some of these comments about reminds me of that great George Carlin game show bit.
“Congratulations, you’ve just won a new Ferrari!”
“Oh God, we already have a small car.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmDQRXdjxQQ
hmmmmmmmm. A FZ07 for $7K or a scooter for $10.5K?
Exactly.
Customers shopping the $10k scooter market aren’t looking at conventional motorcycles at all.
used car shoppers think we’re all crazy.
🙂
Who cares.
The T-Max based dual purpose bike needs to be built, however.
“The T-Max based dual purpose bike needs to be built, however.”
If I wanted a bland scooter with psuedo-offroad tires and a beak, I’d buy a NC700X and pocket the $3k difference.
I had a 2009 Tmax and loved it, perfect for the city and was great of weekend rides into the countryside.
I gave it to my brother in-law who still rides it and also loves it.
I can’t count how many people offered to buy it from me after they discontinued selling them in the USA.
Now Yamaha has discontinued the Majesty in the USA ??? Another great maxi-scooter.
Very nice, but it doesn’t appear as though Yamaha took Dirk’s advice in reviewing the last model by revising the windscreen, and by making the backrest taller and adjustable.
Come on, Yamaha, pay attention!
Nice! I’ve always wanted one.