Dirck testing the 2015 TMAX.
Our favorite, large displacement (in this case, 530cc) scooter is the Yamaha TMAX. We tested the current model, and were once again impressed by its performance, handling and practicality. Well, all indications point to introduction of a redesigned TMAX next week at the EICMA show.
We are not sure what is going to change, although the brief teaser video below makes it clear that styling will be new … including a new front fairing and headlights. The TMAX, of course, has developed quite a following, and is known for its high performance capabilities within the scooter category. Perhaps, Yamaha will take things up a notch. Stay tuned for our report from EICMA next week.
Current TMAX model.
See more of MD’s great photography:
http://global.yamaha-motor.com/news/2016/1108/tmax.html
I have 7 bikes and 2 maxi-scoots.. I ride in NJ/NYC metro area and commute to Philly on the wknds.
Can’t beat a used $2k Burgman 650 that has low mileage. Even though TMax may be interesting.
I have 4 bikes and 3 maxi-scooters. Any more the bikes hardly ever get ridden because the scooters are just so darn much fun to ride and simpler too + can carry more stuff with seat under storage + topcase. I ride my Piaggio MP3 all over the West getting 65 mpg cruising @ 65-75 mph. It will do 90 mph if needed Also have 250 MP3 for local runs, & Aprilia 500GT for long distance 2up w/saddlebags/topcase. Not having to shift in town is really nice.
My biggest MP3 is a 400 and both my MP3s have car radial tires on the back, called going to the ‘Darkside’. This is done to save $ and have tires that last longer than regular scooter tires.
What does that do to the handling?
Cornering feels a little different but after awhile it feels normal. Car tire gives you a smoother ride and stopping seems faster. I only run 30 psi or the tread will wear faster in the center on both scooters.
Can I shift gears? Yes. Does it add to my riding pleasure? No
I currently ride a 2012 Burgman 400. It is the best bike that I have ever owned.
I did a demo on a 2009 Tmax. It was awesome but if Yamaha USA continues to import only non ABS bikes then I will never have one in my garage.
I still say more scooters would be sold if they came with hydraulic valves. This is what the younger people see in cars; low maintenance.
Actually, I think they see that they can’t fall off of a car.
Haven’t seen any hydraulic valves in cars except for old-style V8s. All the OHC engines use shims in buckets or screw/locknut fasteners (esp. Honda). Biggest resistance of any demographic to scooters is the total cost of ownership compared to days of usability and convenience; higher than motorcycles and much higher than autos.
How it the TCO or “days of usability” higher, or convenience lower, on scooters than motorcycles? I ask that as someone who has owned quite a few of each — and not seen what you describe. I’ve seen some truly horrible, bordering on unserviceable, motorcycle designs. Scooters generally seem simple by comparison.
Sorry for the correction: “hydraulically adjusted valve lash clearance.”
The reason I might disagree with your sentiment is the benefit of checking clearance on manually adjusted valve lash clearance is highly over rated. IMO the OEM interval is more to appease emissions regulators and less to insure proper and safe motor operation.
I’ve ridden a few scooters in my life, mostly just rented mules of the GY-6 variety plus a borrowed small frame Vespa, and while I much prefer having something to do with my left foot, I totally get the appeal of scooters. I would very much like to try the TMAX just to see what a maxi-scooter is like.
I would like to see Yamaha introduce the XMax 300 in the US. A 27HP scooter that would be perfect for the urban environment. I’ve owned Burgmans, Majesty, and Silverwings. I love them as commuter vehicles. Why do you need a tank between your legs in bumper to bumper traffic. Hell why do you need a car to do 30 MPH during a commute time? I like maxi scooters because they’re twist and go, have better weather protection, storage, and are fun.
“Hell why do you need a car to do 30 MPH during a commute time?”
Heat, A/C and weather protection, seat belt, airbags and crash cage?
Jeez Jeremy, you’ve never lived in the dark recesses of a padded cell before, what the hell happened?
I lived in Houston, TX for 8 years. Spend some time trying to commute through some of the worst rush hour traffic in the US during the summer months on two wheels, and a padded cell is certainly in your future!
Another vote for the X-Max 300. Honda’s Forza 300 and KYMCO’S Downtown 300 both lack leg room, Piaggio’s BV 350 is nice but mine has been unreliable and Vespas come with that Vespa price. Save us Yamaha.
Shame about your BV350. Mine has been 100% reliable in 6K miles.
I have owned a Burgman 650 and a Honda Silverwing, and maxi-scooters are a blast. I have always wanted a t-max but they were always sold out.
Now Honda puts the DCT on motorcycles almost anything can come with a twist and go throttle. As I get older, and more disabled than I already am, I look forward to the bikes that I can keep on riding. T-Max may be one in my future.
I haven’t ridden the T-Max, have only ridden a Burgman as far as maxi scooters go. They’re fun, would make a great commuter, but probably won’t replace any bikes for a decade or so. As I get older and swinging a leg over a bike becomes more of a challenge, I’ll evolve. It will be hard to get past not shifting, not that I’m love with it, but it’s habit forming.
Unlike most of the negative experts here, I actually own a 09 TMAX. Now I may not be unbiased but I’ve owned 25+ bikes over the years. I LOL at experts who’ve not even rode one, much less even sat on one. I ride in a urban/metropolitan environment and the TMAX is a scalpel on rails, it turns me into a hooligan. I never end a ride that I don’t look back at the TMAX and marvel at it’s handling, speed and comfort. The “no gears/no fun” crowd just don’t get it as I’ve found I don’t miss shifting at all. Many cruiser riders, on their lumpity lumpity lumpity behemoths have been stunned at that phat old dog, who’s smoked them off the line or blown by them on the road. If the TMAX is approached with an open mind, it’s amazing. On the other hand, if you’ve got insecurities, perhaps you should stay on the porch with the hounds and children.
I had a couple of hours a first gen TMAX shop lend bike around 1995, and I was thoroughly impressed then; especially the windscreen at HWY speed for stability and wind protection.
It could have only improved in those 20 years of development.
I have heard that the Tmax is one of the sportiest scoots, but to turn someone into a Hooligan.. Now that is saying something.. Coolio!
I’m gonna have to try one of these now..
Hot Dog, you are right on the money! I have an ’06 Triumph Sprint ST 1050 and a Piaggio BV350 mid size scooter. I’ve put over 47K miles on the Sprint and I love it. But if I had to choose between the two it would be the Piaggio. Yup, it is that good!
I have two buddies that have the BMW C650GT scooter, and like the TMAX, they are monster machines. I love da scoots!!!
A good cvt like the one found in my Piaggio (wet clutch, instant pick up, no lag) absolutely rule in the twisties. You’re always in the meat of the power band so I just concentrate on looking through my next turn. I ride the same twisty routes on my Sprint and go no quicker on it than I do on the Piaggio. And in some cases I’m a bit quicker through the turns with the scoot! I’m a good rider, not great, but good. The Piaggio is really quick off the line too!
Yup, mid/maxi scoots are where it’s at!!
mah knees are tremblin with excitement. not!
There’s something just wrong about not having your legs wrapped around the bike, to keep you on it, and to keep it under control. Without that, you’re just sitting on it and to me, it feels like being naked and vulnerable. I suppose I could get used to it over time, but ewwww no, thanks.
I had a 2009 Tmax and loved it. One reason why this scooter is so good, it has a frame mounted engine, as opposed to it being mounted to the swing arm. It sort of has a little sport bike DNA in it.
Yamaha should drop their 3 cylinder from the FZ09 in this scooter.
Honda coming out with the X adv . Now scooter wars ! Lots of market share with all us boomers getting slower and weaker ! THe T Max is the Hot Rod Scoot ! Looking forward to seeing and trying it……
Yea, but the Honda fails in one key area IMO. Storage. Storage is one of the hallmarks for a scooter and the ADV-X only has room for a single helmet and nothing else.
Plus the price is going to be obscene. In Europe, the Integra (which the ADV-X is based on) costs more than the NC700X! I expect similar pricing here.
Test rode a TMax this summer. Wow. Impossible to do the speed limit on the thing. Everytime I looked down I was seriously speeding lol.
It is alleged that there will be 2 models. A “DX” touring model and an “SX” sporting model.
As a former owner of a Honda Silverwing 600, these things are a blast. In fact my decision to try a large scooter was based on a favourable review by Daily Motorcycle. Its like a motorized lazy Boy.
Jeremy, try one and you’ll see for yourself.
I wish Yamaha would put its triple 900 in this scooter (I now have a XSR900).
I put about 600 miles on a Burgman once. Not the biggest one – I think it was a 400cc maybe?
Anyway, I didn’t really enjoy it much. It was comfortable. It was practical (as practical as two wheels gets anyway.) It was capable. It was also a bore. Just not my cup of tea.
I had a Burgman 400 for a couple of years and, from what I’ve read, the TMax is a totally different riding experience. The one thing I really liked about the Burgman is the complete absence of engine heat (great, when you live in Laredo).
No gears = no fun.
Amen brother!
” No gears = no fun.”
A manual transmission is an unnecessary distraction from the riding experience. When someone sorts out cvt’s (or some sort of auto) properly, hopefully we’ll move on from click-boxes, the way all other motorsports have.
How terribly boring. I hope not.
So do you guys commute in the urban environment..? Too many traffic lights on my commute, is what got me onto my original Silverwing, I’m currently on the big Burgman – it really is the way to ride ‘in town’. Of course you can use the same arguments for driving an ‘auto’ also; and in cars, their manufacturers are starting to lose interest in manuals…
Ian
Yes, I commute daily / year round on my motorcycle to San Francisco. I enjoy the gears and am glad I have them. My wife has a car, a GTI with a manual that she thoroughly enjoys. I have a number of other classic vehicles and motorcycles. We’ve never owned anything with an automatic in our lives (I did have some random Honda and Yamaha scooters years ago trying to replace my stolen Vespa – if that counts). I don’t see what the fuss is about or why anyone would be afraid to learn how to shift gears. We are not inconvenienced by having a manual transmission, we feel it adds greatly to the enjoyment and engagement of driving and gives us more control over our vehicles.
I’ve never understood why someone would buy an automatic.
Todd in the U.S. 95% of the cars sold are automatics. Most people evidently don’t like to work a clutch and shift while driving. It WILL eventually go that way with motorcycles too.
Go to a high school, maybe a college even, and ask how many of those kids have ever driven anything with a stick in their lives. It’s probable that 98% or more will say no. They have just never been exposed to it, so the concept will seem foreign to them.They would wonder why anyone would want to ever do that dance.
That said I enjoy both. I like running thru the gears and I like gas and go. One carries no more weight than the other with me. Since you’ve never owned anything with an automatic in your life (your words) you haven’t expereinced the simplicity of gas and go.
I know the TMAX is the king of scoots, but I just can’t get excited about this.
Yeah, it’s like getting excited about a Gold Wing, or a cruiser. Just not happening for me.
As I get older I’m appreciating more and more an upright riding position (knee and back pain) and protection from elements (feeling more the cold winds and rain). Lean angles are not what they used to be either.
Having more than one vehicle (a car in my case) is also starting to seem like a nuisance (more $$ and time for insurance, maintenance etc.) so a scooter (and the inevitable “I don’t give a damn for style” one-piece ‘Stich) replacing them starts to sound like a logical option, as much as I’d dream riding a superbike through winding roads everyday.
Putting in another way: in the future I’ll probably be riding either a capable scooter or a cruiser. The ‘Max seems both more practical and fun.