Yamaha have added to their innovative 'MAX' scooter range with a new Yamaha X-Max 400 model. This all-new maxi-scooter is built to the same high levels of performance, quality and design as the, now ionic, T-Max. The T-Max turned the world of the automatic motorcycle upside down fifteen years ago with its high levels of comfort, power and handling.
All of a sudden we had a superscooter that actually handled well. Steve Parrish of BBC’s Moto GP program rides one. Roland Sands, the special builder from the US has chopped and customized a number of them a number of big bike riders walk past the ‘big bike’ each day to ride the automatic ‘Max to the office.
The new machine has been designed and developed entirely in Europe where the Japanese giant that is Yamaha know the machine sells best. At first glance the bike looks great and is well finished. The seat is deep and comfortable with a cavernous underseat storage bin that will comfortably hold a pair of full-face helmets.
The bodywork is sleek and the LED lights on the front and rear ensure that this is one machine that won’t look outdated anytime soon. The clocks are big, car like and easy to read analogue units with all the secondary pertinent information displayed on digital screens in between the rev counter and the speedometer.
The brakes are twin discs on the front and a single disc on the rear. The gearing is revised to offer better acceleration and better roll on acceleration for those all-important overtakes. The new bike has been primarily designed for use in urban environments, but with 34 NM of torque it won’t struggle on longer rides. The acceleration on the new Yamaha X-Max 400 is quite surprising for a super scooter of its size. Indeed it feels lighter, narrower and faster than anything similar.
