Yamaha has updated its NMAX 125cc scooter — and although, unlike the funky Tricity, you need a motorcycle licence to ride it, it’s worth sitting the test for.
Power for the NMAX comes courtesy of a new 125cc single cylinder motor into which Yamaha has put plenty of thought, adapting it with the efficient Blue Core technology.
That means the little 4-stroke is the company’s first scooter engine to feature a 4-valve cylinder head, along with a newly developed variable valve actuation that is essentially the same as variable valve timing on a car.
The little engine reputedly puts out only 8.9kW (12hp) but it still manages to push the lightweight scoot up to the highway limit.
Styling has received an update, with a sporty new aerodynamic look setting it apart from the faux-Vespas of the world.
Picture/Mathieu Day, BRM.co.nz
It is available in Frozen Titanium or Power Red.
The headlights light up with a white glow instead of the old yellow tinge, giving off a sense of class.
In fact, the whole NMAX build exudes quality.
The plastics don’t flex when you apply pressure, there are no rattles from the engine (although my test bike had yet to get through its run-in period), and the simple gauge cluster has all the important info on display and is easy to read.
However, the biggest development for the wee scooter involves the braking. For once, we can thank the tough Euro emissions schemes for something useful, as from next year all Euro4 bikes will also have to have ABS standard.
Yamaha is a big player in Europe and has fitted the NMAX with ABS.
The results are phenomenal for a scooter. Gripping the rear brake hard on a scooter normally means the rear wheel locks up and you go into a skid.
It’s fun, for a while, but can get you into some serious trouble in the wet if you have to stop in a hurry.
Picture/Mathieu Day, BRM.co.nz
Barrelling along SH1B on my way to Cambridge, I grabbed a handful of rear brake after leaving it a little late to turn off the highway. Almost immediately the lever started to fight me as the ABS kicked in and prevented the rear wheel locking up.
It comes in quickly on the rear brake which, as it happens, is a 230mm disc with a single piston caliper mirroring the brake set-up at the front.
On the front wheel it feels like it comes in a little later, there being much less weight over the front wheel, which not only has your weight sitting nearly on top of it, but also the engine’s weight.
After filling up the new NMAX with its first tank of fuel, I hit the open road and made my way along the Hauraki Plains on my daily commute from one small Waikato town to another.
Yamaha pitches the NMAX as an urban congestion buster and not really as an open-road tourer.
Initially I thought I might be in for more of an adventure than my 75km commute normally throws up as on the long straights the NMAX at first didn’t want to top 84 km/h.
But as the kilometres rolled by and the engine began to free up, and the NMAX started to reach higher and higher top speeds (sometimes with the help of a downhill segment and my efforts to streamline myself behind the fairing) until finally I celebrated as 105km/h appeared on the big digital display.
This might not sound like a particularly high top speed, but remember this is all thanks to a tiny 125cc motor attached to an automatic gearbox.
The dash, while seeming straightforward with its big speedo taking up most of the space, has a few tricks up its sleeve, with not only two trip meters for regular rides, but also an oil and V-Belt (that’s part of the transmission) trip meter for aiding in servicing intervals as well as fuel economy readings.
Picture/Mathieu Day, BRM.co.nz
Riding along the highway at full throttle to maintain 100 km/h, the fuel economy readout would indicate around 23km for a litre of fuel used.
This translates to 3.9 litres for 100km, and I’d expect to see that improve as the NMAX is properly run in.
In town, where the NMAX is designed to spend most of its time, you’re likely to see more than double that economy with readings of higher than 50km a litre showing as I pottered about Cambridge running errands.
With the 6.6 litre fuel tank full that would give you over 300km of range in town. That’s frugal motoring.
As for all good scooters, there is a large storage container under the seat, which can fit a full-sized helmet, or a few grocery essentials.
The NMAX has been a surprise. Although I normally wouldn’t consider riding a tiny engined scoot for my highway commute, I know which bike from the test fleet I’ll be riding home again tonight, and it’s not going to be the gas-guzzling 1000cc sports bike.
YAMAHA NMAX SCOOTER
ENGINE: 125cc 4-valve single cylinder
WEIGHT: 127kg ready to ride
PRO - Well built, ABS and fantastic brakes, easy to ride, good fuel economy around town
CON - Requires a motorcycle licence to ride