OK Mk 4 T Max Owners is the New one worth the money ?

[tmaxrobbo]

Ok So , I have had a Mk 1, 3 Mk 2's and 2 Mk 3 T Max's , and loved them all . Had a short affair with a C600 BMW and didn't Gel with it . I now have a nice 6000 mile Mk 2 that I am thinking of Trading for a New Mk 4 .The thing is , I like the Mk 2's build quality . its reliability , and the chain rear drive .The Mk 4 has a belt rear drive , and a rear puncture looks a lot of work getting the rear wheel out , ok a rare event , but it does . So sell the Mk 4 to me please , any problems ? I guess performance is better , and I love the look . Sold my house this week so have money burning a hole in my Chino's .Should I or not ? Cheers Chaps

[SkuTorr]

I've got a 2009 Tmax MK3, with 16.5gm Dr. Pulley sliders, Pirelli Diablos and full sintered brake pads. With all that it just barely kept up with my brother's 2012 MK4 Tmax 530 in a straight line, but off the line and in the twisties he'd just kill me. He's not THAT much better of a rider, the bike is just that INCREDIBLY BALANCED and RESPONSIVE. We sometimes swap rides on back country jaunts, and every time it just amazes me.

Before our trip through the Sierra Nevada mountains this Spring, we installed the NEW MIVV "Stronger" exhaust.

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Holy CRAP! We thought the claims were too good to be true, but the power went up at LEAST 5 HP, Mileage INCREASED almost 10%, and it's NO LOUDER than stock, just better-sounding. Now he just pulls away from my Tmax, which is QUICKER than a BMW C600 up to 80mph. Next, we do 16gm Dr. Pulley sliders and it will be a ROCKET!

As one reviewer put it, the MK3 handled LIKE a motorcycle but the MK4 WAS a Motorcycle.

[Greyerbeard]

Like the man says - it's a motorcycle with scooter controls. I'm a lifelong motorcyclist with no scootering background, and, now that I've learned to trust it, my cornering speeds are the same as on any bike I've ridden. I'm comfortable on it at 5'11" and there's plenty of room to stretch legs out or have them bent as you choose. The ride is 'stiff', and with little 15" wheels it will never be quite as good as a motorcycle over sharp bumps, but it's still very good.
Max torque is now at 5,250rpm so there's no need thrash it to get acceleration that will leave most cars behind- if you want to. Ridden with the flow on traffic and double-white-line infested British roads, using anticipation and throttle sense instead of constant braking, I'm getting nearly 60mpg (UK gallons, uncorrected mileometer). The speedometer is hopelessly inaccurate, reading about 7mph fast throughout the range - 37 at a true 30.
Rear punctures would be dealt with the same as on any modern bike - with a tubeless repair plug!
The screen was improved with the addition of an MRA X-creen; but actually most of the wind noise seems to come up around the bottom of the legshields - I have found this by riding with my knees stuck out about a foot into the airstream - noise stops! Not a lot you can do about that...
Hope that helps.

[Ferret]

I have ridden a few maxis including the mk4 tmax ,bmw600,burgman also the srv i now own .They all have their strong points but the tmax is still the overall best and it does handle better with more feel .Fit puncture seal in your tyres problem solved .You can easily feel the lesser weight on the tmax .

[tmaxrobbo]

Thank you Guys , I love the T Max Scooters , reckon I will be going to a Mk 4 . Cheers

[MrGrumpy]

Ah yes, an interesting question. As someone who has also had a mk1, 2, 3 and 4 Tmax, here's my views....though nothing is ever straightforward.

Engine wise - the mk4 has a lot more mid range grunt - pulls like a diesel when overtaking people doing 40, much faster in this regard than the mk3, and from standstill - but has no more power at the top end at all. Fuel economy seems utterly unchanged!
The exhaust note is deeper than the chainsaw rattle of the mk3, but still not as good as the mk2s!

Ride - the mk4 rides better- the bounciness of the mk3 at the rear is gone.

Riding position - it seems to me that something subtly changed on the mk4 to give it a little more room - feels more like the mk2. I always felt the mk3's riding position felt odd, with high footboards, though it was never uncomfortable.

Handling - the mk4 is a bit different to the mk3 IMHO. Whilst the mk3 was more sporty - a bit of a wild ride - the mk4 is more planted. It does exactly what you tell it, but its not as responsive as the mk3 somehow. To use that awful term, dumbed down. The mk3 encouraged you to ride it like a sportsbike, whilst the mk4 lets you.

The clocks are quite pretty and work OK. The mirrors work OK, but they stick out a lot, though you can fold the stalks forward and back which is nice. The mk4 screen is better than the abomination of the mk3, though a bit noisy at speed in the higher position. I've put on a MRA vario screen which is OK.

Belt drive. Yes, pointless. Feels no different, and makes things much more awkward to take wheels off. There again, the battery is much easier to access (behind the LH glove compartment) than the mk3 which required around 30 fasteners to be removed.

Overall? The mk4 is mostly better in that it its lost most of the flaws of the older versions. In some ways, if you think of the mk3 as the sportiest version, the mk4 is kind of 'Sports-touring' - slightly softer - in some ways more like the mk2.

Hope that helps

[Funkycowie]

MK3 battery.... so not 30 fasterners.... 16 if you include the terminal bolts

[MrGrumpy]

MK3 battery.... so not 30 fasterners.... 16 if you include the terminal bolts

Well, if I remember correctly, the screen had to come off, with those strange fasteners at the front, and loads of screws or bolts or whatever, and those weird clips at the back that even baffled mechanics, and the mirrors. Then wasn't there that a cover that also had to come off with more fasteners?? Or was there a quicker way? On the mk4, it says to take the screen off, but the battery can be accessed by removing the left hand glovebox.

[SkuTorr]

...the mk4 rides better- the bounciness of the mk3 at the rear is gone.

... it seems to me that something subtly changed on the mk4 to give it a little more room - feels more like the mk2.


...The mk4 screen is better than the abomination of the mk3, though a bit noisy at speed in the higher position. I've put on a MRA vario screen which is OK.

...Belt drive. Yes, pointless. Feels no different, and makes things much more awkward to take wheels off.

Addressing the above points:
1.) the ride position is different, as there is MORE legroom than the MK3 and a different set of handlebars!

2.) the ride improved and the bounciness degreased as the belt drive save 11 POUNDS of unsprung weight on the moving swing arm assembly. That was the rational for the change and it was a HUGE percentage difference. That's not pointless... It's the same reason that Honda changed the rear swing arm on the current Integra scooter from steel to aluminum.

3.) for a windscreen, go with a cut-down GIVI Touring screen. Looks like it belongs on my brother's 530!

Front.jpg

[Funkycowie]

MK3 battery.... so not 30 fasterners.... 16 if you include the terminal bolts

Well, if I remember correctly, the screen had to come off, with those strange fasteners at the front, and loads of screws or bolts or whatever, and those weird clips at the back that even baffled mechanics, and the mirrors. Then wasn't there that a cover that also had to come off with more fasteners?? Or was there a quicker way? On the mk4, it says to take the screen off, but the battery can be accessed by removing the left hand glovebox.

Off the top of my head... Two plastic pop pins for the Y panel, then four nuts, 7 plastic screws for the lower section of the screen, one nut for the clamp that holds the battery and the two for the battery terminals... and a partridge in a pear tree