Xmax400 or Tmax in the city? (general Tmax Qs)

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8500rpm
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Xmax400 or Tmax in the city? (general Tmax Qs)

Post by 8500rpm »

Hello,

I've been on everything from a Honda PCX to Xmax 250s and nowadays on a Xmax 400.

Happy, but I do consider opening the wallet for a new Tmax 2017 :) (the new model).

I've tried to read like crazy on the net, but cannot really understand the following

1) Yes, the Tmax is not as nimble as a Italian 250 or PCX 150 etc... but how does it compare in inner city with a Xmax 400? I've read reviews saying "its wide, not as easy to slice thru traffic"... well, according to the specs (mirrors?) the Xmax 400 is wider than the new Tmax? What abot center of gravity? Weight in traffic? Front fork angle? Sorry long question, but do you think for those who have been on both that the Xmax 400 and Tmax is about the same in the inner city?

2) On the road, I understand the Tmax is faster 50-150km/h... but what about the initial start, say 10-60km/h? Is the Tmax about the same as the Xmax 400 ? slower? faster?

3) Consumption... I've seen numbers ranging from about the same as Xmax 400 and about 20% more... wonder what is real life figures?


I really appriciate if anyone who have been riding both could share some thoughts.


Cheers from Stockholm, Sweden, M

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Re: Xmax400 or Tmax in the city? (general Tmax Qs)

Post by MrGrumpy »

I've never ridden the Xmax 400, so I can't help you too much. As you said, in the City, the Tmax isn't as nimble as something like a Vespa, purely because of its size....it's long and on the wide side, but this really isn't a problem except on extremely crowded roads where you can get a small scoot through very narrow gaps between cars, and its turning circle is much wider than a small one. In more suburban areas, its fine. The Xmax is almost as big as the Tmax, but is more compact than say the Burger 400. Bizarrely the Xmax weighs as much as the Tmax, which always strikes me as crazy.

The Tmax has a very low centre of gravity - possibly even lower than the Xmax given the way the engine is very low slung, so its dead easy to ride even at sub walking speeds. For instance, I used to have a Beverly 350ST which was a bit lighter than the Tmax, but the centre of gravity was far higher, so it felt heavier and could be a bit more awkward than the Tmax, though not really an issue once moving.

Performance wise, as you will have seen, the Tmax has more power than the Xmax for the same weight, so the Tmax is always going to perform better, though to an extent you often find that the biggest performance gains from more power occur at higher speeds - the Tmax will be relatively faster than the Xmax the faster you go, and possibly less so at low speeds. However, the latest version of the Tmax's Ride by Wire throttle really makes it accelerate a LOT faster than previous versions especially from around 40kmh+, so I would not be surprised if the latest Tmax left the Xmax trailing behind, though only a stopwatch will tell.

Fuel economy wise, the test I just read of the Xmax said they did 62mpg, but that was no doubt riding very fast, so a normal person might get rather more. I get around 58mpg out of the Tmax, which is better than on previous versions, but other people normally get rather more than I do (I don't hang around....). -
Hope that helps a little.

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Re: Xmax400 or Tmax in the city? (general Tmax Qs)

Post by SH125Paul »

The Xmax400 has a fat arse... Zorst, twin air filter cases... I got an SH after a couple of years of XMax commuting, but thats to Central London..
From what i see on the road, the T Max is no wider...
From a brief ride on a Mk? T Max ( Thanks to Funkie :D ) the Tmax is just a little longer feeling in the seating position, arse to bars, and propper feet forward option, although specs may show it is not really any longer, and may have similar wheel base...
If ya got the dosh, and like the XMax400, the exrra torque, power, parrallel twin etc. of a T Max aint gonna disapoint..

Cant wait fir it to warm up a little and the XMax400 can come back out to plsy at weekends...
Will be off to Exel on fri on the XMax with my Daughter, weather permitting...

TMax... They propper clear off... Simples

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Funkycowie
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Re: Xmax400 or Tmax in the city? (general Tmax Qs)

Post by Funkycowie »

3
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Past Bikes: Piaggio B125, Gilera Nexus 500, TMax MK3 in White, TMax MK3 in Yellow, TMax MK3 in Yellow, Honda NC750x in Blue...

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Re: Xmax400 or Tmax in the city? (general Tmax Qs)

Post by all-four-inches »

I moved from a Tmax 530 to a Peugeot Django 150 and here are my thoughts (all inner city riding):

1) Tmax is defo wider, heavier (220kg vs 140kg!) and more cumbersome in inner city, without question. infact i much prefer the django over the tmax within the city, its just way more practical and useful.

2) Tmax is faster, both in accelerating and top end. No surprise, performance wise it will not disappoint.

3) At lower speeds and dipping in and out of traffic the Django will outperform and leave the tmax behind, just because it is way smaller and lighter and can turn quicker. The tmax will shine in more open roads, however that all said, the tmax has much more confidence in taking faster corners, it handles like a proper top end bike.

4) i only managed to top out at around 44mpg on the tmax in inner city, never higher than that unless you are gonna be hitting open roads. The django so far gets between 70-80mpg, but i am still in the run-in period so this is likely to improve.

5) The tmax has amazing weather protection vs my Django which almost feels like a naked bike! (a leg cover should fix this though, i have no screen on the django yet).

If the only real question here is xmax400 vs tmax within inner city riding, there is absolutely no reason to fork out almost double for the tmax. However, i think you and i both know your mind (or rather your heart!) has already been made up ;) . as the xmax is similar in dimensions and weight to the new tmax, you may aswell get it, its certainly more exciting!

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Re: Xmax400 or Tmax in the city? (general Tmax Qs)

Post by Symcity »

Just do it - get yerself a land rover 90 defender

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Re: Xmax400 or Tmax in the city? (general Tmax Qs)

Post by 8500rpm »

Thank you all for your replies... so in short I read... the Tmax is about as 'nimble' and agile as the XMax 400, it's just more expensive and sits better on open roads.

So all in all for my suburban commuting, getting the Tmax will put a whole in my wallet, I will have more fun going to work and I will be as 'clumsy' as I am today on my Xmax 400.

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Re: Xmax400 or Tmax in the city? (general Tmax Qs)

Post by MrGrumpy »

As ever it depends on your riding. You wouldn't bother with a Tmax if you only rode in congested city centres as it would be wildly over specced and too big. Its probably over a bit over specced for suburban roads, though the rapid acceleration of the new version makes it brilliant weapon if you want to carve round traffic. The Tmax of course shows it's greatest advantage on open roads where its superb performance and handling can be exploited, especially where the roads aren't brilliantly surfaced - which is where conventional swinging engine scoots (including Xmax) begin to be a struggle. The brilliance of maxi-scoots is that do a very wide range of things well - you can fight through the traffic and cruise the outside lane of the motorway equally well in most, though of course each has its own qualities. If you are mostly in urban /suburban area, then a Tmax might be overkill, and even an Xmax 400 is a lot cheaper. There again, if you rarely leave town, then a 300 scoot will probably do the job just as well!

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Re: Xmax400 or Tmax in the city? (general Tmax Qs)

Post by tmaxrobbo »

Being Tall at 6 foot 6 or so I find the T Max one of the few scooters that "Fits" me . Feet forward its so comfortable . As per Mr Grumpy love its instant get up and go . Only faster off the line scooter I have tried is the E Scooter from BMW . That Flies !! but a range of 50 miles ruled it out for me though it was as roomy as a T Max if a lot heavier. The X Max is far too small for me though I like the look . I've had all Mk's of T Max and reckon the new one is the best of the lot

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Re: Xmax400 or Tmax in the city? (general Tmax Qs)

Post by 8500rpm »

I guess the Tmax will be a little overspecced for me, but you only live once so I might as well go for it.

50% of my commute is 70-90km/h, I rarely go on the motorway, inner city is maybe only 10% and the 40% is slow moving traffic 30-60km/h...

So yes, even a Xmax250 is enough for me, but it sounds like I will love the 50% part of my commute so much more on the Tmax :)

I was afraid that the Tmax would be less agile and fell too big/clumsy compared to the Xmax400 but sounds like they are on equal levels there.

I know the weight is the same (almost) but was wondering if the angle of the front fork was more relaxed on the Tmax and therefore make it a slower turner. (Doesn't a steeper front fork rake make the scoot more agile, but more nervous at high speeds).

You mention the new Tmax has better acceleration than the old, why is that, I don't see why a new 'Ride by wire' throttle system would make it faster?

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