A blast from the past

[mrklyk]

Hi all,
Some of the older members may remember me but it has been so long since I was a regular member of the forum that I thought I'd introduce myself again and update you on my goings-on the past few years.
So here goes:
I live in SW London and used to be a happy-go lucky X-Max 125 rider as soon as 6 years ago. I loved the XMax! It looked good, had masses of underseat space, super-reliable and happily used it for my small commute and for rides into the city with my bride-to-be as pillion. (sigh... those were the days!)
Then life changed... I got married, within a year we had a beautiful daughter and I had a new 30mile round trip commute (half of it on motorway). 125ccs were too few for the commute so the XMax had to go. Since the baby meant that the leisurely rides in the city were over, I thought I'd go less on looks and more on features for the new one. So, being a Yamaha fan, I went for the big-wheels and presumed stability of the X-city 250, which 6 years later is still with me and going strong.
I ll write a piece on the Reviews page for the X-city, but in a nutshell, I like: Super-reliable, not a single issue in 6 years, but have to admit that there was a hiatus of 3-4 yrs where it was not used too much as my commute changed again so only 15K on the clock; great agility in traffic; fits a laptop bag nicely under the seat; frugal; I dont like: weak brakes; not great stability at high speed (over 70); stupid fuel tank that wont fill to the top.
So why are you back you heartless bastard after forgetting us for so long, I hear you say....
It is true that I cant devote much time to forums anymore... Two kids now, 5 and 2.5 yrs old, and a busy job have made sure I dont do anything is remotely fun or relaxing any more (but at least the kids are cute). Most days I just get home just in time for the duo to be bathed and put to bed, then help with the cooking and household chores and drag myself into bed for a 6am start all over again.

To be honest, I need some advice and help so here I am. It is back to the 30 mile round trip commute (half on motorway), and I feel that at 6 yrs it is time for a change for the X-City. I saw an Integra the other day in my company car park and I just had to investigate! It looks good, but I have trouble convincing myself that I need it, sounds way too big an engine for my commute and am worried it will not be heavy for filtering through stationary traffic. Also it is damn expensive! But maybe I am having a mid life crisis and maybe this will help with it....
I would very much welcome your suggestions on alternatives. Criteria in order of importance:
1) ABS - not buying anything without it, especially given the X-City brakes I had to live with
2) >250ccs and stable in the motorway yet agile in traffic
3) good storage and weather protection
4) pretty (although that is quite subjective)...

Thank you in advance
Mrklyk

[Liam]

Hi mrklyk.
Requiring abs will reduce your options quite a bit,, so no Tmax unless you want to spend a fortune on a new one.

Burgman 400 ? That seems to be a popular all rounder for economy, storage etc.

Personally, not as pretty as any of the 4 models of Tmax though

[gn2]

Hi, the three scooters that stick out are the Honda Forza, Kymco Downtown and Sym Joymax.
All three tick all your four boxes and are priced similarly between £4300 and £4600
The Honda has much longer service intervals of 8000 miles which I believe is double the others.
Another option is the Daelim S3 Advance 250, its a good bit cheaper at just £3300 but sadly doesn't have ABS.

[johnp]

Hello again

[neilab28]

Welcome

I have to agree with the post below

Hi, the three scooters that stick out are the Honda Forza, Kymco Downtown and Sym Joymax.
All three tick all your four boxes and are priced similarly between £4300 and £4600
The Honda has much longer service intervals of 8000 miles which I believe is double the others.
Another option is the Daelim S3 Advance 250, its a good bit cheaper at just £3300 but sadly doesn't have ABS.

[VOZZA]

Hi Mrklyk and welcome.

[StephenC]

Hiya.

You need a J300. Much quicker than than the Xcity, not so big as the 400-500 bikes.

Unfortunately most others in the 250 to 300 class are much slower. The Kymco is good, the J300 is better.

[gn2]

Can you get a J300 in white with ABS?
That'll be no and no which is why the Downtown is a safer bet
Better looking too.

[mrklyk]

Hi, the three scooters that stick out are the Honda Forza, Kymco Downtown and Sym Joymax.
All three tick all your four boxes and are priced similarly between £4300 and £4600
The Honda has much longer service intervals of 8000 miles which I believe is double the others.
Another option is the Daelim S3 Advance 250, its a good bit cheaper at just £3300 but sadly doesn't have ABS.

Thank you all for the warm welcome and the suggestions!

The Forza certainly looks like it ticks the boxes. I had a look online and I do like the underseat storage. looks like you may not need a topbox with that one.

gn2 - looking at the pictures, it seems that the screen is very short - does it provide any decent weather/wind protection? I am 6 foot 3 and even with the large X-city screen I have to duck on the motorway.
But I guess there must be some taller screens available too, right?


By the way I went yesterday to a Honda dealer to test ride an Integra. However, they messed up and didnt have one for me to try. So they gave me an NC750S claiming that since it has the same platform it would feel the same.
Well it didnt feel like a scooter, thats for sure...
I found the DCT very jerky from stationary but I guess you get used to it after I while. Biggest problem was the seating position and the weight. I am not a motorcycle rider and I found that I was leaning forward too much compared to the scooter and putting weight on my arms. Also, at very low speeds - which I face in traffic all the time, the bike felt much heavier than my scooter.
So, I think I ll just leave the NCs, and avoid arguments at home too...

They do look good and the engine noise and pull is great though

I think I will be inspecting a Forza next

[mrklyk]

Hiya.

You need a J300. Much quicker than than the Xcity, not so big as the 400-500 bikes.

Unfortunately most others in the 250 to 300 class are much slower. The Kymco is good, the J300 is better.

oooo - the J300 looks nice too! and ticks the boxes!

I ll certainly be looking into that too.
thanks Stephen