2012 Yamaha YP250 X-Max review

[Deleted User 5578]

Hello everyone,

I struggled to find a comprehensive review on this bike before I bought one - so I'm going to put that right !

Background
My X-Max is my 20th bike. I've been riding since 1994, covered about 25,000 miles and had bikes ranging from a TZR125 to a Blackbird. My scooter history is a 2000 Yamaha Majesty, a 2002 Burgman 400 and a 2013 Honda Forza 300. I wanted a scooter to do my 50 mile round trip commute - approx. 60% motorway, 30% A roads and 10% B-roads. I decided on a scooter for ease of use, load carrying capacity and queue beating ability. I researched everything from a PCX125 to a Silverwing 600. I decided on the X-Max because I thought it would provide the best balance of performance, reliability and fuel economy.

My X-Max
My X-Max is an early 2012. It's done about 5000 miles and cost £2150. It's standard apart from a rack and top box (which I've removed because the underseat storage has proved to be sufficient) and leg shields which extend the width of the bodywork at boot level by about 25mm a side (from a previous owner).

How I ride
I ride for good fuel economy and mechanical sympathy ! No full throttle starts - apart from those required to get away from the front of a queue of traffic. 65 mph on the motorway feels like the engine is in its sweet spot(about 6250 rpm - red line at 8500), 50 mph on A roads and 30/40 on those limits. Always try to maintain progress so corner briskly and plan ahead to avoid stopping. The 50 mile round trip takes about 80 minutes.

Ok - there's the background - here's the good stuff.....

Engine
The engine is never going to amaze and excite anyone. It sounds like it's struggling when you set off and it sounds agricultural at any speed. However - when called upon it is surprisingly fast - in 1600 miles I'm yet to be beaten away from the lights. As soon as the lights change, you're off - cars and other vehicles are still letting the clutch out ! Max speed I would guess is just over 80, but as I say, I want this bike to cost the minimum to maintain, so I treat her gently ! From what I read, the engine hasn't been developed much since the old Majesty days, however I think it's just as fast as the Forza 300 which was my last scooter (less power but less weight too).

Suspension and handling
Like many scooters, the suspension is pretty crude. It doesn't like rutted or pot-holed roads (which we have plenty of in Yorkshire !!) but once on the motorway or A-roads it's smooth and comfortable. Having a heavy load doesn't make any difference to ride quality. You just learn to ride around the limits of the suspension.

The handling is very, very good for a scooter. Because it's light, the scooter changes direction really quickly - it's by far the best bike I've ever had at cutting through traffic. It's a joy making rapid progress when car drivers are crawling or stuck in a queue. At higher speeds, it's stable and feels secure when leaned over. You can definitely surprise some car drivers on this bike !

Looks and bodywork
I like the look of this scooter. Don't get me wrong, it's no MV Agusta F4 - but it's sleek and slim compared to some of the bigger scooters. It would look better still if both headlights came on at once ! The load carrying capacity is EXCELLENT. Two areas under the seat and a useful glovebox make this scooter really useful. It swallows my laptop bag, gym gear and the rest with ease. Definitely a better shape than the Forza boot for my gear ! The seating position is ok (I'm 6 ft tall and in my winter gear, I've got about 10cm clearance between my knees and the glovebox). I wish Yamaha had used more of the seat for the rider rather than the passenger though - the higher level foot boards are useless for me. The screen is not great either - a lot of buffeting. I'm going to buy a new screen in the near future.

The best bit !
88 miles per gallon average over 1600 miles (calculated on Fuelly.com). Exactly what I wanted ! Range is about 155 miles before I'm looking for a petrol station. She would probably do about 185 to empty - 200 would have given me an extra day's commute without stopping for petrol which would have been appreciated.

In summary
I would definitely recommend this scooter - it's the best scooter I've ever had and does exactly what I wanted it to do. It's never let me down in any way and it still scrubs up and looks good. A better screen, more leg room and a few more miles in the tank would be an improvement - but as a package it really is an excellent bike. I made the right decision (for my journey and type of riding). Any questions, let me know ! One final note - the best purchase for the scooter I've made - some bar muffs. I know - snigger, snigger - but they have kept my hands warm for £25 !

Safe riding all ! Hope it's been useful.

[muddyfox]

Thanks for the review. I own a 2014 model and agree with all you say especially the headlights. Fairly certain there's a posting on the forum somewhere that shows how to get both headlights on together. I'm only 5foot 7inch and a 30inch inside leg. The wide and comfortable seat causes me to be on tiptoes at standstill but I still feel well balanced.
With regards the buffering from the screen I too found this unacceptable and after reading another Muppets review of the sports screen went along this route. As contradictory as this sounds, no pun intended, the small screen is the better option.
Link to sports screen review :-
http://www.maxi-muppets.co.uk/forum/vie ... 12&t=20013

[Globs]

Good stuff!

Your clutch may prefer full throttle starts to prevent glazing.
In addition; after some speed is gained I usually throttle back a little to allow the clutch to stop (static friction > dynamic friction) - you can hear the engine revs set when this happens - and then accelerate harder again as required.

[MrGrumpy]

Your review does sound remarkably reminiscient of my old 1999 Majesty 250. One suspects that X-max isn't that different to what went before! However, you do get better economy than I did.

[Deleted User 5375]

Some useful info there in the review, thanks for that - looks like you got it for a good price and 88mpg is good. I only get 65 from my '12 x-max 250, but that's almost all round town, so is probably reasonable enough. Agree with the buffeting from the screen - I'll be looking at an alternative screen at some point as that'd make a big difference.

[stollie]

I have a 1998 yp250 which is under rebuild. I like the look of the xmax and if in New Zeakand we could get the xmax i think i would. Next scoot i might get is a pcx150 honda. Done lots of investigation and they sound a awesome comuter.

[muddyfox]

JonnyC link for my screen http://www.maxi-muppets.co.uk/forum/vie ... 12&t=20013
Recent run to coast saw a return of 91.9 mpg over 187.2 miles.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/x768q7c4klrwj ... e.jpg?dl=0

[Deleted User 5375]

Cheers Muddyfox - that screen looks good in the pic, I'll check it out. 91 mpg sounds brilliant ....I've a round trip of 100 miles or so I regularly do in the car - I'll take the xmax on that one day and see what mpg I get .....

[Deleted User 5375]

Decided to check out the mpg and took x-max on 108 (mostly motorway) mile round trip yesterday evening. Got almost bang on 90mpg - really impressed with that.

[muddyfox]

JohnnyC don't forget to facture in the enjoyment of traveling by scooter to your fuel consumption.