TMAX 530 test ride

[DougL]

Hmm. Wasn't out to have one, but went into my local scooter dealer to do something else and they were really busy so got handed a helmet off the shelf (new) and the keys to a 530 TMAX. "Go take that for a spin, I'm very busy, come back in twenty minutes"

That was unexpected. The Mk4 TMAX is a great scooter. Not as planted or as fast as a BMW, but truly a great scooter. Once again, if they imported it into the UK with ABS, I'd buy one in a heartbeat...

[johnp]

But would you swap it for the Beemer.

[DougL]

At the moment? No. If it had ABS I'd consider it, but again probably not.

[MrGrumpy]

Hmm. Wasn't out to have one, but went into my local scooter dealer to do something else and they were really busy so got handed a helmet off the shelf (new) and the keys to a 530 TMAX. "Go take that for a spin, I'm very busy, come back in twenty minutes"

That was unexpected. The Mk4 TMAX is a great scooter. Not as planted or as fast as a BMW, but truly a great scooter. Once again, if they imported it into the UK with ABS, I'd buy one in a heartbeat...

Bloody hell - getting any sort of demo ride on a non-BMW maxi - even if you want to buy one - is normally a near impossibility!!!! They must like you....or maybe see that you are loaded and that they can extract a lot of it from you!

As for the Tmax....not as planted as BMW...Hmmm. Possibly not - though there again, the mk4 is more planted than the mk3, but to an extent, thats maybe the downside of the mk4 compared to the mk3. The mk4 has been made generally softer and more user friendly, which is good, but the handling isn't quite as responsive as the mk3's. The mk3 was in everything very sporty, a bit bouncy, but good fun. The mk4 is utterly stable - you can pull any lean angle you like and it'll just stay there quite unflustered, but the mk3's slightly wilder ride was slightly more engaging, though when after my c600 testride I compared it to the mk3, I said that the TMax was more fluid.
I hasten to add that these differences between mk3 & 4 are relatively minor, just a matter of impressions.

[DougL]

The dealer is Scooterden on Kingsland Rd if anyone in the London area fancies a test ride. I am sure they were trying to extract coin from my wallet. I am sure the planted feeling is almost all due to the BMW being much heavier than the Yamaha.

[SkuTorr]

My brother and I did test rides of the C650Gt and the C600Sport and compared them to our 2009 Mk3 Tmaxes with 16.5gm Dr. Pulleys and GIVI Airflo Windscreens.

BMW's were a bit heavy, brakes weren't even CLOSE to ours (we had upgraded to HH Sintered on our Tmaxes like the BMW supposedly has OEM), they planted well through corners but not as responsive and AGILE as our Tmaxes. C600 was better than the C650..must be the Diablos. BMW clutch was FUNKY and our Tmaxes ate them off the line...

At 90mph + on the freeway the C650GT finally would pull ahead of the Tmaxes; too much wind resistance. PLOWS though the air as the Tmax with the Airflo SLIPS through. C600 was faster after 80 mph. C600 adjustable windscreen was a PAIN, had to pull over and stop to adjust; we can adjust our GIVI's on the FLY at 50 mph and below...(at 80 my brother's blew OFF when he was adjusting it up, and he CAUGHT it in his left hand...)

All-in-all we were quite disappointed, as the BMW's are ONLY real alternative to what we ride now. No new Tmax, Honda Integra or Aprilia SRV850 are sold here.
CANADA has the new Tmax 530. Canada...Oh, and healthcare and a stable banking/real estate market.

[MrGrumpy]

I think that you've come to the same conclusions about the BMWs as I did, when comparing to the TMax (though I haven't ridden the C650). Its not that the Beemers aren't good, they just don't seem to be significantly better than the TMax, which you think they ought to.

There again, the Tmax mk3 was rather sluggardly off the line, so after market variators/ rollers etc did make a big difference....and don't mention the screen!

[SkuTorr]

Stock screen WAS Crap...I made a Sport Screen out of it...

[stollie]

In New Zealand we only have the 500 Tmax but we have the 850 Aprilia and the Bmw maxi scooters. Like your family sku-torr.

[Taipan]

I saw my first 530 on Friday. I followed it out of the city. Very nice looking scoot. Still not entirely sure about the belt drive though...