Author Topic: Anyone checked out the new smax yamaha?  (Read 1440 times)

2wheelfun

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Anyone checked out the new smax yamaha?
« on: March 22, 2015, 04:50:49 PM »
Looks a lot like the movie 150 except it's FI  and water cooled. No doubt it's a good scoot being a Yamaha.   http://www.yamahamotorsports.com/sport/models/smax

AMAC1680

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Re: Anyone checked out the new smax yamaha?
« Reply #1 on: March 22, 2015, 05:34:45 PM »
Looks a lot like the movie 150 except it's FI  and water cooled. No doubt it's a good scoot being a Yamaha.   http://www.yamahamotorsports.com/sport/models/smax

Here's my report from "elsewhere". Tested late December 2014.


Checked out the new Yammi today. I met Driller in Green Cove, well actually found him right in front of me on south on 17 on my way out from the beach.

First I have to say the dealer was as laid back as any I've ever seen as far as a test ride. We filled out the waivers, left copy of DL and he basically left us with the scoot. That said he admitted to knowing little to nothing about the bike. Mike and I also talked before we got there and neither of us are fans of beating up a scoot that will soon belong to someone else. So the test rides were very mild indeed.

The scooter looks great. Everything is in proportion and the look is what I'd call "aggressive". The rear mono shock leaves a lot of air between the wheel and the seat. Very sports bike like. There's a minus to that and I'll touch on it later. The radiator is set back and to starboard so the front end of the bike doesn't have that "Scooped" look many in the class have. Again aggressive style, very nice.

The scoot started right up and settled into idle quickly. Mike rode first and I'll leave him to give his thoughts. The scooter looks and feels smaller than most. I have a 29.5" inseam and it was a little tight. The foot forward rest are near useless. Nothing new here the bane of soooo many scooters. The riding position is slightly forward. Aggressive, of course I'm a midget! It accelerated quickly the an indicated 45 mph. My GPS showed 38 mph. At an indicated 50 the GPS read 48mph. I would have thought a digital speedo would have linear error, who knows.

Anyway I didn't push it past 55 but the power seemed smooth and once broken in it , IMO, is a low to mid 70mph scooter WOT. Nothing wrong there pretty impressive as sometimes I think we forget just how fast 70 mph is.
Brakes were very good and the handling was very sharp without being jerky. Again the scooter is a good all around balance.

Fit and finish.......yikes this was a surprise and until a see a few more I hope this unit was an exception. Without trying a dime size "pit" in the blue finish jumped out to say hello. This was not something that was fixed at the dealer this came from the factory that way. There was also some orange peel going on. The panels were not as even as I've seen on other scooters. The rest of the bike looked good but there was something funky going on with that finish.

The naked bars look great and as I said earlier it all looks like it "fits". There is a reason for the perfect proportions, small controls. The grips, brake levers and other hardware are smallish. To me they felt cramped with gloves on, as if they came from a small trail bike. The materials are top notch just small. The rest of the stuff like hooks and storage pockets are efficient and well placed. Nice, if a little tight, flat floor.

Because of the space between the rear wheel and the seat was left "open air" the under seat storage is not what it could be. Not bad but nothing to write home about. Of course a bigger bucket wouldn't look as good. Love the windscreen worked well on my 5'7" body.

This is a great little scooter and its hard to find any real fault in it, except that funky finish. Again, IMO, it would be a great commuter scoot. Blast thru city traffic and should you need to cover some blacktop the highway is always a doable option.

I like the style a lot and for that reason I wouldn't put a topbox on it. Just me but it looks like a little sports bike and to my eye the box would take away from those near perfect proportions.

Here's the quoted price, didn't try to beat the guy up for a scoot I wasn't going to buy.

$3590.00
    289.00 assembly , prep, processing
    175.00 dealer admin fee
_______________________
$4054.00 plus local taxes.

Here's a couple of pics.
(Not me pictured lol)











Enjoy, another real nice scooter in the under 200 class. Wasn't long ago that there were no new offerings. Now that segment is full of options.

Be Big,
AMAC

BTW-On the way to lunch driller and I switched scoots and was reminded of something I learned long ago. The Kymco people 250 was/is a great scooter. Been awhile since I rode one but they got it right. Still a fine scooter.


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If I had to choose I'd take the movie for a couple of reasons. First it fits me better and has more room on the floor. Second and most important IMO my local Kymco dealer is better suited to deal with scooters things than my Yammi dealer.

That said I'll still take my SYM RV200 over either. Sure it's primative ,gets its nourishment from a carb of all things. Gets by without fancy ABS or bodywork. Hugh underseat with the massive floor and it can be a "mule". All it does is start at the first jab of the starter and runs like a scolded cat. It's a bit wide and not the prettiest on the block but it's a tank all around. Oh 3000.00 OTD hard to beat.

It's nice to have new choices in the 150-200 class.

Be Big,
AMAC
www.SEGS4VETS.org
2017 Lance Cali Classic 200i
2013 SYM RV200
2013 Kymco Downtown 300
2010 Lance Cali Classic-sold
1973 VW Dune Buggy
1974 VW Meyers Manx

LidoCA

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Re: Anyone checked out the new smax yamaha?
« Reply #2 on: March 23, 2015, 12:32:25 AM »
 I haven't ridden the s max, but have sat on it at the dealer. It does seem small. I do not see a problem with the finish. The BUddy is small, but it still is a good bike. I am looking to upgrade from one of my Likes. I like the s max, but I am leaning toward the SYM HD200. They are close in price, still weighing options.
Steve
I have ridden well over 17 miles on my scooters.

2013 LIKE 200i LX.
2016 Yamaha SMax
2014 Yamaha Majesty
La Mirada, Ca.

AMAC1680

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Re: Anyone checked out the new smax yamaha?
« Reply #3 on: March 23, 2015, 01:52:57 AM »
I haven't ridden the s max, but have sat on it at the dealer. It does seem small. I do not see a problem with the finish. The BUddy is small, but it still is a good bike. I am looking to upgrade from one of my Likes. I like the s max, but I am leaning toward the SYM HD200. They are close in price, still weighing options.

It's much bigger than the buddy. To be fair I love my SYM but if the price was very close I'd have to take a long look again at the Smax. The FI and oil cooler are a nice upgrade if the price is right.

Of course to scoot has to fit.

Be Big,
AMAC
www.SEGS4VETS.org
2017 Lance Cali Classic 200i
2013 SYM RV200
2013 Kymco Downtown 300
2010 Lance Cali Classic-sold
1973 VW Dune Buggy
1974 VW Meyers Manx

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