Duel Honda X-Adv Vs Yamaha Tmax: motorcycle, scooter or both ?
A scooter spirit in a motorcycle body. Or vice versa ? With the Honda X-Adv 750 on one side and the Yamaha Tmax 530 on the other, bikers looking for a practical two-wheeler with a sporty look have a choice. Site opposes them just for you in a comparative test: duel !
X-Adv Vs Tmax: page 2 – The maxiscoots always ready
On condition of carrying their "intelligent" key, our two machines are woken up by simply pressing the switch. A blow on the starters and the engines are launched … The Tmax then takes a slight advantage: the supermotard "tone" of the silencer is not only aesthetic, it is also acoustic !
At the same time, we appreciate the unexpected discretion of "our" completely original Tmax, at idle and low throttle. Nothing to see hear with the vast majority of Tmax crossed during our taxiing, against which MNC is the first to complain.
Higher up in the towers, the sound of the Twin 530 from Iwata becomes louder and covers the timid vocalizations of the Twin 750 from Tokyo which nevertheless benefits from a pot with a look as sporty as the Tmax, if not more. The Honda’s engine also seems a little less lively. But we must beware of appearances…
The first starts with the X-Adv are surprising. First of all because you must not forget to engage first gear using the DTC clutch button. Then because the maneuvers at very low speed are not easy: a little throttle results in a takeoff a little too sharp. Surprising at first, almost unsettling: beware !
Thanks to its variator, the Tmax is much more docile and easier to manage when traveling which requires meticulousness. And you need it in the often crowded two-wheeled parking lots! The dosage of gas via the "ride-by-wire" is precise: we manage the Yamaha to the nearest millimeter, the Honda to the nearest centimeter (s).
Likewise, due to its lower mass and placed closer to the ground (and despite a slightly shorter wheelbase), the Tmax is easier to balance at very, very low speeds. Site has even made a game of it: never put your foot on the ground when the lights are red, like with an MP3 ?!
As soon as the lights turn green, the X-Adv revolts: whether its user has selected the D mode (very soft) or one of the S modes (more or less sporty, from 3 to 1), the Honda scooter takes off earlier and louder, taking advantage of the slight downtime that the Yamaha observes during the throttle.
Sorry Mr. Yamaha, but contrary to what you advertise on your official website, the Tmax’s acceleration is not "unmatched" during standing starts! However, its starts are still largely sufficient to get ahead of all four-wheelers and the majority of two or three-wheelers..
Contactless keys, motors … action !
Using its D mode, the X-Adv travels on the Grands Boulevards in 4th gear (from 48 km / h "counter"). It goes up in 6th and last gear to 70 km / h, as soon as you enter the ring road. The recoveries are then timid but if necessary, the descent of a speed is carried out without downtime and without jerk.
Out of town, the X-Adv is less efficient than the Tmax. During test runs from 40 km / h, the Honda loses two to three lengths on the Yam ‘, the time to pass – even very quickly and almost imperceptibly – from 3rd to 2nd gear. The maxiscooter – the real one! – is more responsive.
More invigorating but never aggressive, the Tmax picks up are also more impressive due on the one hand to the more present soundtrack, and on the other hand to the driver’s posture, more on the back: the arms, which were already stretched, are then pulled more than on the "scootrail".
Beyond 80 km / h, however, the X-Adv 750 takes advantage of its larger engine and its better extension to catch up on the Tmax 530 and come back to its "adv-ersaire". The Honda scooter also seems to benefit from a slight drop in tone from the Yamaha at this point.
All these meticulous observations are swept away when MNC chooses the Honda sport mode: the latter then climbs higher in the laps under acceleration. In S3 for example, the DCT waits for the motorcycle to travel at 56 km / h to pass the four, and the 111 km / h to engage the six.
In further testing, the X-Adv is no longer momentarily left behind as it is already standing in a higher rev range, ready to accelerate vigorously. It therefore provides better relaunches, but also offers more engine braking when decelerating. A good point for bikers who want to gradually switch to automatic.
Good point also for the Honda system: it is regulated "automatically" according to the type of driving, relaxed or in a hurry. Following a whirlwind start for example, the X-Adv stays in 1st for a while before going up to the next gears, including in D mode. Ditto if you use the throttle as an "on-off" switch. : the computer associates your nervous behavior with a more aggressive engine.
Another advantage of the DCT: at any time, the Honda rider can take control via the paddles of the left commodo which allow up or down gears. This can be useful when approaching a small roundabout or a false flat (button "-"), or on the contrary when entering a large deserted avenue or in a long descent offering good visibility (trigger "+ ").
The 750, not automatically better than the 530
The double-clutch is therefore excellent on the road as in town, and incomparably more relaxing than a manual gearbox, especially in beautiful ugly middle of a heavy traffic … Nevertheless, it must be admitted that it does not reach the approval and the answer of the true all-automatic Tmax: silent and soft, the "vario" remains the best solution in town and in its surroundings.
Unlike the X-Adv (and motorcycles), the Tmax adapts to any speed: when asked to walk, trot or gallop, it is by definition never between two reports. Its motto ? Always on the right diet, always ready … to catapult you !
On some slippery roads in the capital, MNC noted that the Tmax is also more efficient than the X-Adv, thanks to its TCS traction control which is less interventionist and thinner than the HSTC. Set to level 2 (the most secure), Honda traction control intervenes more often … and for far too long.
If the Honda rider stupidly keeps the handle screwed in the corner (if the driver of the X-Adv tries to accelerate to the maximum), his supposedly intelligent machine does not manage to overshoot gradually. The engine hiccups, the speed stagnates … And the bus we wanted to overtake remains at our level !
It is then imperative and manually cut or lower the engine speed to allow the rear tire to regain grip, before accelerating again, less hard than previously. And less strong than the Tmax especially, which tows visibly better than the X-Adv with the same set of tires: Bridgestone SC.
We note in passing that Honda France replaced on its own initiative the original "Trail Wing" by a road tire shoe. The X-Adv assumes – finally! – its belonging to the SUV family: it is indeed a vehicle that evokes adventure in the great outdoors, but is used above all to face the little hassles of everyday life.
Those who use their two-wheelers every day, whatever the weather or almost, will observe that the Tmax benefits from a belt transmission that does not require maintenance. The chain of the X-Adv, despite its plastic casing, must however be cleaned and lubricated regularly. Yamaha advantage therefore in terms of engine. But there are other points to study … On the next page !
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