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 1 – Not the same values ?
Bikers hate scooters, it’s well known. However, a certain number of them succumbed to the charms of Tmax in 2001 and continue to buy it today. So much so that at Yamaha, this maxi-scooter has become a real icon, just like its cousins Vmax, Tenere or R1 !
In 2017, a new generation of Tmax 530 was born. Or rather three new ones, we should write, since Iwata’s bestseller now comes in three versions: standard, sportier SX and more luxurious DX. Site had been able to test the two high-end models shortly before their release in France.
Site readers – who, as everyone knows, are much more fortunate than others – already know that 4571 copies of the Tmax passed in France in 2017. An honorable score compared to its most prosperous years (renewals in 2008, 2012 and 2015), but still phenomenal compared to the competition.
Its rivals, precisely … Six years ago, Site had measured the "King of the urban jungle" with its two new adversaries released in 2012: the C600Sport and Integra 700. For the record, the (top) model of Yamaha was won this double match against the BMW scooter and the Honda "scooto".
In 2018, while BMW sells twice as many electric C Evolution cars as thermal C650Sports (!), The success of the Tmax is still unabated. Beaten commercially – and very widely – by the Yamaha maxiscooter, the Integra remains in the Honda catalog. But the Tokyo firm has not given up. On the contrary, she rolled up her sleeves !
Honda entered the maxiscooter segment in 2017 with a new "hybrid" model. No it doesn’t sail watt and steam of course: the Reds took over the concept of the Integra, namely a scooter derived from a motorcycle, adding an ingenious dose of all-terrain as well as a clever touch of practicality to create the X -Adv.
Bingo! In nine months of marketing, the "scootrail" sold in France in 1941 copies, validating the idea fixed Honda reviewed and corrected. Only one year after its release, this "Integr-Africa" has benefited from some improvements: a G mode – like gravel – which should further legitimize its off-road look and traction control..
More importantly to ensure the X-Adv a solid second season, Honda now offers a restricted version of its "seven-and-a-half", accessible to A2 license holders (limited to 35 kW or 47.5 hp). Because of origin, the Honda twin-cylinder develops 54 hp (and 68 Nm), against 46 hp (and 53 Nm) for the Tmax automatically qualified in A2.
MNC has however called the "full" version of the X-Adv to this duel, in order to give it all its chances against the Yamaha benchmark. The latter, on the other hand, was selected in its more "light" – or less equipped – version, therefore less expensive. The goal ? Align the prices of our two machines: 11,799 euros for the X-Adv against 11,499 euros for the Tmax.
The confrontation is much less tight in terms of look: despite similar uses (motorcycle-work-sleep for the vast majority of users who appreciate the automatic transmission, the trunk and the performance of their two-wheelers), these two machines do not have nothing to "see".
Honda improves its concept
With its concept apart in the production of motorized two-wheelers, Honda strives to sell dreams and freedom. Yes, like the majority of motorcycle and car manufacturers: you just have to look at their advertisements! Except that with his scooter-crossover-adventurer, the world number one skilfully moves away from the image conveyed by the wanker on his Yamaha maxiscooter (brand n ° 1 in France).
Without sinking into paranoia, riding the "most stolen two-wheeler in France", we instinctively watch the patibular guys but almost who circulate in two on their own (?) Tmax. Decked out with a coded key, an electronic cookie, a certified anti-theft device and a lockable central stand, the Tmax are today "car-jackes" … Perfectly, Claudy, "car-jackes" !
At the controls of the unknown X-Adv, we ride from this point of view much more relaxed. We are even entertained by the many looks on the machine and by the questions that come out from very interested people … but in a good sense..
The plastic of the X-Adv appeals … and pleases in the majority of cases. What appeals to passers-by, scooter riders and bikers crossed by MNC during its taxiing? The trail stature that it owes to its spoked rims, its high suspensions, its tall and wide handlebars equipped (as standard) with hand guards, its almost vertical exhaust and its high-perched instrumentation, rally-raid style.
The originally sculpted casing, the parts – to the rendering – "alu" skillfully distributed, the gold anodized tint of the inverted fork, the compactness of the LED lights and indicators, the pretty mechanism for fixing the screen: the Tokyo machine is a remarkable and noticed blend.
Without the ugly traction control command added in 2018 next to the left commodo, it would be perfect! Let us note for the attention of our readers – always keen observers – that Honda France has added to our test model rider footrests and off-road type running boards (hmm, count around 260 and 175 euros).
Sober, the matt gray color of our X-Adv will seem judiciously all-purpose for some and sadly dull for others. They can turn to the solid red color. They may regret the disappearance of the red "HRC" and tricolor "Africa Twin" athletes. Temporary disappearance ?
Yamaha polishes its bestseller
As for Tmax, there is no choice: the standard version is only available in black. Undoubtedly in order to better camouflage the raw and grainy texture of certain skins. The central tunnel mainly, which covers the engine and the aluminum frame, is rough stripped (painted on the SX and DX).
In 2017, Yamaha has just fine-tuned the mill and the cycle part of its bestseller: electronic throttle control ("ride-by-wire" or YCC-T for the Blues), traction control (TCS), lightweight transmission, optimized frame, extended swing arm … Even the key has evolved: no need to insert it into the switch, you just need to carry it on your person as on the X-Adv.
Redesigned for the occasion, the low and muscular line of the Tmax seems more imposing than the high and slender one of the X-Adv. Already tackled during our first test, the rear of the Tmax still displeases us as much: why the devil have given a wide and "automotive" style to the favorite scooter of bikers ?
Same remark about the dashboard which looks too "car" … from the end of the 20th century with its two analog meters with blue border Yamaha neon and the small black and white central window, all digital but all pixelated. We expected more modernity on this machine of the year 2018.
The instrumentation of the X-Adv is more successful: placed well above the handlebars, it is as visible as it is readable and complete. All the essential information is displayed simultaneously: no need to resort to the buttons located on the panel (controls on the handlebars on the Tmax).
Two different maxi maxiscooters
Due to its motorcycle genes (NC750), the X-Adv has a particularly prominent tunnel and a high passenger seat. The Honda "scootrail" is therefore not easy to get on, whether you throw your leg forward or back. Boot marks on raw plastic gas hatch prove MNC was not the only one struggling…
Despite the saddle a little thinner – a little less wide – in front and the cutouts at the rear of the running boards, the majority of X-Adv riders do not put both feet flat on the ground. However, it is impossible to feint by advancing: the gas hatch is not thinner or lower…
The Tmax is easier to step over thanks to its lower central bridge. The saddle is 2 cm lower than that of the X-Adv, but it is also wider and the floor is devoid of cutouts for the calves. Result: you must also measure more than 1.80 m to put both heels on the ground.
The driver’s position on the X-Adv is straight, trail-type. The lumbars are plumb but the legs cannot unfold as much as on the Tmax. However, by leaning well against the backrest, you can adopt an already very relaxed posture. Too bad the saddle, wide and well designed, is so hard !
The handlebars of the X-ADV are as high as they are wide: 90 cm from end to end! By grabbing it, the hands move 59 cm apart and rise almost to shoulder height, like on a trail. This is a good point, even a necessity on this beast at 238 kg (all full facts) that we feel in high places.
The position on the Tmax is quite different. The arms are much less apart (50 cm for a handlebar of 70 cm) and lower too. So much so that drivers with long legs must back up properly so as not to have the ball joints in the stalk when stepping to the maximum.
On the ‘Yam’ maxiscoot, the 15 inch front rim (Vs 17 on the X-Adv) frees up space for the feet. The posture is naturally "cool", not to say sluggish, like on a custom. Better padded, the Tmax saddle gives – almost – the impression of riding a GT. But a GT of only 213 kg, with a particularly low center of gravity. And in dynamics, what does that give? Continued on next page !
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