Tmax 2017 SX and DX test: Yamaha gives (sells) its maximum !
Yamaha is launching its new Tmax 530 2017, available in three models: the standard, the slightly sportier SX and the DX – very – upscale. Site was able to test the last two versions which are currently arriving in dealerships for bikers who always want more… Test.
Tmax 2017 test page 2 – MNC is testing the new Tmax 530
Whatever its version (standard, SX or DX), the new Tmax has a new look. The front is both thinner and muscular, less angular than on the previous version. The LED system introduced in 2015 is redesigned, but the Yamaha signature remains clearly visible.
The rear, on the contrary, is widening for 2017. "The dual LED brake lights are inspired by the automobile", describes Antoine Clemot, product manager at Yamaha Motor Europe. A surprising choice on the part of Yamaha, to say the least, insofar as this machine can only be driven by holders of a motorcycle license..
Conversely, "the LED indicators are not integrated into the fairing in order to give the scooter a little motorcycle touch", indicates the French manager. The same goes for the new exhaust which goes back to the level of the right indicator, supermoto style..
With its original pot, "our" test Tmax is surprisingly quiet at idle. By throwing in a few strokes, MNC (re) discovers the clear and buzzing sound of the Yamaha twin-cylinder, sufficiently flattering for the pilot and perfectly bearable for his environment, which is far from the case of Tmax currently in circulation in France….
In the streets of Cape Town, the brand new Tmax blends discreetly into the traffic. Nimbly too, thanks to its reduced weight of 9 kg, its very low center of gravity, its front axle which is both light and neutral, and its turning radius allowing for sure to take pole at a red light..
Only small riders can complain that the saddle is too high to put both feet on the ground simultaneously. They cannot cheat by advancing because of the large central tunnel on which is the gas hatch and two opening buttons (hatch precisely, and saddle).
No user, big or small, will find fault with the behavior of the engine: the injection is finely managed by the new ride-by-wire system and the new lightweight transmission provides the scooter with a clever mix of smoothness and responsiveness..
Sporty bikers at heart would naturally have liked to enjoy a little more power (46 hp) and torque (53 Nm), but Yamaha is adamant on this point: there is no point in making the engine bigger, you have to put a good part cycle developed…
Not too much need…
“Why not increase the displacement of our Tmax to 750 or 800?” Asks Eric de Seynes, echoing the redundant question put to him by journalists, his dealers or their customers! According to him, the answer is obvious…
"The genius of this machine lies in its weight and its maneuverability. One of the basic concepts applied by our engineers on the Tmax has always been not to weigh down the engine / transmission assembly. I also remember that originally, it had to be fitted with a belt. This had not been possible, but we succeeded in 2012 and we lightened it for 2017 ", specifies the boss of Yamaha Motor Europe interviewed by MNC.
"We are convinced that this principle is the right one, because all the competitors who have tried to beat us by proposing scooters of greater displacement, therefore heavier, have failed", continues our interlocutor with an air of "Y en a qu ‘tried, they had problems "…
The new Tmax, for once, has no problem to circulate in the city center and has nothing more to extract: on the expressway, the "little" Twin of 530 cc grinds strong and allows to very quickly hook the 100 km / h counter.
According to tests carried out by Yamaha internally, the slimming speed of the Tmax results in an advance of almost four lengths in favor of the 2017 model (Vs 2016) during a standing start of 200 m. And according to the report of the Journal moto du Net, the Tmax does not lack punch, even on the small winding and hilly roads of the Cape region !
Amply sufficient to overcome its main mission "scooto-boulot-dodo", the power of the twin cylinder remains below 47.5 hp (35 kW), which makes it accessible to A2 licenses. "I have a friend who took the A2 license only to buy a Tmax", tells us Eric de Seynes. This is surely not an exception…
At the height of the performance of the scooter in acceleration as in recovery, the braking of the scooter does not change for 2017 and continues to give complete satisfaction: quite biting and very powerful, the front brakes have nothing to envy those of roadsters or medium-displacement road.
Thanks to the solid inverted fork – also preserved – it is even possible to keep or resume brakes in curves without this disturbing the steering. In the turns, the rigidity of the new frame makes it possible to maintain an impressive speed of passage and so reassuring that one ends up brushing – and even rubbing while attacking – the central stand..
The rear brake is a bit harder for a biker to tame – a real one! -, who has the habit of pulling the left lever unceremoniously to shift the gears of his motorcycle … Site thus involuntarily triggered the mandatory ABS on the first kilometers, the time to get used to the "left hand brake" ". The opportunity to realize that the distances are moderately extended and that the jerks in the control are sensitive: the pilot instantly understands that he is asking too much of the tire !
The limit of the suspensions is more distant: well calibrated, the fork and the new rear shock absorber absorb the majority of the bumps or the hollows. They are helped in their work by the saddle whose remarkable thickness – for a two-wheeler qualified as "sporty"! – absorbs the driest shocks.
The depth and width of the seat are sufficient to cover about fifty kilometers in one go without feeling any discomfort. At the end of his driving day (186 km), Site was just starting to feel fatigue, but not in the buttocks: slightly higher, in the lumbar region, for lack of sufficient arching … !
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