I’ve recently been obsessed with Japanese culture thanks to ‘YouView’ and my unlimited bandwidth. Japan is definitely a country of “Masters” that are driven to create perfection, be it swords, fighting styles, cars, techno gadgets, neon signage and, of course, motorcycles. So with the recent release of the 2014 Yamaha T-Max 530 it made me wonder if this machine is just a massive and slightly vulgar scooter, or yet another masterpiece from the land of the rising sun.
Like everything in the world it all boils down to preference and taste. Sushi is one such acquired taste. Those that enjoy it “love it” and those that don’t have probably not even tried it. I myself “don’t like” sushi but I can, however, admire the skill and craft involved in skinning a cucumber and slicing raw tuna into millimeter thick slices and creating artwork out of food.
And so it is with the Yamaha T-Max 530. At first glance I could give you a thousand reasons why you won’t like it… but then I rode it. Yes it’s big and long, slightly heavy and not a proper sports bike, but so what. It’s not going to be all things to all men, but it will be absolutely brilliant to the select few that taste the balance, poise and comfort of the Yamaha T-Max 530.
At first I thought it was just another fancy commuter with a seating position that’s perfectly natural and relaxed, but then I discovered the hidden talents of this mega scooter thanks, in part, to the impressive torque of the 530cc liquid-cooled, parallel-twin engine. This creamy smooth motor is at its best on the open road; yes I said open road where I found myself stretched out, feet up, cruising along very comfortably at 160km/h. The stability of the extremely long 2,2m wheelbase and super effective height adjustable front screen gave very little buffeting on my helmet at high speeds, making long rides a pleasure, and the 15-litre fuel tank and frugal engine will certainly take you very far... dare I say touring?
Then I ventured into the dark side - town riding. Even though the 217kg Yamaha T-Max 530 is no lightweight it’s so easy to handle and thanks to the accurate fuel injection with oodles of power on tap it carves through traffic like a Ninjato. The engine is rigidly mounted inside the frame and, with a low centre of gravity, the T-Max has responsive and agile handling, no wonder Mr. Rossi uses one daily.
Grabbing a handful of throttle will leave unsuspecting motorists in your wake; with 48hp and 52.3Nm of torque this beast is surprisingly frisky and will go over 180km/h! And when things get a little crazy at those speeds those massive dual 267mm front and single 282mm rear brakes will bring this party to stop in hurry. My test bike has the new-for-2014 ABS package and I can vouch that they work brilliantly. Yoi shigoto!
Although the styling is not earth-shattering I must admit the sticker kit (which is included in the new price for the first few units) gives the bike a real sense of character and sportiness.
Entertainment for the rider comes in the form of a backlit instrument panel that informs him/her of all the vital riding information needed at a glance, while the two distinctive polygon-shaped analogue meters accentuate the Yamaha T-Max 530 cutting-edge style in true Japanese mastery fashion. And even though the under seat storage is a little on the stingy side you can still get a full face helmet under there, or a lot of beer and braai material, again another thoughtful and quality design feature from Yamaha.
So before prejudging the Yamaha T-Max 530 as just another maxi-scooter or boring urban commuter think again and go book a test ride and experience for yourself the prestigious styling, luxurious comfort and amazing build quality. In fact after living with 2014 T-Max I believe it to be more of an automatic motorbike than a mere “big scooter”. But the best thing of all is that the new 2014 ABS T-Max is being retailed at a very tempting reduced price of only R96,000 which, in my mind, makes it a bit of a bargain for such a cool form of executive transport, don’t you think?
Available from www.centurionyamaha.co.za also visit www.yamaha.co.za
