Thinking of going full scooter. Well almost. Anyone have opinions on the Xmax300 or 400?

I'm trying to rationalise my bikes. I have too many to keep up with maintenance.

At the moment I have a Yamaha MT07 for commuting, an Aprilia sr125 motard as a spare, and a Yamaha R1 for summer weekend hooliganism.

I like the Aprilia as a commuter, but it's simply too slow for me - I want the speed of the MT07, but the relaxed simple riding of the scooter.

So, I'm thinking to get rid of both the MT07 and the Aprilia, and get an Xmax300 or 400.

I then would have a reasonably quick commuter bike with all the advantages of a scooter, which would be cheap to run, and still keep the R1 for fun.

So does anyone have any experience of a bigger scooter as a commuter? My major gripe with the 125 is its slow pickup from standstill, and general lack of acceleration in traffic (I am a hefty bugger, which doesn't help). I don't need a huge top speed, it's 100% London traffic, so I never get over 50mph. Will a 300 be enough, or should I got for the 400, which is about £1,000 more expensive.

Cheers!

 

Sounds like you want an automatic basically. You should look at the honda nc700 and 750 dct models. Theres also the integra which uses the same engine which is apparently a car engine cut in half.

Im looking to buy a dct model of the honda nc series myself just looking for a decent 2nd hand deal in my area.

 

Can't comment on the xmax but i've got an older Burgman 400 and it sits easily at 70 and will push to 90. If you had some dual carriageway/motorway on your commute then fine but you might find the larger bodied scooters a bit bulky in traffic.
A better option , as you like the 125, might be a vespa gt/s 250/300 or a beverly 350 /500
which would have plenty of power but be a bit more "nippy" in traffic.
Another bike option could be the Aprilia Mana although it's no longer made. It's a bit more scooter like in it's transmission although it has the option of "gears" and is similar to the honda dct models and they both have a dummy fuel tank that can house a helmet.
Honda now do quite a few dct models so worth checking depending on your budget lol
There is also the Aprilia sports city 300 scooter which is basically a 125 with a 300 engine if you want to keep the compact nature of a small scooter.
Power and speed wise anything between 250/400 should fit the bill but as always it depends on the cost and what suits you best.

 

I would go for a honda nc 700 or 750 dct over the aprillia mana 800 anyday of the week because of their reputation of being a nightmare to work on mechanically which is why i never mentioned it. They are also pretty much gold dust.

 

Only giving some options . I wouldn't recommend anything I haven't ridden or at least done some research on.
Price/use/and in the case of scooters physical size of the rider can influence choice.
The Mana and the NC DCT models are similar styling to the MT07 (sort of adventure) and Honda now extend the dct option to some models but they are not cheap.
As said the choice is yours after doing some research. What suits one person might not suit another.