Yamaha Xmax 400 (2018 model)…an epic tale, and a review…

[StuAff]

As I have finally got the necessary licence to ride this big beast (210 kg/462 lbs wet weight) this past Thursday, after buying it last May (!) I thought I'd give you all a review. But I’ll begin by telling you how and why I got it, and why it took that long after buying to get to ride it properly. Pull up a chair, it's a bit of a tale…

I'd been riding scoots with L-plates since November 2013- first a rather nasty Chinese-built 50cc I won in a competition, then once my job moved 20 miles from home (my reason for wanting to get a scoot in the first place) I got my PCX ASAP (nine days on the 50 with that daily mileage was plenty…). For those not familiar with the UK's bike rules, the Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) scheme allows riders to legally ride bikes up to 125cc and 14.75 bhp after completing a day's training on and off road. This is done by authorised motorcycle training schools, rather than by the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency centres that run full licence tests. CBT riders must have L-plates front and back, cannot carry a pillion or use motorways, and the certificate lasts two years, after which you can retake and renew (repeatedly if you wish). So, I renewed the CBT in late 2015, and then again in 2017.

By this stage I was thinking it was time I stepped up to a full licence, so I could get a more powerful bike and cut the commute time down. On that 2017 CBT course I had my first go on a geared bike, though I completed the road part on my PCX (unlike with full licences, you can at present legally ride a 125 manual with L-plates after having completed the CBT on an auto). I bought a mint Yamaha YBR 125, just like I’d ridden, to get experience with manual shifting. A great learner bike- clunky shifting, slow, sounds like a bit like a bunch of spanners in a washing machine, and tough. It'll never flatter any rider. But I still loved it. Unfortunately that bike got written off after a Land Rover Discovery pulled out in front of me on the commute the following August. I was OK apart from a bruised foot, thankfully. I then bought another Yam, a YZF R-125, which I still have at time of writing. Much nippier, much smoother shifting, sounds lovely (Akrapovic exhaust). It's lovely. Fun with a capital F.

March 2019 saw my first attempt at getting a full licence. It did not go well. Clutch control was seemingly beyond me- I'd have been dangerous on a big bike, and I couldn't complete the slow handling exercises on a YBR. I'd been OK on the road with my Yams, but 'getting by' rather than doing it correctly. All my riding went to pot, I kept making stupid and potentially dangerous mistakes because I was getting stressed, and after a couple of days my riding mojo was going AWOL. Rather than waste all the money, time and effort, I attempted the first part of the full licence test (Mod 1, off-road, which must be passed before Mod 2, the on-road test) on my PCX, and well and truly stuffed that up.

So: Manual bikes were out, at least for the foreseeable (I'd not get anywhere without an awful lot of practice time, perhaps never get the hang of it). If I wanted to ride anything bigger than a 125, I'd have to buy it because local riding schools just don't have big scooters. And the requirements for a test bike are more restrictive. A2 is anything more powerful than a 125, but less than 47 bhp (35 kW) and 0.2 kW/kg power to weight. However, for testing purposes, the bike must also be at least 395cc, and 20-35 kW. So, no 300cc bikes regardless of weight or power (even those with 40+ bhp). This is going to be changed, reports suggest, but not yet. Yes, I could have gone for one of the few suitable category A bikes (unrestricted power or power to weight) with auto or DCT, but an Africa Twin or VFR 1200, say, would have been way more awkward, much heavier, much more expensive, and I don't particularly want to go for anything that powerful, ever.

Rather than go for a cheaper, older, tattier, bike just for the course, I opted to go for something I'd keep long term. The Xmax 400 (in its 2017-on form) looked like the winner on paper. 395cc, the required power output, bit lighter than a Burgman (plus more power, and I preferred the looks). A local Yamaha dealer had a low mileage one at a good price. So I bought it, and managed to find an insurer prepared to cover me for a bike I couldn't ride without an instructor. Don't do this if you can avoid it, folks…

May 2019: first attempt at getting that A2 auto licence. Training goes swimmingly, I don't put a foot wrong, and then on the Mod 1 I touch a cone on the first exercise, the slalom. Instant fail. First of…quite a few fails. Second attempt in July. Third in August. September, I have a week off, so at the school's suggestion I do Mod 1 on the PCX, which would hopefully break the cycle and get the first step to a full licence for that bike. Because I'm legal for the PCX with L-plates, I can ride it to the test and back alone. Pass. There's a Mod 2 slot a couple of dates later. Pass. Yay! Got my commute down to half an hour or so.

However, that didn't break the cycle with the Xmax. Failed again in December. A couple of days more training in February (without being able to ride on my own, it really helped to get used to the bike again). Tried, finally, changing my riding position, sitting a bit forward. Now it was much easier for scrawny weak me to handle. Did about 30 dry runs on the Mod 1 slow manoeuvres and nailed it every time. Come test day, hit a cone on the slalom. Next attempt, I get the slalom done fine, then the figure-of-eight. On the U-turn, I go too wide, so fail. But I do the fast exercises (controlled stop, emergency stop, swerve) as practice and nail those. Failure, but the kind of failure you can feel good about. One more attempt, right at the end of February. I lose momentum and put a foot down on the figure of eight. But I get going again and complete the manoeuvre. Minor fault, not a fail. U-turn is wide again, but I end up right on the target line. A further minor. Fast exercises nailed again. I have, at long last, and after much expense, the Mod 1 (A2 automatic). All that time and money was so worth it. If I’d given up, I’d have regretted it a lot more.

On account of you know what, licence testing in the UK was of course suspended, before I could get the Mod 2 booked. In the window between the first and second national lockdowns, riding schools were mostly clearing the backlog of cancelled tests. But, a just over a week ago, I get a call. Can I do an early morning test on December 3, in Poole (50 miles away, the nearest centre with a free slot)? Hell yeah. So I’m up at 5am, on the road with my instructor at six, into the pouring rain (didn’t stop all day). And by 10.15, I have that precious bit of paper which means I can ride this bike whenever I like. Metaphorically singing in the rain. Back home and trying to dry out by 11.30, before heading off to work (2pm start) on the PCX.

All that time, money and effort was worth it, and so was the bike. I love it. Wish I could have got an Xmax 300 for the test (179 kg and much better MPG), but judging the 400 on its own merits…undoubtedly in my mind, great.

First the bad points: Principally, the weight, the weight, the weight, the MPG, and the weight. Pretty much every time I push this thing around, I need to catch my breath. Paddling it or pushing it, both are awkward and tiring. Pulling away and low speed manoeuvres are awkward for me. A PCX is so much less bother in these respects. The 400 engine is older tech than the Xmax 300’s, so it’s lower power/litre and 25-30% heavier on fuel. The 300 makes much more sense for most people, and I’d have got that but for the test bike restrictions. Lights are…OK. Headlights don’t seem as good as the PCX, they look like they illuminate the road better than the foreground. Not bad, but not great. Rear lights are superb, though.

The good stuff, OTOH…Goes like stink. On the Mod 2, I was thinking I might just fail on account of speeding, as even 30 mph feels like barely ticking over and acceleration is more than brisk. In training with other pupils on Kawasaki ER-6Fs with 75 bhp, I was easily keeping up. This thing doesn’t have the Tmax’s outright power, nor its fancy chassis…but it’s got most of the speed. 95 mph or so flat out in GPS-checked press testing.

It’s utterly stable and rock solid even in horrendous riding weather like Thursday’s. 60-70 mph sustained runs in strong winds and torrential rain, never flustered it. I had the Yamaha option tall screen fitted by the dealer (I have the original one as well), as some reviews suggested it would be a better idea for my height than the standard one. I look through it rather than over it, not always ideal, but I could ride at those speeds with the visor open for maximum visibility without discomfort.

With the bike being this heavy, the brakes have to be good. And they are. Double 267mm front discs, a single of the same size on the back. Even from 30 mph, I only need the rear brake. Very reassuring. And the ABS works rather well. On one of the Mod 1 practices my instructor wondered why I was pumping the brakes. I wasn’t- but I could hit them hard enough to trigger the anti-lock without upsetting the bike in the slightest.

Then there’s the practicality. I like the keyless system, though they should have had some lighting or florescent logos on the main switch that does all the jobs of a regular setup (ignition on/steering lock/fuel & seat opening). 43 litres under the seat, and enough room for two helmets, though mine will only fit in the rear of the two spaces. It would make a great tourer even without a top box or a rucksack for extra loads. It didn’t get any water ingress on Thursday…

MPG: Most tests suggest 65 mph or so, and after Thursday & Friday’s mileage my trip computer was showing that. However, the actual fuel usage seems to be better (180 or so miles, 10 litres to fill the tank would suggest 80 mpg) and I certainly wasn’t riding with economy in mind! If this is accurate- I’ll be more careful about noting the mileage for the next fill- then that is very good news indeed.

However, if you’re thinking of buying one…make it second hand, or wait for a bit. it’s disappeared from Yamaha UK’s product listings. The Tmax recently got bumped up to 560cc and 47 bhp. The Euro 5 regulations are currently resulting in a lot of bikes being updated, or cancelled if they can’t meet the regs. So, most likely, either here will be a new Euro5 400 with a bit more power (and hopefully less weight), or the 300 will get a bit of a CC boost and replace the 400 as well. In the meantime, this is less an overweight Xmax 300, more like a rather cheaper Tmax.

I’m rather pleased with my buy, but you guessed that already!

[Old Grinner]

Any pics of your XMax 400???

You brought up some good points about the pros and cons.

I remember my 2017 PCX as being much easier to move around than my sport bike and KLR. But for me the seat left something to be desired and I wanted to have something I could ride for up to 80 to 100 miles round trip and not have to deal with discomfort. The idea was to basically have a good machine on hand to replace my sport bike when/if I decided to sell it. The "all day rides" or "camping excursions" traveling interstate are over for me for a variety of reasons. The big one is "too much competition for space" on the roads and running a close second is "distracted drivers". Hell, I'll throw in a third . . . "traffic cruising at 85 MPH on 65 MPH highways" in close quarters (no escape routes). I digress . . ..

Experience is a teacher. Best to learn from it. Subsequently I traded my PCX (and a MOPED) for my Zuma 125. It fulfilled my needs. The seat isn't perfect but I can live with it. I can ride both on and off road with it taking into consideration it's limitations. It's my "go to" machine now. With the brush guards and accessory windshield it makes Winter rides less horrible.

All that said I still wanted a bigger, more comfortable scooter, that would do the job. Honda was introducing their new Forza 300 in Europe and it was being compared a lot to the Yamaha XMax 300. I would have liked to have compared both at my local dealerships but sadly Honda never brought the new Forza to the U.S.. My focus remained on the XMax 300 despite other product offerings from Vespa and Kymco. I like Suzuki bikes but their Burgman 200 ergonomics were not going to work for me and the 650 was "over the top" for my needs and long term plans.

Your description of dealing with the heft of the heavier machine reminds me of the difference in weight and contrast between my sport bike and my XMax 300. The sport bike is "work" and the XMax is "fun" knowing I'm a minute away from a ride and a grin. I wouldn't have said that 40 years ago but as I age in my retirement it is a fact of life. I also don't have the urge to bounce the needle on my speedometer and tach like I used to either. Hence, the sport bike is becoming more like a museum piece for me to look upon with fond memories and the XMax 300 is a better fit for me at this stage of life.

I take my time when I have to paddle the XMax around for parking and such due to the wide/high seat but keeping forward on it helps me to reach the ground more firmly.

The headlights are OK but I did like the headlights on the PCX better. They just seemed brighter or maybe it's me. . ..

I didn't bother getting the top box either. I felt the under seat stowage was more than enough. That said only one of my helmets will fit in the rear helmet area and allow me to close the seat. My HJC Sy-Max III wins that honor. But my HJC CL-17 full faced will not allow me to close the seat in either the front or rear helmet location.

If the Main Switch Knob would illuminate when rotated with the Smart Key "on" that would be helpful at night in dark places. By the same token if the "Lid" and "Seat" buttons illuminated that would be great also. I guess they should have considered just having the whole "Main Switch" area illuminate . . ..

As far as handling I'm quite satisfied with the exception of two road conditions. One is paved roads that have become "wagon wheeled" due to high traffic volume. And, the other is wet road sealer . . . that stuff they drip on pavement cracks. Where paved roads seemed to have developed shallow ruts I find the front and rear wheels negotiate when it comes to tracking. Not a big deal but noticeable IMHO. As far as the slippery conditions from wet road sealer (or wet road paint for that matter) the ABS and Traction Control is just not going to come to your rescue so using good riding skills still remains supreme.

That's about it for now . . ..

Best of luck with your XMax 400 and have miles of smiles.

Cheers!

[big bear]

to much bike for me the 300 is all i could handle

[StuAff]

Have enjoyed reading your write-ups on the 300, OG.

As requested, the bike in its home away from home, the bike shelter at work. Neighbouring bike is a colleague's MT-07. He just downsized from an R1 because he too felt like something a little slower/less terryfying. It's very clean because, apart from anything else, he doesn't ride in the rain! The body is identical on all the Xmaxes, even the 125, same frame, same tank size. Dashes are different though, the 400 has different dials and trip/info display (icy blue rather than a plain LCD, looks rather better IMHO). Oh, and the exhaust can is huge- someone on maxi-muppets reckoned he trimmed 8kg off with a Leo Vince one…!!

Tyre widths are 120 on the front, same as the 300, and 150 on the back, 10mm wider, though the rear wheel is 13in rather than 14. The commute route is an excellent test of the ride and handling, as it is mostly on the M27 motorway, currently in the midst of major works to turn it into a so-called 'smart motorway' (an extremely dumb idea involving four lanes of traffic, no hard shoulders and sporadic refuges for breakdowns- these things have caused multiple fatal incidents, but still they build them. A few days back a guy with a puncture had to creep along in the inside lane till he could get out of the way!). As a result, the surface is a mix of bare concrete and mixed-quality tarmac, there are ruts, patches, burnt-off road markings that have left raised surfaces, all for over ten miles straight…on the PCX I err on the side of caution to avoid that stuff as much as possible, but the Xmax just shrugs its shoulders and takes those issues in its stride. Whether it's the bigger contact patches, better suspension, the extra mass or all of the above, it's a lot better.

As for the competition, the Burgman is, to my mind, a bit…aged looking (not 'classic'). Great bike for sure, but it's gone from being the best in class to a good but not necessarily best buy. BMW's 350cc '400s'…hmm. Nice bikes, some clever stuff, but too expensive for what you get. Not as good for storage as the Xmax, probably a little sportier and a little less thirsty- but that price difference buys a lot of fuel. An awful lot. Kymco…the Xciting is lighter, cheaper, more power, excellent build…but doesn't have the cavern under the seat, in fact it looks a bit sparse in that department. Overall, I'd still pick the Xmax out of that lot. A Tmax would be nice, but also a lot thirstier, less stowage, and £4,000 more than the 400. The sports bike handling and extra oomph have their significant plus points, of course!

to much bike for me the 300 is all i could handle

If you're OK with pushing it about, and it is a lot heavier than the 300, then you might prove yourself wrong. Jumping from the PCX to the Xmax 400 has not been a problem despite triple the power. It's not slow, but it is serene…speed, when you want it, just builds. And ebbs away when you ease back on the throttle.

[gn2]

Firstly, chapeau for sticking at it, a lifetime of happy scooting is your reward.

I went the other way with the screen, got the short sport screen, no more nasty turbulent air.

"Even from 30 mph, I only need the rear brake."
This is a very bad idea.
When you use the brakes, kinetic energy is converted into heat.
Far better to have three discs dissipate the heat rather than the smallest of the three.
If you keep doing that you'll warp the rear disc.
Not just that but instinct.
If you routinely use both brake levers together, you'll instinctively use both in emergency, stopping much shorter than you otherwise would.
Only time to use rear on its own is for low speed (walking pace) manouvers.

[StuAff]

This is a very bad idea.
When you use the brakes, kinetic energy is converted into heat.
Far better to have three discs dissipate the heat rather than the smallest of the three.
If you keep doing that you'll warp the rear disc.
Not just that but instinct.
If you routinely use both brake levers together, you'll instinctively use both in emergency, stopping much shorter than you otherwise would.
Only time to use rear on its own is for low speed (walking pace) manouvers.

Good point. The rear disc is the same size as the front ones, and it's certainly not underpowered. I should clarify that I don't do 30-0 stops all on the back- more a case of scrubbing a bit of speed off (when you go from a 30 to 20 mph limit, for example) and bringing it right to a halt when rolling to a junction. Anything faster, a touch of front/back. The kind of situation you should use the rear rather than the front, in other words. It would be quite easy to have a nasty off if being too generous with the front brake.

[Mel46]

If it were up to me, I would sell that 400 and consider something that I would feel more comfortable with, such as a 300. Everyone has a "sweet spot" when it comes to comfort and handling on a bike. Once you find the one foe you, stick with it until you are thoroughly familiar with it to the point where moving up to a bigger bike would not make you apprehensive.

My "starter" bike was a Harley Davidson XLCH Sportster. It was big, but it was well balanced. At the time I was a skinny little 18 year old in the military, but I never dropped it, nor did I have problems manuvering it. Unfortunately, it HATED cold weather and refused to start below a certain temperature. My next bike was a Honda 500cc, and I was much happier with it.

The point is that there are a lot of choices out there, and with your new license comes the right/freedom to find a better bike. There are even a lot of automatic bikes to choose from. If you get the opportunity, test ride a few. You might be surprised. If you are going to use a bike in all sorts of weather, you may as well feel "comfortable" with it (meaning not apprehensive or afraid of it). Hopefully you will have it for quite a long time.

[StuAff]

If it were up to me, I would sell that 400 and consider something that I would feel more comfortable with, such as a 300. Everyone has a "sweet spot" when it comes to comfort and handling on a bike. Once you find the one foe you, stick with it until you are thoroughly familiar with it to the point where moving up to a bigger bike would not make you apprehensive.

Good points, but I'm not apprehensive about it, just careful. I can safely say that this bike hasn't always felt awkward, anything but…The slow-speed exercises on a Mod 1 are as awkward as road riding can get. A U-turn from a standing start in a box the size of four car park spaces being the worst bit. And I did that, forty or fifty times without failure, in sporadic practice sessions, before finally passing the whole thing. It's just a case of finding the right seating position for me, getting used to the bike again, and putting it all into muscle memory. Before Thursday I hadn't ridden it since the end of February, so I'll have to get used to it again. But this time I have the advantage of not having to wait for a training session to ride it. It'll come, not a question of if but when. It felt absolutely right before, even at 10 mph, it will again. And it's utterly right at higher speeds…

[StuAff]

Slight update. After a second week's half-commute (I'm doing two days on one bike three on the other), have found that Goldilocks riding position again, pulling away and right turns much easier (or, as easy as they were when I got it right in February). MPG for this past week 80 or so. Yes, a 300 would still have better economy, but a 50 mph limit on the motorway is clearly a sweet spot. Given current, frequently wet and windy, conditions, stability and extra weather protection over the PCX is a real bonus. Now passed, finally, 1,000 miles since I bought her. Next thousand will be coming up rather quicker. She's going nowhere. Or rather, she's going lots of places

[StuAff]

Bump. Thanks to the PCX being out of action for a month, finally back and ready for action today, the Xmax has been commuting five days a week in the meantime. Odometer has passed 4,000, and I've now done over 3,000 on her. I'd obviously have preferred to have had the choice of bikes, but it's been no hardship. I only get overtaken by speeders. Jeeves-like unflappability in bad weather. Fuel economy remaining excellent- 80 mpg again this past week, so the only reason to top up the fuel midweek is to avoid the annoyance of the low fuel warning- which I do, because it's so annoying (and why does it not give you an idea of how many miles you've got left, rather than tell you how many you've done on the reserve). That's another annoyance- six segments on the fuel meter. 13 litre tank. Reserve: 2.4L or 0.5 imperial gallons. Sense it makes not. But as far as annoyances go, that's a very small one!

[StuAff]

Another bump. Now done over 6,000 miles on the Xmax, still loving it, still getting 80-85 mpg (I'm not quite sure how the mag/web reviewers managed to get that down to 60-65....). Sold both the PCX and R125 in May, so it's been alone in the garage for a bit. Until this week. As having two bikes has proved essential (not just handy) so many times over the past few years, another buy was always the plan.

So, I thought to myself, what's like an Xmax 400, has the same good looks, huge underseat storage, performance…but a bit lighter, a bit more economical…

Well, obviously, an Xmax 300. So that's what I bought. Mint 2018 model from a main dealer. Can't say I wasn't tempted by a Tmax....but that can wait. Actually bought it in June, but as it was newly in stock and at a decent price anyway, I knew they'd knock nothing of the bike price, but might do a deal on some extras, which I would have bought anyway. So, got the OEM heated grips, a 50L top box & rack (I had the rack but no box on the 400, so that works for both), and the universal stay (phone/GPS mount). That caused a hold-up- possibly on the Ever Given or another ship delayed by it. Bike finally arrived on Tuesday, rather than use a month's worth of vehicle tax for a few days riding (it always starts from the first of the month) I taxed it today & took it for its first ride. Nice. Really nice. A better bike, overall, than the 400, though it's certainly not better in every respect....

The good/better:
The engine/performance. The BlueCore 300 is smoother than something extremely smooth, the 400 is rattly in comparison. Hasten to emphasise 'in comparison'- the 400 vibrates more, particularly noticeable at idle/low speed, not uncomfortably so, but the 300 is really smooth, and quieter too. A mere 5 bhp less to power 30 kg less, so barely slower than the 400. Not quite the same surging acceleration, but…
Handling: Thanks to that weight, rather easier on its feet than the 400, easier to place it exactly where you want it on the road. Perhaps not quite as planted at motorway speeds, but it's marginal. Rear tyre is 10mm narrower than the 400, barely noticeable. Ride is good, if perhaps not quite as good as 400.
The weight: Makes a lot of difference when you're pushing it around.
Economy: Trip computer read average 91 mpg when I reset it at refuelling (previous owner seems to have let it run), 101 mpg after the three mile hop home. Expecting that figure to be maintained, so a useful improvement on the 400.

The bad/worse:
The brakes. Not bad per se, more than up to the job, but the single front disc lacks the power & initial bite of the 400's twin disc setup, and the back brake is smaller as well.

(Seriously, that's it).

The same/no better: Same huge storage, 13l tank, smart key, front cubby holes, average/poor front lights.

A note on the accessories:
Not tried the stay but the USB port is nicely integrated (waterproof cap, complete with tuning fork logo, exactly where the logo is on the standard silver cover).
Heated grips: Toasty warm, neat and tidy setup, simple to operate.
Top box: I had the Honda 29L top box on my PCX. That was good, but fiddly to take on and off and I dropped it a couple of times. The Yam one, OTOH…The catch opens it, it doesn't double as a release mechanism as on the Honda. To release the box, there's a nice big lever/handle. Lift that and the box comes clean off, and you can carry it like a suitcase. To lock the box in place, just locate it on the rack- the handle is a help again- and the lever gets pushed down to lock. Terrific bit of kit, will be handy for touring/lugging bulkier loads, and should take two helmets.

So, plan A and other plan A

[big bear]

i have a x max 300 its a great scooter

[antila]

I had before xmax 250 abs 2016 whit malossi kit and akrapovich exhaust very funy scooter 0-30 very fast and nice exhaust sound
afer i buy xmax 400 2018 blue color whit some problem when revs on 4500 hear noise and vibration from engine i check piston and piston head and not find any demages or cracks scooter only 8000mile on clock any one maybe know what the problem ?
xmax 400 runin very good i instal full kit malossi variator,rollers , belt and full cluch .scooter running till 70mph very fast and crazy i done ready 3000miles whit this noize 45000 revs engine and nothink still not broken i dont understand where is this problem in engine .
sorry for my english i from latvija