‘It excites on every ride’
After over 8000 TMAX miles Neevesy still can’t get enough
I’ll forever be confused as to why so many ‘real’ bikers are so snobbish about scooters (only in the UK, strangely), but the Yamaha is fast, fun and so practical I haven’t used my car in over a year. When I’m not riding test bikes, I use the TMAX for commuting, racking up 200-odd mile stints to see mates and the weekly supermarket grand prix, where there’s enough space under the seat and in my topbox to carry three or four bags of (usually broken by the time I get home) supplies. Best of all the TMAX is a ‘feelgood’ bike which excites me every time I straddle its huge seat. On sunny days it reminds of zipping around on holiday hire scooters and when it’s grim there’s no warmer, drier place to be, thanks to the Yamaha’s heated seat, grips and Tucano Urbano blanket and muff toastie-ness. Even in the depths of winter I can get away with wearing summer kit and gloves, so no frumpy textiles for me.
If you wait long enough it’ll eventually do 120mph and, on its upside-down forks, cast alloy twin spar chassis, radial brakes and 15in Bridgestone rubber, it handles pretty well, too. Beating bikes on backroads is satisfying on a whole other level.
It’s had two oil services so far, which it needs every year, or 3000 miles (around £150 a pop at Webbs Yamaha in Peterborough) and mechanically hasn’t missed a beat. The immobiliser played up when I first bought it, frozen by the Yamaha tracker app that thought it was being stolen. Yamaha fitted a new unit to cure the problem, but after the first year’s free subscription I couldn’t justify the £150-odd a year and getting insurance quotes through MCN Compare it seemed to make no difference to premiums (I pay around £115 a year).
Twice last year the bike wouldn’t recognise the keyless ignition fob, leaving me stranded, but after disconnecting the battery for a minute and reconnecting again it’s been fine.
I’ll admit I’m getting a bit of new-model envy towards the new 2020 TMAX, especially now that mine’s racking up the miles, but now I’ve ridden the newcomer and discovered that it’s actually not that different after all, I might instead treat mine to a bit of ‘Paris Bling’ and spruce it up with a racy end can and tail tidy. Either way, it’s TMAX for life now for me.