Yamaha XMAX 250

Bought my Xmax in April to get to work and back, a 90 mile round trip every day. I'd never ridden a scooter before so I was a little apprehensive. I bought it as I had an RSI in my left wrist making clutch operation a problem, so twist and go!

Mine was a low mileage 2006 model. I added a Givi touring screen and a 52l top box.

Starts first time every time. The pick up is good, I checked the belt and rollers were good. 0-60 feels fast and it will pull all the way up to around 75mph then it gets wheezy.

Round town it is the dogs danglies, fast light and agile. You can flick these things around with impunity as long as you have good scoot tyres. Fuel economy is excellent, around 65mpg.

It's comfortable for around an hour and a half and then numb behind creeps in due to the large seat pushing you forward away from the hump.

Maintenance is easy, I'm a level 2 tech so easier for me but no problem for any reasonably able diyer. Oli change evry 2k and a light lets you know when its due.

Get one,you'll be hooked!!

I have has this bike for 2.5 years now and covered 28K miles. Due to the bikes larger wheels than some of the other scooters it handles very well in traffic and the open road. I use it daily for my commute to work a 54 mile round trip. I get about 17 miles per litre of fuel, the brake pads wear out every 8K or so, the back tyre at about 11K and the front after 20K. If you wondering how long the drive belt last then I changed mine after doing 25K. On the negative side because there is not oil filter you have to change the engine oil every 1800 miles also I do not like the way that the dipped light turns off when you go to main beam. There is lots of storage under the seat however for my use I wish the fuel tanks held more fuel. A very nice bike.

Have had the 250 for 3 years and its been brilliant,have now done 7000 miles. Feels really light and responsive in town while on the motorway will do 70 comfortably and can be pushed to 85.weather protection is pretty good which is useful here in Scotland. greatest asset is probably its acceleration and it leaves everything standing at the lights-you are about 100 yards away while cars are just getting out of 1st gear. Am now likely to upgrade to the 400 (had a test drive of the Kawasaki j300 but unlike the x max it felt it was made for someone much smaller -im 6ft

overall i would recommend this bike to anyone

I have owned my XMAX 250 from new in 2006 soon after it was launched. I've covered 8500 miles in that time most of which has been for short 24 mile round trips in central london. That said I've also used it for the occasional longer ride of 100 miles or so into the country. I've never had a problem with my bike and it is great fun to ride. Very ecconomical at around 80-90 mpg even with lots of stop start riding. A very smooth ride from the twist and go auto transmission and spirited performance. I also ride a BMW1200 but look forward to the easy ride of the XMAX being very light and comfortable. It really is a fine machine which i intend to hang onto.

bought my 09 xmax 250 i s/h in march of this year, privately via ebay and it came with top box, taller screen (original thrown in with deal), heated grips, 12 months tax and mot.Cost me just short of £2k which at the time I thought was a good deal, now I think I was done.

On the way home the givi top box decided to unlatch itself, this after the po took it off and put it back on to show how it worked, could have accepted it had it been me, anyway picked it up and put it back on, how did i know it had come off? before falling off it smacked me in the back.

One thing i noticed straight away was the first set off was horrendous, it juddered like the engine was hanging off, apparently they're all like that when cold. Performance wise similar to my old style majesty that i owned 6 years ago, only reason i didn't get another scooter then was a 400 burgman was approx £2k for an 02/03 and i could get a 06 gs500f for the same price. Had to go back to scooters due to inflamation of my knee joint which meant i had difficulty chaning gear at times.

First few weeks useage, excellent weather protection with big screen, rubbish top speed with big screen, good fuel consumption. less storage apart from undear seat, on xmax compared with older majesty.

One day of high winds convinced me now was the time to change screens, it's not funny being blown in to the turning right lane when you want to go straight on. this then restored the top speed to a more reasonable 85 if pushed but a happy 70 cruise as others have said.

Comfort wise, it's horrendous, the seat is too high and too hard compared with the majesty, very little room to move your feet as well, not tried 2 up and unlikely to as my wife will wait for our gold wing. Suspension, what suspension ? the old one was very comfy but did not handle brilliant, this one handles, for a scooter, but a pain in the rear.

Recently the performance has gone and the engine management light has come on, error 13-air temp/pressure sensor or ecu. done the sensor so it looks like ecu, £400 plus the usual fitting etc. still runs, drinks like a 750 and goes as fast as a 125.

according to a company that specialise in ecu repairs, it is a known fault and not repairable, they can however reset a known good ecu to virgin state so it can be re-programmed with the red key.

would i buy another ? unlikely before the recent incidents and now a definite no-no

would i recommend one ? only if you enjoy having your fillings shaken on uk roads and if second hand you pay the premium and buy from a dealer with a good warranty

i bought 2010 x max 250 3 years ago,currently my bike had 19800 miles and within this time i had replaced 32 times of rear brake pads.so every 600 miles break pads are worn out.i tried even brembo hardest pads and they only last 630 miles,it is a good bike but this poor break pad issue is man=king me stop to buy xmax 400.someone must say something to yamaha and they should solve this problem

I have had my X MAX for two years. I have covered just over 5000 miles as I use it for short trips to my local station and for fun at weekends. I have been away from mainstream biking for 20 plus years and this machine matches my current needs. It has good storage under the seat and reasonable weather protection. Comfort is average, the seat is a little bit hard and this may be due to the maximising of the storage space underneath and the need to keep the seat height at a reasonable level. So I guess we have to compromise. But it does mean that after a couple of hours there is some discomfort but it’s not too great an issue. Vibration from the single cylinder engine seems negligible and causes me no problems.

Overall I am very pleased with it, performance is reasonable for a 250, I am no lightweight and I imagine with a slimmer person on board performance would be a little better. However I avoid motorways as I feel it’s not quite quick enough for comfort in that environment. Fuel consumption seems to average between low sixties mpg to around eighty five mpg on longer runs in warm weather. I find this acceptable especially compared to the two stroke machines I have owned in the past. The auto transmission works very smoothly and provides reasonable acceleration.

Handling is OK, suspension is a bit hard and on bumpy B roads it gets a little choppy, so I slow down. However it’s a bit unnerving at times but one should bear in mind it is scooter and not a sports bike.

The finish seems durable with the exception of the rear shocks which started to rust pretty quickly. However the rest of the bike e.g. the wheels, plastic mouldings etc are still looking fresh.

Overall I am very pleased with the X MAX 250, it’s not the cheapest of scooters but feel offers good value given its quality of construction. I would recommend to potential purchasers.

My Yamaha X Max 250 was a big, good looking scooter in white / black with a large fairly comfortable seat. It was a 2009 model with around 2000 miles on clock and immaculate from my local dealer.

I like auto scooters but I have a problem with them, as most are too low for tall riders. The only one I have kept for any length of time is a Piaggio X9 500 ( 18 months and it was the most comfortable scooter I have had - height-wise)

On setting off on the X Max test ride I wobbled straight away, on setting off, because I could not get my feet onto the footboards. The distance between the seat and the boards is too short for long legs ( I am 6' 4").I had too ride with my legs straight out as if I had them on the foot boards my knees came too high up. I found this uncomfortable.

I liked the performance and dismissed the too low seat height , and bought the bike.

It went well doing 70 mph easily ( rider and gear at 18 stone) and would reach an indicated 85 mph. Fuel consumption was good and it handled well.

I could not cope with the excessively low seat height and sold it privately for what I paid the dealer a few weeks before. There seems to be a big demand for these scooters in London, as two Italian lads came to buy it, travelling from London to Bolton Lancs, in a van and paid my asking price in cash,( after trying unsuccessfully to haggle the price down) and took it away there and then.

All in all a good scooter for people of average height and build and I would highly recommend. However it is unsuitable for tall riders. ( I also sold the previous scooter I had after only a few weeks - a very nice 2009 Burgman 400 as that also had a distance between the seat and footboards that was too short and I could not live with it.

the only thing it lacks in ABS on the UK version.

i'm on my second XMAX, from 125 to 250 and highly recommend it

I would consider myself an experienced biker with 30 years under my belt and a hardened long distance commuter with a variety of machines that have been through my hands over the years from a Honda NC50 (Express) through to an ex-police Honda ST1100 (Pan-European). My last bike has an old BMW K100RT which gave up the ghost a few weeks ago at midnight on the A414, it had to go..

For some time I had been looking with envy at the maxi scooters slicing through London traffic leaving me for dead on my big heavy lump of a bike, so I went down to my local dealer who pointed me in the direction of the Yamaha Xmax 250. I was dubious, would it handle 20,000 miles a year commuting? The dealer seemed surprised I'd even answered that question.

My commute takes me along the A414, down the M11 onto the A12 then across to Pimlico in London SW1, 43 miles each way. The first thing that struck me was the lack of power - I had been riding 1,000 cc + motorcycles for the last 8 years or so. But it was comfortable and despite the running in was reaching 60mph quite easily, once on the M11 it held it's own in the harsh motorway traffic. Once in town that's when it came into its own, slicing through the London traffic like a knife through butter. Although technically a slower machine it was reducing my commuting time by about 10 - 15 mins each way - well impressed!

MPG? Around the 60 - 65 mpg mark, hope to improve on this.

Now that it's been run in a little more I find it cruises happiy at 70mph and has a little in reserve to take it up to around 80 mph.

Bear in mind that I'm a 6'01" 16 stone bloke so this isn't bad at all.

I love the underseat storage and the glove box - no more top boxes.. Feet stay dry in the wet - a bonus.

I have popped on a pair of handlebar mitts and will add heated grips before the winter.

It has had its first service, next one due at 5,000 miles.

I am totally won over to scooters, I hope Yamaha bring out an Xmax 400, that will be a real winner..