2008 Yamaha XP 500 TMAX scooter

Yamaha have released a comprehensive look at the 2008 TMAX XP 500 scooter

When Yamaha’s original TMAX hit the road in 2001 it changed the scooter world overnight. For the very first time here was a large-capacity scooter that offered a passionate mix of exhilarating sports bike performance combined with scooter sophistication and functionality. The orginal TMAX started a scooter revolution.

The TMAX is an amazing fusion – a maxi-scooter that is big fun to ride on any kind of road – totally at home on city streets, on twisting country roads and in the motorway fast lane. So it was no surprise that so many riders fell in love with its intoxicating blend of performance and practicality, discovering that one bike really can do it all. The 2008 TMAX takes that concept to the next level: it’s lighter and sleeker in design, with top performance from its powerful, hi-tech 499cc twin-cylinder engine. And the ride quality is improved along with increased agility, comfort, enhanced everyday convenience and upgraded environmental friendliness.

TMAX has the power to change lives with its awesomely versatile performance because flexibility means freedom to untangle oneself from the complexities of a busy modern lifestyle. Wherever you’re going in life, TMAX will take you there with a smile on your face. The 2008 TMAX features radical new sports styling with sleek, sculpted bodywork, eye-grabbing headlight design and remarkable new muffler design that accentuate the original model’s image of sports performance and sophistication and maintain the machine’s impressive compactness.

The brilliantly avant-garde design retains the TMAX’s signature boomerang-shaped side covers and features elements of the ‘mass forward’ styling used in Yamaha street bikes and supersport bikes to emphasise the TMAX’s front-biased weight distribution that promotes excellent rider control. Lighter body parts also contribute to the 2008 model’s 5kg weight reduction, and the new bodywork improves stability in side winds. Of course, the new body keeps the weather at bay brilliantly, keeping the rider’s upper body, arms, legs and feet away from the wind and rain. And the new design windscreen is easily detachable to allow quick changes from the standard screen to a short sports screen (especially good for urban riding), which is available as genuine Yamaha accessories. The 2008 TMAX also features a classy new dash panel that offers all the information you need in an easy-to-read format. The triple instruments house analogue speedo, fuel gauge and temperature gauge plus digital clock.

2008 TMAX styling highlights
* Radical new sports styling with smooth, sculpted bodywork
* Eye-grabbing dual headlight design
* Remarkable new muffler design contributes to sleek, sporty look
* Lighter body parts contribute to 5kg weight reduction
* New bodywork improves stability in side winds
* Easily detachable windscreen

2008 TMAX chassis
The new TMAX was created for the street, for riders who want a sophisticated urban performer that can exhilarate like a motorcycle when pointed down twisting country roads and wide-open motorways. But our commitment to the sports capabilities of this machine required that our development programme also included track-testing sessions. Yamaha test riders evaluated the new TMAX on track to ensure that its all-new aluminium frame allows the machine to handle, steer and grip the road like a sports bike. The new frame, which replaces the original tubular steel unit, is constructed from a mix of extruded aluminium sections and cast aluminium sections formed by Yamaha’s exclusive CF die-casting technology.

This composite design allowed our engineers to create a lighter frame with an ideal rigidity balance that delivers both excellent handling characteristics and a superbly comfortable ride. The rigidity balance was fine-tuned during the development process, with the thickness of the aluminium sections changed time and again to achieve the perfect compromise between handling performance, stability and comfort.

The TMAX suspension settings have been retuned to complement the new frame’s superb performance. Complementing the new frame is a 15-inch front wheel (previous models featured a 14-inch front) which delivers a more stable and more comfortable ride, especially over rougher road surfaces. Both front and rear wheels are of a classy new hollow three-spoke design in aluminium alloy, just like you’d find on a performance sports bike. The new TMAX also features wider diameter front forks (43mm, up from 41mm) and a 5mm longer wheelbase (1580mm, up from 1575mm) for surer handling and stability. The result of these upgrades is a superbly neutral handling character that gives the rider that life-affirming sports bike sensation of controlling a machine that goes exactly where you point it, plus impressive stability at speed.

If the TMAX specs keep reminding you of a sports bike that’s no surprise because this is a scooter engineered like a sports bike. The TMAX braking system was always impressive – triple hydraulic disc brakes for stopping on a dime – but the 2008 model takes the sports spec another step forward with monobloc four-piston front brake calipers (with span-adjustable brake levers) for even more impressive stopping performance. The 2008 TMAX weighs an impressive 5kg less than its predecessor thanks to a full range of weight-reducing measures right across the chassis, from the aluminium frame to the revised bodywork.

2008 TMAX chassis highlights
* All-new aluminium frame
* Optimised suspension settings for even better handling
* 15-inch front wheel, new design alloy wheels
* Larger diameter front fork (from 41mm to 43mm)
* Overall weight reduced by 5kg

2008 TMAX engine features
That original TMAX looked very much like a scooter but its engine performance made it much more than that. Like the TMAX itself, the hi-tech engine has a dual nature – beautifully mild-mannered on the one hand but capable of mightily impressive performance on the other! The TMAX’s impressive 499cc twin-cylinder engine offers the kind of performance that won’t disappoint experienced sports bike riders. Featuring digital fuel injection, four valves per cylinder and a compression ratio of 11.0:1, the TMAX delivers brilliant acceleration for swift urban getaways and effortless overtaking. And an inbuilt balancer shaft ensures silky smooth cruising.

The 2008 TMAX engine features a host of detail refinements designed to improve overall efficiency and therefore simultaneously enhance performance and environmental friendliness. Most importantly, engineers worked on the fuel injection mapping, air intake, combustion chamber and exhaust system to achieve a beautifully balanced engine with crisp throttle response and user-friendly power delivery that perfectly matches the chassis character and the fully automatic transmission system. The air intake improvements came courtesy of the aluminium frame, which allows the air cleaner to be mounted closer to the engine for increased intake efficiency. The latest TMAX also features a dramatic new sports muffler design that contributes to the 2008 model’s sleek, sporty styling and includes increased catalytic converter capacity for cleaner emissions to EU3 standards.

2008 TMAX engine highlights
* Revised fuel injection mapping, air intake and exhaust
* Improved engine efficiency delivers more performance and fewer emissions
* Remarkable new muffler design contributes to sleek, sporty look
* Increase catalytic converter capacity also improves environmental friendliness
* Forward inclined angle of the cylinders with reciprocating balancer delivers compact, low centre of gravity, and low vibration
* Digital fuel injection means superb power characteristics
* Fully auto transmission means hassle-free, twist-and-go riding

2008 TMAX comfort and convenience features
At the heart of the TMAX’s dual nature is its ability to combine sports performance with class-leading scooter comfort and convenience. This is a scooter that’s built to keep not one but two people happy with deluxe comfort for rider and passenger that would shame some tourers. The two-step dual seat has been reprofiled for improved leg reach to the ground and thus enhanced low-speed control and confidence. The sumptuously padded unit is as hugely accommodating and supporting as ever, with plenty of room for rider and passenger to remain comfortable even on longer trips. The seat also features a new, dual-textured material for added comfort. Sturdy alloy grabrails ensure that the passenger feels confident and secure at all times.

The practicalities of everyday life were a major consideration in this TMAX redesign, so the 2008 model features several detail improvements for added convenience. The new bodywork includes a second glovebox just below the left handlebar, handy for carrying coins for tolls, parking tickets or other small items. The new aluminium frame also freed up more space for the fuel tank which is now almost seven percent bigger than that featured on previous models, up one litre to 15 litres for improved range and thus less need for fuel stops. And a new seat hinging system makes it easier to pack and unpack the underseat locker.

TMAX comfort and convenience highlights
* Reprofiled seat for improved low-speed control and confidence
* Lighter sculpted bodywork
* Better resistance to side winds
* Extra glovebox within bodywork
* Larger fuel tank capacity
* New seat hinging system for easier packing/unpacking
* Standard fitment immobiliser for added security

TMAX – the background story
The TMAX was unveiled to the European press in Italy, during July 2000 and went on sale the following year. The machine was acclaimed by everyone who rode it and very soon there were many imitations, but none have been able to match its unique blend of sporty sensation and deluxe ride. Yamaha has a unique feel for this sector of the market because the original maxi-scooter was Yamaha’s Majesty 250, launched in 1994. The T of TMAX stands for twin, as in twin-cylinder scooter, but also for twin as in dual purpose. This is a unique creation that’s more like two machines, each with its own job: to excite you like a motorcycle and to be as easy to live with as a scooter. There is a real art to creating a machine that can do it all. You could even argue that it’s a more complex task than designing a machine that’s focused on just one type of riding, like a supersport bike or a cruiser.

The 2008 TMAX continues the original theme of duality, its in-depth development programme was conceived to enhance its commuter functionality, sports bike performance, tourer comfort and environmental credentials.

2008 TMAX XP500 SPECIFICATIONS

Engine
Engine type Liquid cooled 4-stroke, DOHC,4-valve, forward-inclined parallel 2-cylinder
Displacement 499 cc
Bore x stroke 66.0 X 73.0 mm
Comp ratio 11:1
Lubrication Dry sump
Fuel System Electronic Fuel Injection
Clutch type Wet, multiple-disc automatic
Ignition system TCI
Starter system Electric
Transmission Automatic with V-Belt
Fuel tank 15 L

Chassis
Front sus Telescopic forks
Rear sus Swingarm
Front brake Dual Discs, Ø 267 mm
Rear brake Disc, Ø 267 mm
Front tyre 120/70-15
Rear tyre 160/60-15
Dimensions
Length 2195 mm
Width 775 mm
Height 1445 mm
Seat height 800 mm
Wheel base 1580 mm
Min grd clr 125 mm
Dry weight 203 kg

Other
Colours Stealth Metal; Electric Blue
Warranty 24 months, unlimited kms, parts and labour
RRP (inc GST) $12,499