Yamaha R15-powered N-MAX maxi scooter India-bound: Suzuki Burgman rival

The scooter segment in India is giving a tough fight to commuter bikes in terms of sales. More and more people are favoring the fuss free, non-geared alternatives to bikes with sales having equal participation from both the genders. To cash on this demand, Yamaha has planned to bring in a new 150 cc scooter which will be called as the N-Max.

The scooter will be powered by a 155cc liquid cooled engine borrowed from the Yamaha R15.

Yamaha had long been absent from the 125/150 cc scooter segment and this marks the Japanese brand’s foray into the sector. To let you know, Hero too has recently launched its 125 cc challenger, the Destini 125. However, with the N-Max, the company will be skipping the 125 cc segment altogether.

Talking about the N-Max, the maxi scooter design language is something which pitches it in front of the Suzuki Burgman. However, the Burgman is powered by a 125 cc engine and hence the rivalry would be limited only to aesthetics bit. Powering the N-Max will be a 155cc, liquid-cooled, 4-valve engine which churns out 14.8 PS of power along with 14.4 Nm of peak torque. This is way more than what its nearest competition offers in the form of Aprilla SR150. It is possible that the engine will be detuned slightly to make it more mileage friendly rather than feature the performance oriented tune it gets on the Yamaha R15.

The N-Max will not be short on kit and will feature LED elements, a fully-digital instrument console along with a large windscreen. The typical maxi scooter sporty design will make it stand away from the lot and the scooter will get split floorboard and a long step-up seat among other things. Also, the N-Max will get discs at both the ends along with ABS as per the new government regulations. The N-Max runs on 110/70/13 front and 130/70/13 rear alloy wheels. The scooter has disc brake at both ends along with ABS. Notably, ABS is yet to be offered on the Yamaha R15.

As for the pricing, considering the engine and equipment on offer, Yamaha could place the scooter near the Rs. 1 Lakh price mark. The company has priced the N-Max at around Rs. 1.5 lakhs in Philippines. With some stripping down of kits and equipment along with high localisation rate, Yamaha can pull the price down but it will still remain the most expensive scooter on sale in India when launched. However, it is worth mentioning that the N-Max will also be the most powerful scooter in the market which could easily shame a few motorcycles in terms of sheer power.

Via Motorbeam