Top honors go to Yamaha, Kymco, Piaggio

Yamaha, Kymco and Piaggio have claimed top honors in the 2008 ScooterMaxi Awards of Distinction. The awards go to top maxiscooters in two classes, as well as Lineup of the Year. Launched in 2006, ScooterMaxi.com offers practical news, information and reviews of scooters in the 250cc class and higher. The long-awaited North American debut of the third-generation Yamaha TMAX earns the Big Maxi of the Year title. The fuel-injected update to the Kymco Xciting 250Ri claims the Middleweight Maxi of the Year. The Award of Distinction for the ScooterMaxi Lineup of the Year goes to Piaggio Group.

With the rapidly expanding availability of new maxiscooter models and so many technological breakthroughs, it becomes increasingly difficult to limit the Awards of Distinction only to the top Big Maxi and Middleweight scooters. This year ScooterMaxi introduces a new category – Special Recognition. Our inaugural Special Recognition honors go to the Piaggio MP3 500 in the Big Maxi division, and to the Vectrix VX-1 in the Middleweight Maxi division.

Yamaha TMAX – Big Maxi of the Year

While Yamaha marketed the highly acclaimed and popular TMAX in Europe for nearly decade, only the third generation design came around to the United States. Good timing – the latest edition, introduced in mid-2008, is more refined than ever. No other big scooter manages to include so much advanced sportbike engineering into the parallel-twin engine, chassis, tuned suspension and sleek styling. Although Yamaha accordingly markets those abundant performance and handling qualities, ScooterMaxi encourages potential buyers to look past the hype and also appreciate the practical design aspects that make the TMAX a great choice as an everyday ride. As usual for the brand, this Yamaha features superb fit and finish, dazzling instrumentation, and excellent lighting characteristics front and rear.

Yamaha TMAX

A year ago, the redesigned Suzuki Burgman 400 won the Big Maxi of the Year award.

Special Recognition – Piaggio MP3 500: The MP3’s three-wheel design is nothing short of a technological marvel. Only one year after the original 250cc introduction into the United States, Piaggio Group made another bold move by bringing all three MP3 versions across the Atlantic. Essentially, the MP3 500ie is a rebadged Gilera Fuoco – and the look is remarkably distinctive with impressive fit and finish. Of course, Gilera is not a U.S. brand, so the decision to bring this model across the pond with Piaggio branding was a bold move.

Kymco Xciting 250Ri – Middleweight Maxi of the Year

When you have a quality scooter from the start, only evolutionary changes are needed to upgrade the product. Such is the case with the newly fuel-injected Kymco Xciting 250Ri. A sleek, refined and full-featured Middleweight Maxi, the Xciting 250Ri handles superbly, brakes responsively and touts all the real-world amenities you like to see for daily commuting and longer-distance adventures. The 249cc engine is easily strong enough for light touring, yet gets great gas mileage. The new fuel injection system is smooth and strong. The updated styling on both Xciting models combines functionality with a more modern, sporty appearance. At ScooterMaxi, we give the 250Ri a slight edge over the 500Ri version (based on the same platform) because of its excellent fuel efficiency and satisfyingly brisk performance overall despite the smaller engine size.

Kymco Xciting 250Ri

A year ago, the original Piaggio MP3 250 claimed the Middleweight Maxi of the Year title.

Special Recognition – Vectrix VX-1: Far more than a novelty, the Vectrix is a well-designed all-electric maxiscooter featuring first-class components. Despite speed limitation to 62 mph, this scooter is fully freeway capable because the governed top speed can be maintained even on a steep incline. For a first offering from Vectrix, the VX-1 is a remarkably solid effort with few foibles. Assuming your routine allows you to plug in every 35 or 40 miles, this scooter provides commuters with maximum fun factor and, of course, zero tailpipe emissions. Poor weather is not a challenge for this unique scooter: Bob Hedstrom of Scooterville Minnesota just reported he took his Vectrix on a 10-mile jaunt at -16(F) degrees. Watch out for the black ice! Kudos to Vectrix for achieving much broader franchise distribution in 2008 – including a good number of Harley-Davidson dealerships.

Piaggio Group – ScooterMaxi Lineup of the Year

At a time when maxiscooters really arrived in the American consciousness, Piaggio Group was there just in time to expand and refine its broad stable of U.S. offerings. More than at most times in the past, Piaggio Group presents a comprehensive long-range vision that successfully brings together the Vespa, Piaggio and Aprilia brands (as well as Moto Guzzi on the motorcycle side of it). Yet, these Italian marques still succeed in conveying their own compellingly distinctive brand images. Offering five models, Piaggio leads the way with the MP3 500, MP3 400 and BV Tourer 500 in the Big Maxi class, as well as the MP3 250 and BV Tourer 250 in the Middleweight class. At Aprilia, the popular and much-praised Sportcity 250 was updated in late 2008 to the SportCity Cube 250; the large-wheeled Scarabeo 500 i.e. is featured in the Big Maxi class. At Vespa, the GTS 250 and upscale vintage GTV 250 are the main offerings, but the torquey 278cc engine will arrive in at least one model early in 2009.  

Piaggio MP3 500

Piaggio Group wasn’t always a full-featured stable of brands with decent product support, but much has improved in a few short years. So much so that Piaggio Group now has earned the title of Lineup of the Year.

Last year, Kymco claimed the ScooterMaxi Lineup of the Year.