Yamaha's Smash Hit MAX Sport Scooters Get 2025 Refresh and Upgrades

The end of last week came with news from Japanese company Yamaha, but in its case the first new two-wheelers of the year are not fully-fledged motorcycles, but scooters.

Not just any scooters, but the MAX Sport lineup, Yamaha's best sellers in this segment, and some of the world's most successful such machines, especially in the European and Asian markets. The breed traces its roots all the way back to the first half of the 2000s, when the range was introduced on the old continent, followed a few years later by an expansion into Asia.

The 2025 Max lineup, at least the models that have been announced as refreshed for the new model year, are the Yamaha XMAX 125 and Yamaha XMAX 300, which will be offered globally, and the XMAX 250 that is on the table for riders in Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and Turkey.

The changes made to these rides are not that extensive, but they come as a means for the bike maker to cement the position of a family that sold over 400,000 units in about a quarter of a century – that's over 16,500 units per year, which for such a type of vehicle is quite impressive and makes the MAX one of the most "successful sport scooters ever produced.."

As we're used to already, all three scooters will be offered in both the standard version and as Tech MAX (including Tech MAX+) builds. The latter machines are the top of the range in the offering, thus they come with the most new features and changes.

No matter what scooter we're talking about they are all now fitted with a new electrically adjustable (by means of a switch installed on the left handlebar) screen that offers 95 mm of vertical movement. Then, the nose of the fairing has been reshaped to become more distinctive, but also in a bid to eliminate wind buffeting.

To better protect the riders' arms when traveling at speed, the scooters now have high-mounted, integrated front turn signals. The front features a dual LED headlight, and there is enough space in the luggage compartment to carry two helmets (two extra storage compartments are installed at the front).

All variants of the sport scooters seem to cut no corners when it comes to modern technologies either. Fitting for customers who have gotten used to having an easy life when riding, the MAX range throws at them traction control, Emergency Stop Signal (ESS), and keyless operation. For good measure, and to help people charge their handheld devices, a new USB Type C socket has been installed in the front compartment.

The Tech MAX and Tech MAX+ bring a lot more extra features to the table. They roll into 2025 with unassuming things such as aluminum footplates, mirrors, and grips, but also as borderline luxurious as a leather seat cover and leather compartment lid covers. A heated seat and equally heated grips also help make these versions of the scooters special.

Just like their lesser siblings, the Tech scooters rely on a 4.2-inch TFT screen installed in a restyled dashboard. Separately, there is also a backlit LCD display used to show details on speed and miles traveled. Both these are fitted under a smoked screen meant to increase visibility in bright conditions.

Garmin navigation is offered for free in the Tech scooters, which differentiate themselves from the rest of the pack through dedicated colors (Ceramic Grey and Dark Magma, while for the regular variants the offering includes solely Icon Black and Tech Kamo) and special emblems installed in key positions on the bodywork.

Yamaha did not tamper with the engines that power its Max range. The XMAX 125 gets its punch from a 12-hp powerplant equipped with start & stop, while the larger XMAX 300 variants rely on a Blue Core 300cc engine that cranks out 28 horsepower. To make it EURO5+ compliant, a new muffler with two catalyzers has been installed.

The Japanese bike maker says the regular XMAX scooters should be available on dealers' lot by March, while their more potent versions, the Techs, should arrive sometime in the spring. There is no mention of how much each of them will cost or whether there will be changes compared to the current model year, so you'll probably have to get in touch with your local dealer to learn more about that.

Now that the fighting has begun in the scooter segment as well, we're looking forward to what Yamaha's competitors have up their sleeves. As far as we know, 2025 will prove to be quite a lucrative year for the segment, so stay tuned for more.