Bigger Yamaha Nouvo

[taichiplanet]

Been looking at getting an auto bike as a 2nd bike (been riding a friends Nuovo 115 auto for a while, great storage and zippy enough around town). I basically narrowed my choice down to the Wave 110i AT, Suzuki Hayate 125i and Yam Nuovo Elegance 135. Today i checked out the bikes; though i didn't see a Hayate i, the dealer had a 'new' carbie model. Asking the Honda/Suzuki/Tiger mechanic what auto i should buy and he said 'Nuovo Elegance'!!

I then went to my friendly Honda dealer in Naklua (probably the same one jackcorbitt frequents), i looked at the PCX (too big and expensive: 70k), the Wave (no underseat storage 44k) and they had a Nuovo Elegance in for service. I liked the Nuovo, nice size. Gotta love Thailand, the friendly Honda staff asked what colour Nuovo did i want and they could organise one for 55k! I'm assuming prices didn't include rego and insurance.

Yes, the Spark has the 135i engine so i am also wondering if they will soon put it into the Nuovo?

[katabeachbum]

Been looking at getting an auto bike as a 2nd bike (been riding a friends Nuovo 115 auto for a while, great storage and zippy enough around town). I basically narrowed my choice down to the Wave 110i AT, Suzuki Hayate 125i and Yam Nuovo Elegance 135. Today i checked out the bikes; though i didn't see a Hayate i, the dealer had a 'new' carbie model. Asking the Honda/Suzuki/Tiger mechanic what auto i should buy and he said 'Nuovo Elegance'!!

I then went to my friendly Honda dealer in Naklua (probably the same one jackcorbitt frequents), i looked at the PCX (too big and expensive: 70k), the Wave (no underseat storage 44k) and they had a Nuovo Elegance in for service. I liked the Nuovo, nice size. Gotta love Thailand, the friendly Honda staff asked what colour Nuovo did i want and they could organise one for 55k! I'm assuming prices didn't include rego and insurance.

Yes, the Spark has the 135i engine so i am also wondering if they will soon put it into the Nuovo?

hayate was a good carb bike, but they stopped making them 1.5 to 2 years ago. Look for the sticker as when it was made

Agree on Nuovo E, please start selling it with 135Fi, even if they cant repair Fi if it fails

[jackcorbett]

Been looking at getting an auto bike as a 2nd bike (been riding a friends Nuovo 115 auto for a while, great storage and zippy enough around town). I basically narrowed my choice down to the Wave 110i AT, Suzuki Hayate 125i and Yam Nuovo Elegance 135. Today i checked out the bikes; though i didn't see a Hayate i, the dealer had a 'new' carbie model. Asking the Honda/Suzuki/Tiger mechanic what auto i should buy and he said 'Nuovo Elegance'!!

I then went to my friendly Honda dealer in Naklua (probably the same one jackcorbitt frequents), i looked at the PCX (too big and expensive: 70k), the Wave (no underseat storage 44k) and they had a Nuovo Elegance in for service. I liked the Nuovo, nice size. Gotta love Thailand, the friendly Honda staff asked what colour Nuovo did i want and they could organise one for 55k! I'm assuming prices didn't include rego and insurance.

Yes, the Spark has the 135i engine so i am also wondering if they will soon put it into the Nuovo?

Spark had the 135 c.c. engine before the Nouvo Elegance came out. I think it had liquid cooling before the Elegance came out too. Fuel injection was offered in the Honda Click and at least one other model before it was offered in the Air Blade. So for some reason the flag ship models get the good stuff after it's been available in cheaper machines for at least a few months. As far as the Nouvo Elegance it could be that at least for now fuel injection doesn't offer huge advantages for this Asian market and has decided to keep its production costs low in order to sell more machines. Also.....look up Nouvo in Wikipedia and notice that the Nouvo MX has a different carburetor setup than the Elegance has so I'm wondering how much improvement if any the new carb gave the Elegance setup over the Nouvo MX. Anyone have any ideas on that?

[Richard-BKK]

Actually the Suzuki Hayate 125cc is currently available (only) with DCP-FI (fuel-injection), and basically it leaves Yamaha as the only manufacturer who cannot guaranty degradation of the fueling system by the Ethanol fuel. Is Yamaha already E20 applicant in Thailand? Hardly, because this means that for at least 5-years it should be impossible to scientifically show the degradation of materials at the moment of production... And basically in any lab test you can see degradation of material in the fueling system after 7 days when using E20 fuel.

P.S. Forget about a 150cc Yamaha scooter coming to Thailand... Not going to happen - 250cc maybe

Edited July 6, 2010 by Richard-BKK

[ttakata]

I wonder if this decision to stick with the carb will come back to bite Yamaha in a few years.

While all the fuel injected bikes will be running along, people with carbs are gonna start complaining.

If my 2009 Nouvo Elegance starts having problems because of the green 91 fuel I put in, I'll fix it and sell it for an FI bike.

If they can make a bigger cc scooter the same size as the 135, I'm sold, but somehow I'd imagine it will be bigger if it happens.

Then families of 5-6 can ride on top of them instead of 3 :-)

[jackcorbett]

Actually the Suzuki Hayate 125cc is currently available (only) with DCP-FI (fuel-injection), and basically it leaves Yamaha as the only manufacturer who cannot guaranty degradation of the fueling system by the Ethanol fuel. Is Yamaha already E20 applicant in Thailand? Hardly, because this means that for at least 5-years it should be impossible to scientifically show the degradation of materials at the moment of production... And basically in any lab test you can see degradation of material in the fueling system after 7 days when using E20 fuel.

P.S. Forget about a 150cc Yamaha scooter coming to Thailand... Not going to happen - 250cc maybe

I think Yamaha is smart enough to not leave itself wide open to loss of reputation because its fuel systems deteriorate due to second rate technology. It's really quite simple. My last Mazda Miata was rated for premium fuel. So that's what I bought back in the U.S. Premium fuel, every time. Same same here. My Yamaha Nouvo Elegance has clearly written on its gas cap 91 octane. That's what I use and I doubt if I'll ever have problems with the fuel system. Both Honda and Yamaha have motor bikes chock full of great technology that most of us here have never seen before that will make traditional chain driven motorcycles look just as dated as film cameras (compared to digitals). Example in point, Honda has the 300 SHi available in certain other markets, a 300 cc. motorbike (actually I think it's around 279 c.c.'s) that will do 85 miles an hour or so that is very highway capable with terrific braking, handling, etc in a size that's substantially smaller than say a 400 Yamaha Majesty or 500 T Max. Speaking of which, just check out their reviews on the Internet and you will see these machines, especially the T Max are excellent cruisers on U.S. superhighways. And when you look at a new T Max closeup, the style in my opinion outclasses most motorcycles while its obvious quality and attention to detail is first rate. Problem is they cost over 500,000 baht and in my opinion they are overkill for Thailand city traffic conditions while being too heavy and too large to easily slide in and out of traffic or to park easily in tight spots.

But back to the Yamaha X Max 250. Here's a few more pictures More 250 X max pictures And here's a few owners' reviews Yamaha X Max 250 reviews Sure, I'd like to have a Honda 150 CBR in that nice bright blue color I mentioned earlier just because I like the style, it looks terrific, has a 6 speed transmission, drives and performs very well for what it is and so on. And there's always going to be a lot of Harley fans because of the Harley mystic and a number of other factors I don't get into. But I do think that for the most part we are going to see the evolutionary successors of such machines as the 250 X Max, the 500 T-Max and Hondas 300 SHi pretty much take over the market and that's why Honda isn't making any inroads into the 250 c.c. size market and has apparently dropped production of its very successful (and still successful for the moment) 150 CBR)

Edited July 7, 2010 by jackcorbett

[taichiplanet]

It really comes down to price. The average Thai is not gonna spend a lot of money on a bike, maybe a 150 cc or so scooter is more than enough. If they can afford a bit more for a better bike they are probably gonna buy a car or pick-up.

As for a bigger cruising scooter, I can see the advantages but it’s not my style. I’d prefer something like the Kwaka Ninja 650. I want a small/medium sized auto as a 2nd bike for the occasional use in the city, and a bigger scooter would lose the advantages of weaving through the traffic. Around 150cc injected would be a nice balance; enough power but not lose out on maneuverability. Anyway, Farangs are a small market here and we are just gonna have to put up with whatever the Thais are thought to want!

It is strange that Yam is not as aggressive in introducing injection, but as Richard said maybe it is a cost factor. If, as jackcorbett said, they are testing it out first on the Spark before putting on other bikes then I am willing to wait a few months to see what happens. With injection the Elegance would then fit all of my criteria.

Thailand is supposed to have fairly strict emission rules, don’t know if they will tighten them up more, but maybe that will force Yam more firmly down the Fi path.

Today I’m gonna try and find a Suzuki dealer that actually has a Hayate 125i to see what it is like. The ‘new’ carbie version I saw yesterday didn’t seem to have the build quality of the Elegance; though if it has been sitting around for a year or so then maybe that has taken the sparkle off it!

What does Hayate mean anyway; is it some reference to horsepower (ate hay)!

Edited July 7, 2010 by taichiplanet

[katabeachbum]

Actually the Suzuki Hayate 125cc is currently available (only) with DCP-FI (fuel-injection), and basically it leaves Yamaha as the only manufacturer who cannot guaranty degradation of the fueling system by the Ethanol fuel. Is Yamaha already E20 applicant in Thailand? Hardly, because this means that for at least 5-years it should be impossible to scientifically show the degradation of materials at the moment of production... And basically in any lab test you can see degradation of material in the fueling system after 7 days when using E20 fuel.

P.S. Forget about a 150cc Yamaha scooter coming to Thailand... Not going to happen - 250cc maybe

Richard are you shure Suz have started making Hayate injection? Last time I checked in Suz showroom they where unavailable.

All carbs not withstanding E20 is hard to believe. VW bugs and all other cars in the 70s had carbs, and run for decades in Brazil on E20-E50.

On the other hand there are several injection systems unable to withstand E20, check Volvo V50, Subaru etc.

So some carbs and injection seem to be able to handle E20, some dont. My advice would be to follow manufactorers recomondation. They may have done some testing.

[taichiplanet]

Don't know if Suzuki are actually making them yet but diffently on their website. (Good website by the way, easy to get info while APHonda's website is rubbish)

www.thaisuzuki.co.th

The Jelato and Skydrive also are stated as having the DCP-Fi, while the Shogun is stated as having EPi. All seem to be E20 friendly. Seems Suz is on the ball compared to Yam.

I suppose the question is how long will Benzine 91 be available, my mechanic told me a while ago that Ben95 was going to disappear. Though i suppose Ben91 cannot disappear as too many engines depend on it at the moment.

Edited July 7, 2010 by taichiplanet

[Richard-BKK]

The new Suzuki Hayate 125 DCP-FI is very new and some dealers maybe still not have stock. By the way "Hayate" means "hurricane" in Japanese....

[taichiplanet]

Just been to the local Suzuki dealer, they have more Hondas and Yamies than Suzuki. Not a Skydrive or Hayate on the shop floor. The saleswoman was adamant that the Hayate doesn't come with Fi even though i pointed out the official website says so. They didn't even have a brochure. She did agree that the Jelato, Shogun and Skydrive had Fi. The Honda saleswoman yesterday, that had a 'new' carbie Hayate, was also adamant it doesn't come with Fi. Maybe Suzuki HQ want to clear the carbie models before they tell the sales team about the Fi!

Fairly difficult to buy a bike if you can't even see it, let alone any hope of test driving it. The Suzuki dealer had a couple of Elegances but fairly mundane/uninspiring colours.

Prices are (including tax/ins/reg,)all with alloy wheels:

Hayate 125(carbie) B50,050

Skydrive 125i B49,050

Elegance 135 B56,150

Looks like i'll have to wait until both the Elegance and Hayate come out with Fi before deciding. By the way, from the specs i could find the Hayate is carrying about 5kgs more than the Elegance.

[jackcorbett]

Been looking at getting an auto bike as a 2nd bike (been riding a friends Nuovo 115 auto for a while, great storage and zippy enough around town). I basically narrowed my choice down to the Wave 110i AT, Suzuki Hayate 125i and Yam Nuovo Elegance 135. Today i checked out the bikes; though i didn't see a Hayate i, the dealer had a 'new' carbie model. Asking the Honda/Suzuki/Tiger mechanic what auto i should buy and he said 'Nuovo Elegance'!!

I then went to my friendly Honda dealer in Naklua (probably the same one jackcorbitt frequents), i looked at the PCX (too big and expensive: 70k), the Wave (no underseat storage 44k) and they had a Nuovo Elegance in for service. I liked the Nuovo, nice size. Gotta love Thailand, the friendly Honda staff asked what colour Nuovo did i want and they could organise one for 55k! I'm assuming prices didn't include rego and insurance.

Yes, the Spark has the 135i engine so i am also wondering if they will soon put it into the Nuovo?

Yep. Gotta love Thailand. That Honda Dealer in Naklua will do a good job servicing a Yamaha and as you mentioned sell you a Yamaha. Go to that dealership or for that matter just about any dealership and you get waited on right away and they jump on your bike to get it squared away in record time. Then you get the bill. 200 baht or about six bucks. Now go back into time and back to the U.S. You need an appointment to get your car serviced. Then if it's anything more than an oil change they will keep your car there all day. You need a ride back home or to work. And then when you go get your car it's going to be at least $200.00.