The Kneeslider

Doers Builders and Positive People

Yamaha MAXAM 3000

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Yamaha MAXAM 3000Looking like something from a sci-fi movie, the MAXAM 3000 is Yamaha’s scooter concept, and it’s big, the 3000 is 3000mm in length, that’s 118 inches, almost 10 feet long! That’s one monster scooter or “weekend leisure cruiser” as they call it. Loads of storage and leather seats, and the overhangs in the front and rear practically give it a car like crush zone. Whenever I see a design like this I try to imagine what it would be like to ride. Hmm…

On display at the Tokyo Motor Show

Comments

  1. Whatever, I think the Maxam is AWESOME… sadly it remains completely unavailable… WHY?!

    Lots of people simply do not understand scooters, But I do and I simply love the long and low look. I love the way it harkens back to a cadilac look… In my opinion the whole concept goes back to the helix, in the 80s which had the smooth ride and was long – like a cadilac, but came off looking more dorky than ‘limo-esq’ because of the windshield ruining the long low lines – hitting like a brick wall and sticking streight up, the high front overexposing the front wheel leaving a strange, thin, nose-looking front, and the poor choice in headlights – too far back and invisible due to being in the bodywork…

    these problems were slightly altered with the ‘updated’ helix, the fusion model, where they cut the windshield, took out the silly plastic handlebars, and tried to fix the design issues but despite different headlight assemblies, it maintained a big-nosed look – the different headlights only hilighting it by looking all the more like ‘eyes’…

    If it were me, I would have switched them for a folding headlight that came up midway down the ‘nose’, similar to the ones on the ‘spacy’… but sadly this was not done

    This problem was again tackled and partially fixed with the Morphous, moving the lights foreward, to the front bumper, helped but unfortunately yamaha maintained the headlight rise slightly in its original (helix) position… and, tho they thickened the thin nose shape, they maintained the overexposed front wheel – preserving the feel of a big overhang – a big wierd looking overhang that only draws attention to the front wheel…

    They really need to make a front bottom spoiler for the bike – something that flowed with the lines, mimicking the rise in the rear but covering the top of the wheel so as to give the appearance of gliding only on the plastic body – hovering over the pavement below…

    not to mention the boxy looking rear, helped by the expansion of breaklights on the morphus, it still lacked a true ‘streamlined’ look…

    In my opinion, the MAXAM is the ultimate development, and final form of the concept in scooter travel first attempted with the helix (tho the helix came from elsewhere) – ‘the cadilac, or the limo of scooters’… It not only feels and drives like the cadilac of scooters, but it finally LOOKS it also… wider and lower in the front, maximum luxury ‘interior’, and a long streamlined – yet functional – rear.

    its like a friggin jetbike from the future

    I’d buy one today if I knew where… sadly It will probably cost as much as a caddy as well as looking like it…

    Ive been looking at the morphous tho… it IS close…
    but it looks like Id have to make some sort of spoiler…
    and paint the little windshield black…
    I just wish they could have continued the lines on the front hood back without the rise where the gauges are… and designed it with lower handlebars… less the ‘ape-hanger’ style and more a dragster style, short and streightish…

    tho Id take a maxam as is, just cause its the sex.
    Vyn

  2. I’m with you VYN. I would buy it today if I could, me and my Mrs cruising on a limo like that would a dream. Hope we see a production model soon. See ya!