Piaggio BV400s or Yamaha XMAX
Randy Dreammaker put these Technical Specifications together for you, while trying to decide on the Scooter he would ultimately purchase for use in Southern California, where gas prices are always $3.00 higher than the national average.
Finding technical specifications can be challenging for multiple reasons, but mainly because dealers and manufactures are not the most upfront or transparent about what a scooter is going to actually cost you once you purchase it.
You can generally expect an out the door price that is around $1,500 to $2000 more than the listed MSRP.
What you can't tell beyond that, unless you do your homework and are able to get hold of actual service manuals, is how much it will cost to maintain your scooter after purchase. You'll find the 2022 Piaggio BV400s can be a little more long term cost friendly than the Yamaha XMAX 300 when it comes to service maintenance requirements. Both have a major service at 12,000 miles requiring a valve clearance adjustment and belt inspection. However, the Piaggio BV400s has normal maintenance every 6,000 miles compared to the Yamaha XMAX 300 every 4,000 miles. The 6,000 mile inspection for the Piaggio BV400s includes a belt inspection, where as the Yamaha XMAX 300 does not provide the belt inspection in their service maintenance schedule and only suggests that it is not required until the LED dash indicator light appears.
The average cost of a service that requires a valve clearance check is around $300 to $500 depending on the brand and dealer. According to multiple owners of the Yamaha XMAX 300 on Facebook and other forums, some Official US Yamaha dealers may attempt to insist on other last minute repairs or parts replacements when you come to pick up your scooter after service and refuse to release the bike to you unless you perform them. Failure to perform the additional repairs and leaving with the bike will result in a red stamp being placed on the sales repair invoice invalidating any warranties on the work already performed. Randy was unable to locate any similar situations being reported by customers of Piaggio's US dealers.
The Yamaha XMAX looks pretty good at first glance, having one of the largest under seat storage spaces. It's a 300cc scooter so it can hit the freeways. BUT! There are reasons why you might want to go with a Piaggio BV 400cc instead.
At the time of this comparison in April 2022, Randy who is located in Los Angeles, California was only able to locate one new Yamaha XMAX 2022 within a 1,000 mile distance. Outside of California Randy was able to only locate 5 New 2022 Yamaha XMAX 300 scooters, all of them in the mid-west to east coast.
The dealer in San Diego, California had the following price on the XMAX, MSRP $5.799 + Added Dealer Fees (ADM) of $1,495 for a total initial cost of $7294 plus government fees. Approximately $8400 out the door after 10% taxes and government fees. Compare that to the New 2022 Piaggio BV400s out-the-door price quoted a week earlier by the Piaggio Dealer in Los Angeles of $9,100 and that is only a difference of around $700 for the much more powerful Piaggio.
While doing research on the Yamaha XMAX 300, Randy visited the local Official Yamaha Dealer in Los Angeles, contacted the US Yamaha Corporation, talked with multiple owners, and engaged in the Yamaha XMAX Facebook group. These are a few of the concerns worth nothing about the current state of the U.S. Yamaha XMAX in 2022.
- In person dealer experience was less than pleasant, with the sales manager unwilling to give an estimated out-the-door price, not very friendly, not very forth coming or interested in discussing the Yamaha XMAX stating they only get up to two a year.
- Yamaha's Official XMAX inventory locator suggested five U.S. dealers had the Yamaha XMAX in stock. None of those five dealers had any.
- Randy called the US Yamaha Powersport Office and was left on extended hold with no one answering the phone after going through their automated system. He additionally attempted to reach them via social media, was promised a response via automated reply, but never heard back from any representatives.
- During the first week of April 2022, Yamaha raised the MSRP on their website from $5699 to $5799. It's only $100, but it seemed strange to raise the 2022 MSRP after three months into the year.
- According to multiple XMAX owners, Yamaha has been out of stock of key accessories since 2021, including the top box mount parts and the Yamaha exclusive handle bar accessory mount.
- Owners have had to turn to third party lighting to attach to their Yamaha XMAX 300, claiming that the stock LED headlights are barely usable at night.
- All of the Yamaha XMAX 300 owners contacted while doing research for this article, complained about an uncomfortable seating position and poor rear shock suspension.
- One unusual observation is the amount of 2022 Yamaha XMAX owners who sell their scooter by around 2,500 miles.
Similar research was conducted for the 2022 New Piaggio BV400s. All of the customer reviews have were positive, accessories and scooters are available and Piaggio is continuing to ship additional units as they sell out. When reaching out to multiple Piaggio US Dealers the interactions were all positive, welcoming and informative. The Piaggio dealers were all willing to provide an out-the-door estimate, answer questions and make recommendations.
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BROWSE YAMAHA XMAX SPECIFIC ACCESSORIES AVAILABLE ON AMAZON (CLICK HERE)
Price wise, the MSRP difference between the 2022 Piaggio BV400s and Yamaha XMAX 300 is $1,400. That extra $1,400 gives you the latest scooter technology, all LED lighting and the fastest scooter in the USA 300cc to 400cc price range with a capable 95 MPH+. In a comparison between the Piaggio BV400s and the $8,499 2022 Suzuki Burgman 400cc, the Piaggio out paced the Suzuki in all conditions, especially at freeway speeds over 65MPH.
Gas wise, the Yamaha XMAX will deliver 70 to 75 Miles Per Gallon according to Yamaha, compared to the more powerful Piaggio BV400s at 65 Miles Per Gallon.
For storage space, if that is important to you, the Yamaha XMAX under seat storage is larger than the Piaggio BV400s. Yamaha advertises the XMAX storage space is capable of holding two full face helmets, compared to the Piaggio's storage space that is advertised as being able to hold two 3/4 open face rocket style helmets. (A rocket style helmet is the round kind that Speed Racer wore in the animated cartoon)
Both are very freeway capable, with the Yamaha having an estimated top speed of around 85 MPH and the Piaggio having an estimated top speed of 95+. Both are perfect for anyone who wants to get a speeding ticket.
Both feature a keyless Smart Key FOB instead of the traditional key, a windshield and foot pegs. The Piaggio additionally offers Bluetooth Connectivity, luggage rack and a Bike Finder / Panic Button with Flashing Lights and Horn Honking.
Randy created a comparison side-by-side spreadsheet to make it easy for you to see the specs and features of the two. It is easier to understand the differences when you can see them next to each other. This spreadsheet shows 2022 BV400cc and 2022 Yamaha XMAX 300c specifications that you will not find anywhere else.
(Opens in Google Spreadsheets)
(Opens in web browsers able to read Adobe PDF files)
(Right click and Save As, to save it to your computer or phone)
(Right click and Save As, to save the spreadsheet to your computer or phone)
Interested in something else?
Compare other 2022 scooters (Click Here)
BROWSE PIAGGIO BEVERLY 400 SPECIFIC ACCESSORIES AVAILABLE ON AMAZON (CLICK HERE)