Yamaha NMAX 125 Tech MAX: My Review

Moving on from the SunRa Robo S felt less like an upgrade and more like admitting something had not quite worked. The SunRa did its job, but it always felt like a machine I had to accommodate rather than trust. Electric riding sounds brilliant on paper until you start living with it. Range anxiety never really disappears, especially when your riding is not just short, predictable trips. Weather, hills, rider weight and battery health all creep into your thinking, and before long, you are planning journeys around percentages rather than destinations.

That is ultimately why I went back to petrol. I simply do not trust electric range claims enough yet for daily use. Real-world riding exposes the gaps between advertised figures and reality very quickly. With petrol, the logic is refreshingly simple. If there is fuel in the tank, it will go. No apps required just to move, no sudden performance drop-offs, and no quiet panic when the battery drains faster than expected. That peace of mind alone makes riding feel calmer and more enjoyable.

This bike sits firmly in the practical commuter category, but without feeling underpowered or compromised. It is stable, comfortable, and feels like it was designed to be used daily rather than admired occasionally. It handles normal road conditions with confidence and never feels like it is being pushed beyond what it was built to do.

Specification	Details
Fuel type	Petrol
Approximate range	Around 120 miles per tank
Rider weight tested	About 150 kg
Top speed	Around 66 mph
Braking system	No CBS
Navigation	GPS via phone app
Notifications	Separate companion app

Fuel range has been one of the biggest practical wins. At roughly 150 kg rider weight, I am consistently getting around 120 miles from a tank. That is not an optimistic best-case scenario; that is normal riding. Not having to constantly think about when to refuel changes how you approach trips and removes a layer of background stress that electric riding quietly introduces.

Performance-wise, being able to reach around 66 mph makes a real difference. The bike no longer feels out of place on faster roads, and it holds speed without sounding or feeling strained. There is enough headroom to ride confidently in traffic and enough stability to make longer rides feel relaxed rather than tiring.

Handling is where the bike really shines. It is easy to ride, predictable at low speeds, and generally feels calm rather than twitchy. Filtering, tight manoeuvres, and everyday riding all feel natural. It builds confidence quickly, which matters far more than headline performance figures when this is something you actually use day to day.

One feature I actively appreciate is the lack of CBS. Being able to control the rear brake independently allows for much finer slow-speed control. It feels more traditional and gives you authority over how the bike behaves, particularly at low speeds, rather than deciding for you how braking should work.

The GPS works well enough, but it relies entirely on your phone and a specific app. The bike itself is acting as a display rather than a navigation brain. It does not warn you about road closures and things like that (although it is worth saying that the app itself shows these features, but I have never seen it appear on the dashboard, so it might, but I can’t confirm). It uses the app called “StressCross”. As it uses your phone for this, you have to ensure this app is running 24/7, and quite often, I started the bike, and the app wasn’t loaded, and thus navigation didn’t work. While I ended up using Tasker, once my Bluetooth headset is connected to my phone, it loads up both apps. As long as you accept that limitation, it is usable, but it is not a replacement for proper navigation.

Notifications are handled through a separate app from the GPS, which feels unnecessarily fragmented. When it works, it is genuinely useful, but reliability has been inconsistent. I have had to reinstall the app a few times after notifications simply stopped working. It feels like a software issue rather than a hardware one, but it does slightly undermine confidence in the smart features.

Overall, this bike feels like a return to sensible, dependable riding. The software quirks are annoying, but they do not overshadow the core experience. It starts, it rides, it goes where you expect it to, and it does so without constantly demanding attention. For anyone who wants reliable daily transport without doing range calculations in their head, this feels like a genuinely smart move.