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X-City: Yamaha's dynamic approach to urban commuting

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The X-City is designed for inner city commuting, unlike its brother model X-Max, which is set up more for higher speed on highways and city ring roads.

Project leader Patrice Maciejewski explains:
"The large 16 inch wheels contribute to the confidence when riding, and they are comfortable because they roll more easily over bumps and holes in the road. As a result of the larger wheels, the rider is placed more in front which leads to an upright, very natural riding position with a good view over the traffic."

X-City suspension and riding character is especially designed to cope with the requirements of rough city roads or cobblestone surfaces, often the daily hassle for commuters particular in southern Europe’s ancient city centres.

Patrice continues: “We designed geometry and suspension particular for the lower speed range of inner city commuting, with those bad road conditions and packed traffic. The upright riding position helps to improve visibility and adds to rider’s control feeling of the front end in particular. For comfort, the suspensions are set more smoothly for very bumpy roads, if you compare it with say our X-Max."

Scooter Product Planning Manager Naoki Segawa explains the development targets. "We wanted this scooter to excel even in the worst traffic conditions and road conditions, like in the big and busy cities in south Italy. In the development we set two major targets: "Super Confidence" and "Emotional Feel".”

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Super Confidence
He continues: "The X-City gives the rider super confidence, even in the toughest riding conditions. So our engineers and testers focused on very specific items like:
- an effortless manoeuvrability in heavy traffic,
- a good comfort on rough stone paved roads,
- a compact shape to filter through the traffic.
X-city owners should be able to ride without worries or stress, so we put a lot of attention in low-speed stability, low-speed comfort, excellent braking and easy ground access."

Low Seat
Patrice confirms: "One of the most important elements in our development was that the rider can easily put his feet to the ground. We put a lot of attention to seat height and seat shape, so that shorter riders and also female riders can feel very confident on this scooter."

Emotional Feel
As usual, Yamaha's approach even for scooters in this category is different from the other brands, with more emotional feeling. This starts already with the styling. Segawa says: "We want our customers to feel proud. So we put a lot of attention in the styling, with a strong Yamaha DNA and a clearly dynamic design. I think this scooter looks great."

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Riding dynamics

Naoki Segawa continues: "The riding dynamics of this scooter are clearly better than the competitors in the category. Yamaha scooters tend to have a motorcycle-like handling character. Compared to other high-wheel scooters you can feel the X-City has a high level of riding fun and at the same time it gives you a lot of confidence to ride in the busy city traffic."

The following technology contributed to this Yamaha like dynamic riding character:
- Rigid frame structure with large pipe diameter
- Large and wide tyres
- 38mm diameter front fork
- Disc brakes with a diameter of 270 mm in front and 240 mm in rear

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Practicality
The practical elements were not forgotten either. The X-City also excels by having:
- A storage space under the seat for a jet helmet or computer bag
- A clean and powerful, fuel-injected engine with catalytic converter a very refined character.
- 10 litres fuel tank capacity

X-Max or X-City
Yamaha customers have a choice between X-City and X-Max, two different commuter concepts. X-max is, with its motorcycle like riding behaviour and more compact wheels, geared for higher speeds. And X-City has a comfort set-up for inner city bumpy roads, with 16 inch wheels and a riding character tuned for this lower speed range.

 

Photo Gallery 2007 X-City 250

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