There has been some speculation about a new 125 Zuma model from Yamaha. But now it’s official as a Yamaha shows the impressive offering in place in it’s 2009 scooter line up along with the T-Max. The specs/features list a 4 valve, fuel injected 125 four stroke and the photos reveal a very impressive look. It’s priced at 2999.00 and should give the Genuine Buddy 125 a run for it’s money. My only problem with the new offering is what appears to be a lack of a kick-start. Don’t fret 50cc 2 stroke scooter lovers, the 50cc Zuma will still be available for all your Ipone and Motul burning needs. The scooter that started off known as the BW back in 1990 has come a long way.
23 thoughts on “New Yamaha Zuma 125 for 2009”
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Love the scoot, but man, those videos make me grind my teeth in frustration.
A 4-Stroke Zuma?!? 4 Valves? Fuel Injection? Ceramic-Coated Cylinder? $2999? Really? Please tell me the VIN of this machine does *not* start with the letter, “L.” Please!
Would it matter if it started with an L? I don’t believe there is anything inherently wrong with things built in China. It’s just that the vast majority of Chinese factories working on their own plan can’t put together a complete vehicle to save their lives. If Yamaha ran the factory in Louisiana I’d have more concerns. But as long as they ran it, I’d be ok with it. I have confidence that Yamaha knows what they are doing and would guess that the scoots are built in Taiwan like most of their scooters.
Brooke, STFU! You said 125 fuel injected 2-stroke and I almost peed my pants. That’s would have been so huge. The specs say 4-stroke. Still I’m happy for you and your Zuma-loving universe and anything fuel injected is a great step forward.
Luv, Dave
I’m sorry, Dave. I don’t know what happened. Some sort of subconscious fantasy slipped through. I read it over several times and can’t believe I didn’t notice that. Again, my appologies. May your pants stay dry until worthy news arrives.
Brooke: Any idea what the top speed would be with the 125? I’m glad that Yamaha is giving us more options in the lower displacement range of scoots, but I’d rather have seen something in the 200-250cc range.
I don’t think bikes in the 200-250cc range have the same feel or charm of a scooter. The vespa GT series does a good job, but they are still hulking masses. There are plenty of maxi scoots out there. If people need that kind of power, a scooter is probably not what they should be looking at. This middle ground is really what is missing in the offerings in the US from the Japanese companies.
But the question of speed is a great one. The Vino 125 is a bit of a disappointment in terms of speed compared to other 125cc four strokes like the Genuine buddy. Yamaha probably chose reliability and economy by very conservative margins over performance on that motor. This is a different motor with a 4 valve head and fuel injection. Maybe they squeeze out that extra power to make their powerplant equal with the others while retaining the reliability. Maybe it’s just the same with even more reliability and economy. Maybe it’s tuned like no other 125 and really sings. This will be interesting to find out. My bet is on the first option that they just equal the other 125/150s and it’ll top out at 65ish with good Yamaha reliability. I have a feeling that the motor is ver ‘clean’ as well suggesting that they’ve done a lot of work designing it for the long term and it’s ready to meet any increasing emmissions requirements for years to come. This could mean that it’s a bit choked down. What would be ideal is if it ends up tunable with aftermarket engine management units for ignition timing and fuel injection. Couple that with harder working cams and free flowing exhausts and it could revolutionized the scooter tuning business that is so conducive to working on 50cc two strokes. The biggest disappointment for me is the retention of the poor ergonomics from the post-2001 50cc model. Sloping floorboards don’t do anyone any favors
From the Yamaha site, I noticed the following interesting specs –
Vino 125 Bore x Stroke = 51.5mm x 60mm
Zuma 125 Bore x Stroke = 52.4 x 57.9 mm
The fact that they went with a shorter stroke suggests they were searching for more RPMs. The fact that they went with 4 valves suggests the same. Those are both classic strategies for higher revving motors (which is where the horsepower lives).
This machines looks to be the best 4-stroke candidate for hot-rodding that we’ve seen, in the sense that just an exhaust (and maybe a cam) may just be enough to make it fly since the standard FI electronics usually seem to be able to cope with the exhust upgrade. Regardless, it looks to be an exciting scooter. Too bad they are quoting September delivery on the Zuma (as opposed to July delivery on the TMax). They’re going to miss the 2008 Summer season.
The sloping floorboards are a minus, but the rear drum brake strikes me as a bigger minus. It looks like they were making hard choices trying to bring that machine in at $2999 and something had to go.
Double discs are nice, but to be honest I think with the weight of a scooter being so rear focused and the tread of those tires not giving an enormous contact patch. I bet the drum will do a lot of stopping (read: locking up) if it’s big enough in diameter. People are just spoiled with the DD on the Vespa GT and the Blur. If given a choice between riding in a comfortable confidence-inspiring position and having that slight extra rear braking power, I’d choose the former.
A 125 Zuma gets me excited, since I ride an 04 that could use just a bit more power. The looks of the 125 aren’t bad either, but it needs a rear fender delete bad. Nothing more than a knife mod to shorten up the fender and get some great looks.
Woops, from the pics it also looks like Yamaha went with only a single headlight running (one for low beam, one for high beam). If it’s anything like previous gen Zumas, add in a quick wire splice to get dual headlights with the knife mods.
Brooke wrote: If given a choice between riding in a comfortable confidence-inspiring position and having that slight extra rear braking power, I’d choose the former.
I agree. Plus, the 125 gets a beefier front 220mm disc compared to the 50’s 155mm disc.
Another thing, did you happen to notice the comparo between the seat height of the Zuma 125 and the Zuma 50? Again, from the Yamaha site –
Zuma 125 Seat Height = 30.7 in
Zuma 50 Seat Height = 30.1 in
That’s a pretty substantial difference which I hope will help offset the wacko slanted floorboards. It’ll be interesting to see how the ergonomics of the 125 compare.
How is half an inch a “pretty substantial” difference?
.6 difference, Matt! that’s 20% more than .5!
Hahaha… okay, perhaps I overstate it. Certainly, 1 & 1/2 inches in seat height can be heaven and earth depending on your inseam. 6/10ths should make a difference. Again, it’ll be interesting to see how it pans out.
I was reading over the specs posted eariler on this scoot and it reminded me of another Yamaha that I had read about that is not sold in the U.S. called the Cygnus X 125. The Cygnus X is also an air cooled, fuel injected 125. The compression ratio, bore and stroke are identical but I could not find out if the head was 4 valve.
Power specs from Yamaha Europes web site on the Cygnus X 125.
Power: 8.0 kW@8500 rpm = 10.78 Hp
Torque: 9.3 Nm @7500 rpm = 6.86 ft.lb
Hi everyone, first post here :-)
I live in Canada, and right now on the Yamaha Canada website,
there is not even a mention of the new Zuma 125 model for 2009.
http://www.yamaha-motor.ca/products/index.php?group=M
Rather disappointing and I wonder if it will ever see its way into Canada.
I was over at my local dealer yesterday, looking at the Yamaha C3, and thought I liked it, but after chatting on a scooter forum I realize that a 49cc is not good enough for me and my son. I weight 236 lbs or so, and he is about 70 lbs I imagine. I am resigned to the fact I should just take a motorcycle course here, and then be done with it, and just get a 125 cc model.
The other thing for me is this — the noise — I hear kids all the time on my street whizzing by on their scooters ( 2-stroke ) and they ( for me ) are just loud. I can’t imagine myself on a 2-stroke, without wondering if I should have bought a 4-stroke. I have been now told numerous times that a 4-stroke scooter is much much less noisy than a 2-stroke, but a 2-stroke is more “peppy”
In any event this new Zuma 125 for 2009 looks like a beautiful scooter. I wonder if it is allowed on the highways ( ? ) … I noticed that Yamaha never indicates in its specs, the top speed of any of their scooters… hmm.
One rarely sees top speed specs listed on motorcycles and scooters unless it’s to state a condition of restriction.
FrostyTheBeerMan: Check out the Canada Web site again. The same scoot is available under the name BWs 125. Notice the MSRP of $3999. Hmmmm, I can can see that borrowing a pick up and taking a trip south is in many a Canadians future.
I own two 2005 Zuma’s! I love everything about the “scooter.” It turns the heads of 5 yr. olds to 75 yr.olds. I will be putting my name on the list for the september delivery of the 125’s. The biggest problem with this new Zuma is picking the color.
does anyone know the max speed of either two? i really want one but dont know which scooter to choose yet! i originally wanted a vespa but they are a lil higher in price. but yes i am still doing my research so if anyone could give some tips that would help alot! thanks
vinhsotran,
Go sit on and/or test ride as many as you can. Roll them around an get a good feel and the right scooter will speak to you. The Zuma 125 seems like something worth waiting for. But we’ll see.
For those who cannot wait…
I spoke with a dealer and he told me late August / early September delivery for the new Zumas. And that’s in rural eastern Washington, so I’m sure more metro places will have them by then as well.