FEATURE – 2020 YAMAHA TRICITY 300 - JUST BIKES

FEATURE – 2020 Yamaha Tricity 300

Words: Phil Suriano

Photos: Yamaha Motor Australia

For all the misery that 2020 has inflicted on the world, it’s also delivered some positives. Many of us are more connected to our family and friends than we’ve ever been, even if it’s via Skype or Zoom. Many have learnt new skills while being stuck at home and it seems Aussies have slashed large chunks off their credit card debt while in lockdown, too.

FEATURE – 2020 Yamaha Tricity 300 — 2020 Yamaha Tricity 300

In a motorcycling sense, we’ve seen the reduction or cancellation of most of our domestic national racing championships, which is obviously a major blow, but this year has also produced one of the most dynamic and unpredictable MotoGP title races in living memory.

With international, and in some cases, interstate travel off the cards, we’ve been looking for ways to escape and unwind closer to home and many of us seem to have found that with dirt bikes and side-by-sides. Sales of both categories have been enormous in Australia this year and show no sign of slowing down.
At a more direct and personal level, the effect of people being confined to their immediate surrounds under COVID-19, especially in Victoria, has seen a boom in meal delivery services. And as you’ve probably seen, most of those services use motorcycles and scooters.

So, with that latter point in mind, scooter sales should be booming like dirt bike sales have been, right? No, actually. Following the scooter revival of over a decade, declining sales have been a constant and that trend was only reversed in 2019, when scooter sales increased by 15.9 per cent.

Last year’s rise was fed largely by the aforementioned meal delivery services, but I expect the sight of more bikes – and scooters – on the road will inspire non-riders to get on two wheels themselves. Or, in this case, three, because I’m talking about the Yamaha Tricity 300.

After making its global premiere at last year’s Tokyo Motor Show, delays caused by COVID-19 meant the Tricity 300 only reached Australia in October.

It may seem something of a novelty at first glance, but the Tricity 300 is a bona fide bike, made for the city, but with enough power to be a practical and comfortable highway ride as well.

Familiar, but Different

The first thing to understand about the Tricity 300 is that it’s very much its own model. It’s not a Tricity 155 with a bigger engine, nor is it a downsized and downspec’d version of the Niken.

If anything, it’s an Xmax 300 with a bespoke front end, in the same way that the Niken is an MT-09 with its own front end. But even that’s doing that Tricity 300 an injustice, really, as there are many other points of difference.

The Tricity 300 and Xmax 300 share the same 292cc ‘Blue Core’ SOHC 4-stroke single that puts out around 21kW (actual figures have not been released) and has been tuned for economy, not performance. Fuel mapping settings have been revised in the Tricity 300, though, with fuel injection optimised to improve low- to mid-range torque. Combustion chamber and intake ports have been reshaped for the same purpose, but LAMS legality is retained.

As it’s moving an extra 58kg of weight compared to the Xmax 300, the engine does have to work harder in the Tricity 300, but according to some overseas reports, it can still accelerate handily, cruise at 100km/h all day and even hit a top speed in the 135km/h range at a push.

The exhaust system is the same on both scooters and they each run the same CVT transmission with v-belt final drive, too.

While both scooters look similar from the handlebars back, there are differences, starting with the underlying frame. Unlike the underbone type used on the Xmax 300 and Yamaha’s other small-capacity scooters, the Tricity 300 uses a lightweight aluminium tube-type chassis that’s more like a conventional motorcycle’s backbone frame and has been designed to maximise the performance and more expansive handling parameters that the dual wheel front end delivers.

We’ve yet to test the scooter at JUST BIKES, but Yamaha says the chassis is agile and balanced, and despite the extra bulk of the front end, front:rear weight distribution is still 50:50 with a rider aboard.

Fourteen-inch wheels at each end (15/14 on the Xmax 300) are shod with Bridgestone tyres that have been specially developed to suit this scooter’s characteristics.

Suspension is different, too, with dual tele shocks on each front wheel, similar to the Niken, but mounted inboard. With the Tricity 300’s greater leaning ability compared to the Xmax 300, front end travel is reduced to 100mm, but the dual shock rear suspension offers more travel at 84mm, with preload adjustability on the back end.

Extra Stability

While all three models in Yamaha’s locally-available three-wheel range – Tricity 155, Tricity 300 and Niken - utilize Yamaha’s Leaning Multi Wheel (LMW) technology that some inexperienced riders will find reassuring, the Tricity 300 goes a little further.

Unlike the Tricity 155 and Niken, the Tricity 300 offers a ‘Stand Assist’ tilt lock system that keeps the scooter upright when stationary or moving at very low speed. It’s similar to the system seen on Piaggio’s MP3 (the trailblazer for the modern three-wheeler), but unlike Piaggio’s system, Yamaha’s allows steering movement and suspension function, so you can manoeuvre the scooter into parking spaces and over cobblestones or rough ground more easily.

Standing Assist works via a partial brake disc and caliper acting on the upper parallelogram of Yamaha’s Ackerman-style LMW steering/suspension system. Once activated via a handlebar-mounted switch, the caliper locks the parallelogram linkage in place, preventing the sort of lean that would otherwise cause the scooter to fall over.

Both visual and aural indicators let you know when the system is engaged, and once selected, it stays activated when the ignition is switched off, too.

Generally engaged when the scooter is stationary, Standing Assist can also be activated when travelling at 10km/h or less with the throttle closed, meaning that, with some practise, you can come to a halt at the lights or in traffic without ever putting your feet on the ground. As soon as the throttle is opened beyond 2300rpm or the scooter’s speed rises above 10km/h, Standing Assist disengages automatically. The system can be manually disengaged, too.

It should be noted that, once Standing Assist is disengaged, the Tricity 300 can fall over, hence the inclusion of both a side and centre stand in the scooter's design.

Stopping, Splitting, Storing

ABS is a given on just about any road bike these days and, of course, the Tricity 300 has it, but it also has UBS – Yamaha’s Unified Braking System.

UBS is another of this scooter’s quirks that, like the lack of a clutch, may take non-scooter riders some getting used, too. The front brake lever is in the traditional position on the right handlebar and pulling this on activates the front brakes as you’d expect. But pull the left-hand lever and you activate both the front and rear brakes. Pull both levers and you increase the braking force. There’s also a right foot brake pedal, which activates both front and rear brakes.

The brakes themselves are made up of 267mm ventilated discs with single-piston calipers on all three wheels. The single pot calipers may seem meagre, even for a scooter of this size and weight, but from what I’ve read, the UBS and ABS work fantastically well in hauling the Tricity 300 up effectively - preventing the sort of mishaps that could come from panic stops by inexperienced riders.

Additional to this is a parking brake, necessitated by the Tricity 300’s CVT transmission and activated by a large pull lever on the lower left fairing.

For some riders, the Tricity 300’s front end may seem at odds with its city focus. People seem to have the idea that the dual wheels mean you’re driving a combine harvester in traffic and lane filtering is impossible – that’s simply not the case.

The widest part of the Tricity 300 is the handlebars and while the handlebar spread of 815mm is wider than that on the Xmax 300, it’s no different to many larger commuter motorcycles. That being said, the mass of the Tricity 300 means it takes up more space, which may be an issue when parking in certain areas.

Accommodating the front end means the Tricity 300 is longer than the Xmax 300 (2250mm vs 2185mm), with a longer wheelbase, too (1595mm vs 1540mm), but seat height is the same at 795mm and there’s 43.5 litres of underseat storage space that’ll take two helmets.

Curiously, there appears to be no cubby holes or storage pockets in the front leg shields. Presumably, this is due to the space taken up by the front end componentry. There is a 12V outlet, though, but where you sit your phone or device while it’s being charged is another matter.

Safety, Tech and Style

Beyond the ABS, UBS and inherent safety of the three-wheel configuration, the Tricity 300 also comes with traction control as standard. This may seem somewhat unnecessary on a scooter, but the disengageable system does have its benefits, especially for first time riders.

It’s worth pointing out that, in the UK and some overseas markets, the Tricity 300 can be ridden on a car licence. So to that end, Yamaha have been pitching this scooter as a way to get people off public transport, out of cars and onto bikes. Additionally, under current COVID-19 conditions, scooters and motorcycles are seen by some as offering the ultimate form of social distancing transport!

Other tech includes a Smart Key that allows keyless unlocking and starting, while the LCD instrument display seems to offer all the usual functions and is hooded to reduce glare. Reflecting the Euro focus of this model is an ambient temperature reading, which is irrelevant for Australia, but is designed to warn riders of the potential for ice on the road when the temp hits 3 degrees C or lower.

The Tricity 300’s styling has much of the Xmax 300’s look from the handlebars back and a fair dollop of the Niken from the handlebars forward. That “beak” style front end is a standout and arguably gives more visual aggression than you’ve ever seen on a scooter.

The sole colour available for now is Nimbus Grey, which is a bit on the bland side and blends in too much with the acres of black plastic that make up the rest of the bodywork. There are some blue highlights on the wheels and a sprinkle of chrome here and there, but hopefully, a tasty Yamaha Blue version, or maybe something a little more daring, is coming in the future.

Other features include LED lighting (including a light to illuminate the underseat storage space), a fixed windscreen, two-position rider footboards and pillion grab rails.

The Australian ride away pricing of $11,849 (incl. GST) is a $3,200 premium over the Xmax 300, so the Tricity 300 certainly isn’t cheap. Yamaha admit as much, pitching it as a “premium urban commuter.” I put this scooter into the realm of the “returning rider,” or perhaps those looking to switch from a car to a bike and want something to make that transition as smooth as possible.

We’ve yet to ride the Tricity 300, so a deeper dive into its features and how it performs (and whether it’s worth close to $12K) will come following that test. On paper, though, this LAMS-legal scooter ticks a lot of boxes for the city commuter who also wants to expand their riding beyond the urban fringe.