#nm4

What makes a scooter a scooter? Is it the step-through frame? The completely hidden engine? The underseat storage? The clutch-free operation? We have here two radically different visions of scooters in the form of the Honda NM4 and the Yamaha TMAX, representing the different design intents of maxi-scooterdom. The NM4 looks like a futuristic scooter but rides like a cruiser. In fact, Honda lists the NM4 in the cruiser category on its website. The TMAX strives to be the sportbike of scooters with its aggressive styling and performance. What the pair do share is a price tag separated by just $509, with the NM4 costing $10,999 to the TMAX’s $10,490.

Winning our Reader’s Choice award for top scooter is the same scoot your MO staff picked, the BMW C650… wait, what? You voted for the $10,999 Honda NM4? Wow, we didn’t see that one coming. In fact, the final voting wasn’t even that close, either – the Honda’s 36.3% of the votes gave it a commanding lead over the second-place finisher, BMW’s C650GT, with only 21.4% of the votes. The Suzuki Burgman 650 ABS came in a close third, with 19.6% of the votes.