Bolwell GMax 250cc Scooter - Road Test Melbourne on a 250cc Scooter Part 1
By Tom Griffin
March 2007 Well I have just returned from 10 days in Melbourne during which time I was very fortunate to have had access to two scooters for the duration of the trip. I’d like to personally thank Tim Black from Bolwell Australia for organizing two of their demo scooters for me to ride. I would also like to thank Charles and the guys from Scoota City in Elizebeth Street, Melbourne. They were very helpful and accommodating to keep me on a scoot throughout the trip.
GMax 250cc Scooter.
The first scooter that I was able to pick up was the GMax 250cc. This is, in my opinion, possibly the most visually appealing of the sports styled scooters that Bolwell release in Australia. Straight out of the box this bike has a stock exhaust that sounds awesome. It was a constant head turner and often mistaken for a motorcycle with its deep throaty tone throughout acceleration or even sitting at the lights for that matter. Performance
Ok, enough of looks. As much as we all want to look great on a scooter we also expect a certain level of performance from a 250cc Scooter. The GMax 250cc did not disappoint. Off the mark you are accelerating very nicely indeed. The increase in speed is smooth and constant all the way to your top speed. Which brings me to another point! I’m not sure what the top speed of the GMax is due to traffic laws of course but it did cruise comfortably at 100kph and there was still much more power at my disposal which I found when overtaking. Lets just say it’s more than adequate for any Australian speed limits. Riding the Gmax 250cc
The seating position of the Gmax is getting close to motocross style, requiring the elbow out style of riding that puts you right up over the front of the bike. This makes for good vision and overall control. It is a physically smaller scooter than its brother the Firenze and lent itself well to zipping in and out of traffic to get yourself to pole position at the lights. The wrap up
After 5 days on the GMax 250cc I was getting pretty comfortable. I covered roughly 500km from memory in all types of conditions from rain, wind and heat (thanks to Melbourne’s overactive weather patterns) and in all kinds of traffic from highways to back roads, suburbia and even inner city peak hour. The Gmax stood up to all the conditions without once showing any hint of backing off. I purred into Scoota City with a bigger smile than when I had ridden out of there days earlier. The Gmax 250cc was pure fun mixed with style and performance. If you are looking to enter the 50cc plus market, do yourself a favour and get a test ride on one of these babies now. |
