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7 SEP. 2026 · On the steepest root crossing above the Nathon plantation last October I put a folding ruler under the ADV 160 and read 158 mm - its specified 160 mm clearance is real, and the same root scrapes the NMAX's 135 mm undercarriage, a 25 mm gap that decides between momentum and a stopped engine. Its 100/80-14 front and 120/70-13 rear semi-knobby tyres are not aggressive blocks but channel water and hold loose laterite where the NMAX's road tyres walked sideways. The 120 mm front suspension travel against the NMAX's 95 absorbs concrete joins in one compression instead of a double bounce, and multiplies over stepped roots. A plastic underbelly guard and raised exhaust took incidental rock contact on Hin Lad that grazed the NMAX's bare sump. It is no dirt bike - deep sand and loose rock still need weight-back technique and walking pace. But its 160 mm clearance and semi-knobby tyres lift it well above the scooter fleet for Samui's plantation and beach tracks.
6 SEP. 2026 · At Hin Lad waterfall last October I rode the access trail on the ADV 160 beside a friend on an NMAX 155: the trail drops 80 metres over 2.5 km of laterite, loose rock and exposed roots, and the ADV took it seated at 30 km/h while the NMAX needed standing technique and reached the bottom with both tyres marked. That settles when it earns its place - any trail changing surface type more than twice a kilometre. In wet season the plantation tracks above Nathon turn to slick mud in one storm, and its 160 mm clearance and semi-knobby rear found the firm edges after 40 mm of overnight rain. On the deep dry sand approaching Laem Sor it reached the beach where the following NMAX rider stopped and walked. On pure ring road tarmac at 80 km/h it feels less planted than the NMAX. It beats regular scooters on any day with an off-tarmac section, a wet jungle track or a beach approach that changes surface twice.
5 SEP. 2026 · At the Chaweng rental strip last March I watched a man walk past the Scoopy and NMAX row straight to the ADV 160, check the tyre tread, bounce the front suspension and ask about the Hin Lad waterfall track before he asked the price - functionality first, cost second, the consistent ADV renter pattern. Behind one on the 4 km dirt track above Ban Bangrak I stayed managing my borrowed NMAX while the ADV rider simply navigated, seated, at 30 km/h over roots and ruts. On the 600 m compacted sand and gravel to Silver Beach its tyre profile and higher clearance kept me clear where the NMAX needed 15 km/h and a ready foot. A French photographer rents one weekly to reach plantation tracks tuk-tuks refuse. It is the wrong pick for tarmac-only days, where its weight costs ring road composure. It suits the experienced rider planning at least one off-tarmac section who will trade some road polish for confidence on dirt and sand.
3 SEP. 2026 · I lined the NMAX 155 and PCX 150 up at the Chaweng petrol station one Saturday and rode both south to Nathon: the NMAX pulled out first, ABS pulsing once on wet tarmac by Big C, the PCX beside it with identical midrange but a quieter temperament. The NMAX's underseat bay swallows a full-face helmet and cleared my fins, mask and clothes for the Big Buddha beach run; the PCX closes on half a helmet. On the 35 km Bo Phut-Nathon loop the NMAX returned 42 km/l to the PCX's 38. Coming down the wet Chaweng Lake descent the NMAX's ABS caught a hard front brake cleanly where the base PCX most shops stock chattered on the paint. Neither is wrong: couples sharing one scooter end up on the PCX for its seat and passenger comfort; solo riders bound for the Khao Hua Jook mountain road and the full island loop take the NMAX every time. They answer different questions.
2 SEP. 2026 · Over three days on the same NMAX 155 I changed only my technique and watched the numbers move: aggressive junction starts and high speed gave 31 km/l; smooth acceleration and a steady 70 km/h cruise gave 38; adding a tyre-pressure check before setting out gave 41. Rolling the throttle open over four to five seconds instead of one uses 18 per cent less fuel to reach 60 km/h, and across 20 town junctions that compounds. My rental's tyres were at 165 and 185 kPa against the specified 200 and 225; the Chaweng mechanic corrected them free in 90 seconds and I gained about 3 km/l. The liquid-cooled engine runs rich for its first 3 km, so I plan a 40 km/h town warm-up before ring-road speed. Two-up drops economy 8 to 10 km/l, best offset by inflating to the top of spec. Four habits - daily pressure check, smooth junctions, a 3 km warm-up, packing light two-up - took me from 31 to 40 km/l.
31 AGO. 2026 · I start every full island tour from Chaweng beach road at 5:45 a.m., turning north on the NMAX 155 because the pre-dawn light on Choeng Mon bay is the island's best and the bike reaches it before a single tuk-tuk has started. The narrow northern coastal lane climbs three headlands, and the NMAX absorbs the concrete joins and holds its line through the bends across the first 28 km. Crossing to the shaded west coast at 10 a.m. I held 75 km/h to Nathon market, the ideal mid-tour stop for fruit and coffee. On the mountain road above Nathon it is narrow enough for the single-lane bends that snag a wide XMAX yet strong enough to climb. The hard-packed sand to Laem Sor it takes at walking pace on its 150-series tyre. My definitive circuit - Chaweng, Choeng Mon, Mae Nam, Nathon, mountain road, Lamai - runs 84 km in 2h20 riding, a loop no scooter matches for comfort.
30 AGO. 2026 · The 62 km counterclockwise ring road with three climbs and a dozen junction pauses is my benchmark for every scooter, and the NMAX 155 returns from it with my core temperature barely risen, no hand fatigue, and a 67 km/h average including stops - numbers no rental scooter in its price bracket matches. At 80 km/h for 20 km straight it stays calm: no handlebar vibration, no sense of the liquid-cooled 155cc working, so 75 to 85 feels like cruising and you arrive with energy. Its rear suspension carries two-up over the Mae Nam concrete joins without bottoming, the section that punishes pillions on smaller bikes. Front ABS removes the mental load of braking hard after long straights. Over three days I measured 36 km/l and a 230 to 240 km range from the 6.6-litre tank - three ring-road laps between fills. It is not Samui's fastest scooter, but it is the fastest that stays comfortable past 80 km.
29 AGO. 2026 · Descending the Chaweng Lake viewpoint road when a squall dropped 20 mm in eight minutes, I braked hard at 55 km/h on the first painted line and the NMAX 155's ABS pulsed through the lever and stopped me straight - my first decisive proof of it against mechanical brakes on a wet Samui descent. At the Chaweng junctions hard braking on wet paint produces no lock and no pull to the camber, where non-ABS bikes chatter and drift off-line. It is a single-channel front system with a rear drum: I measured 18 metres to stop from 50 km/h against a non-ABS bike's 22, four metres that decide a collision when a tuk-tuk halts unsignalled. On loose gravel it stops wheel-lock but not lateral slip, so it is an assist, not a substitute for slow speed. It won't make bad riding safe, but it saves good decisions mistimed - which on Samui's wet paint I meet six or seven times a year.
27 AGO. 2026 · Three years into guiding I took a Scoopy up the Big Buddha access road and found myself pinned behind a pickup at 25 km/h, throttle wide open - the NMAX 155 clears that same climb at 60 km/h without working. That comparison taught me when to upgrade: the moment you wait for the engine to do something it was not built for. The full 62 km ring road takes two hours on a Scoopy working at 60 km/h or 1h20 on the NMAX cruising 80, a gap that matters once you add heat and fatigue. On the three southern climbs a Scoopy two-up drops to 28 km/h while the NMAX holds 55. A Russian rider swapped after one 45 km day of fighting the machine. Upgrade when your day tops 50 km, includes a gradient, or carries a pillion far - it repays the price difference within the first hour. Beach-to-beach in Chaweng, keep the Scoopy.
26 AGO. 2026 · Seven years ago on my first morning testing the NMAX 155 above Chaweng I held 85 km/h for three minutes with no strain on the engine or my wrists, and that set its character: a scooter for riders who already know what they want. The twist-and-go is the same as the Scoopy's, but the power, the 795 mm seat and the weight all assume experience - I regularly redirect first-timers to the Scoopy because that seat needs a confident two-footed stop. The riders who point at it first are returning tourists who rode a Scoopy last trip, or who ride in Bali and Pai. Its 15 horsepower, roughly 2.5 times the Scoopy's, carried a French couple 80 km round the island two-up without feeling strained, at 35 to 38 km/l. It suits riders who have ridden before, plan a full loop, carry a pillion some days and accept a taller seat; others want the Scoopy.
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