Modern Vespa

Asking for a friend of a friend, who's looking for two wheels that can go 60 mph and carry groceries. Could be motorcycle or scooter, but a scooter has the edge because of storage capacity.

He's looking at a Yamaha Majesty 400 with "low" miles. I don't know what year, or any other details. He says it appears to be well maintained. My question is, at almost 20 years, is a Majesty too old? I haven't seen one in the wild for years. My friends who have had them have all moved to newer wheels. Besides the likely need for new tires and belt are there any other maintenance worries peculiar to a Majesty? Any problems with parts availability? There are Yamaha dealers in the area but the only scooters I've seen recently are 125cc Zumas. Do dealers still service Majestys? Is DIY maintenance any more difficult than the average scooter? If it were me, I'd be looking for a used GTS or Beverly, though it could cost more.

Any suggestions or comments about older scooters? I get the impression he doesn't want to spend too much, but is any 20 year old scoot worth anything?

Thanks for any opinions or comments.

A friend purchased a well used Majesty for around $1200 but it needed tires. I remember the following:

Parts (at the time of 6 years ago) were easy to come by.

Air filters (yes, 2) were a PITA to change!

Fork seal needed changing. Not that bad of a job.

Other than that it was a great investment. Hauled butt, rode good. Only negatives were not the best mpg for a maxi-scoot BUT his called for regular grade gas.

How much are they asking? Tires old or newer?

My last Majesty was 5 years ago. Parts were hit and miss using the internet. I ended up substituting radiator hoses for generic auto parts store versions, everything else I could find.
The fuel injection throttle body has a rubber CV style vacuum diaphragm that can be hard to source if it tears. If it won't go over 40-50 mph, it's likely worn out.
There was also a fuel pump wiring recall for some years. Check the VIN against the Yamaha database. It's a NHTSA safety recall item and should be repaired at no cost.
You can still get a factory service manual from Yamaha.
The Yamaha Majesty Owners forum has been unmoderated for several years.
That being said, I've owned 3 Majestys (Majesties?) during my riding career. It hits a sweet spot between size and performance. It'll do 85 easy all day. Stable on the highway without being massive like the 650 Burgman or Silverwing. Good storage. Good fuel economy. Well put together.
Good luck to your friend.

Majesty owner here. There was a minor CVT change between the '04-'08 and the '09-'14 models.

I agree with what sc00ter shared, but there is a third air filter for the CVT fan. All get dirty after about two oil changes. The HiFloFiltro versions are the way to go here, as you can get all three them off Amazon for what one Yamaha-branded filter costs.

Belts last 12.5K and aren't too terrible to replace.

Oil changes involve a filter swap; it uses the same cartridge as an '03-'06 Burgman. Filter is on the left near the drain plug.

I did replace the steering bearings at 15K due to notchiness with an All Balls tapered bearing kit. Well worth using over the mixed stock setup. I replaced the rear dampers with IKON dampers, which also made a big difference in cornering feel.

The Malossi CVT upgrade is pricey out of the gate, but it was well worth it for improving takeoff, top end and surprisingly, fuel economy. AZScootRN and I did a comparison ride between his minty '13 Maj and my modded '08 and documented it in The Scooter Zine (Howard, do you recall which issue?). Despite being able to gap him badly off the line and leave him in a 20-80mph roll-on comparison, I could accelerate a little past target speed and roll out more throttle to "overrange" my cruising speed and return a small improvement in average fuel economy.

I have 30K on mine and have been doing some overdue maintenance. Fork seals were worth doing. I used Showa SS8 fork oil to firm up the forks a touch. Replacing the coolant hoses due to age. Parts availability is still good, though some parts have had long lead times since the pandemic. The only iffy bits seem to be body plastics.

The engine is a Minarelli design (Yamaha owned Minarelli from '01-'20) and it is very robust. It needs little beyond routine maintenance and I have little doubt that it could last 100K.

I'm not a maxi guy myself and I passed on a bunch of other scoots, but the Maj turned out to be the right combo of speed, comfort, usable storage, power and range for me.

EDIT: 25BIKEZ brings up a good point with the fuel pump. The CP250 Morphous, YP400 Majesty and the XP500 T MAX all had the same issue with fuel pumps around '08-'09. The problem seemed to impact the T MAX more due to the position of its fuel tank relative to the engine, so the problem is usually called "T MAX Fever" by those who have dealt with it. Essentially, the OEM pump tolerances were a bit tight and when the pump warmed up, it would bind up. You had to wait for the pump and fuel to cool off before the scoot would start again. Having done Quantum fuel pump swaps on all three models, I can say that it's hardest to do on the Maj due to the tank being sandwiched between the upper and lower frames and the pump assembly is tucked under part of the frame, unlike the Morph and T MAX. See if the recall was done to save some heartburn.

I have owned a 400 Majesty. A very well made scooter. The engines are bullet proof. The diaphragm in the throttle body is not hard to get, just takes a while. There is a trick to replacing it without dropping the engine. The air filters are paper, but if you grind the paper out and cut/ install UNI brand sheet foam, you never buy another. Just clean and re oil. The 3 shoe clutch is ok, but a Malossi 5 shoe is the ticket. With a taller Givi windshield they make a great touring scooter. Valve check,adjust, just like the rest- pull cams, but I checked mine twice in the time I owned it and the clearance never changed. Best looking scooter made. Run 75 mph all day. I should have kept mine, but I guy I knew wanted it real bad and I've owned lots of bikes/ scooters, so I sold it only because I wanted a 300 GTS. But sold it too. Now a BV 400. Ultimate touring scooter made IMO ( just a little less fairing coverage ). Easy maintenance. Italian flair.

If all you're looking for is 60, I'd check out a Yamaha Morphous or Aprilia Sport City 250. The Morphous is way easier to work on than the majesty and is a lot lighter. The fuel pump can be had by removing 3 push pins. The 250 fuel injected engein, big wheels and perfectly flat floorboard make the Aprilia an awesome bike. Both are capable of 70mph plus by the way.

The Majesty is an excellent scooter. The later ones do come from Yamaha with a five shoe clutch, the earlier ones don't.

I would not hesitate to purchase another one, if I was in the market for a top tier maxiscooter.