French · 7 years on Samui
French motorcycle tour guide living on Koh Samui for 7 years. Marc leads group rides across southern Thailand and knows every road on the island.
Updated: May 2026
Last October I rode the Hin Lad waterfall trail twice in one morning: first on the ADV 160, then on the NMAX 155. Same rider, same 2.5-kilometre trail, 90-minute gap. The ADV completed the trail seated at 25 km/h without incident. On the NMAX I stood off the seat for the lower section's root crossing, made three correction inputs in the first kilometre, and reached the stream ford with the undercarriage grazed once. The ADV won the trail comparison clearly and without any close result.
On the Chaweng-to-Nathon ring road last November at 80 km/h, the NMAX 155 held speed more planted and with less handlebar input than the ADV 160 on the same stretch. The ADV's higher centre of gravity and narrower rear tyre profile on smooth tarmac produces more movement at speed - not unsafe, but present. Over a 40-kilometre ring road section, the NMAX is the more relaxed machine. The ring road is where the NMAX's road-optimised specification delivers its advantages back to the rider who chose it.
Planning a day in January that included the Mae Nam beach access track, the plantation road above Nathon, and a return via the ring road - 55 kilometres total, 30 per cent off-tarmac - I chose the ADV 160 without hesitation. The three off-road sections were the deciding factor: the NMAX completes the ring road portion better, but the ADV completes the whole day without compromise. On any day where the route includes a meaningful off-road section, the ADV's combination of clearance and tyre profile makes the choice automatic.
The ADV 160 and NMAX 155 carry equivalent underseat storage - approximately 23 litres on the ADV versus 22 litres on the NMAX. In practice I have stored identical loads in both: one full-face helmet and a day pack fitting comfortably under the seat on both models. Storage is not a differentiator between these two scooters. The difference is entirely terrain capability, not carrying capacity. Riders choosing between them on storage alone are applying the wrong criterion to the comparison.
At Chaweng rental shops last January, the ADV 160 daily rate was typically 100 to 150 baht above the NMAX 155. On a tarmac-only day, that premium buys nothing additional - the NMAX is the better tarmac scooter. On a mixed-surface day with at least 10 kilometres of off-road, the ADV's premium is payment for completing the trail sections with confidence rather than turning around. My consistent advice: if there is a single planned off-road section in the day, pay the ADV premium. If the plan is tarmac only, take the NMAX.
Seven years on Samui's road network has produced two distinct recommendations. Choose the ADV 160 if the day includes plantation tracks, beach access roads, post-rain mountain trails, or the Hin Lad waterfall route. Choose the NMAX 155 if the plan is a ring road circuit, coastal tarmac touring, or any day focused on covering kilometres at ring road pace. There is no rider who benefits from the ADV on a purely tarmac day, and no rider who benefits from the NMAX on a meaningful off-road day. The terrain decides the scooter.
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