Good but not the best. Review on Honda Activa 125

I have previously written my review on Suzuki Access 125. That was a scooter I owned one year back. When I wanted to replace my old access scooter, I decided to go for another 125 CC not a 100 cc one. There were only few choices in this segment. Vespa 125 was not within my budget. I did not consider any mahindra scooters. So ultimately it became a contest between Access 125 and Activa 125. I personally knew the pros and cons of access. But I had no clue about activa.

So I read plenty of reviews and comparisons. I found out that both are good 125 cc scooters overall, but activa have an edge due to mileage, service and resale value. I took a test drive of activa 125. Though I liked it, I still felt that my access is more peppier than activa. Finally I had to settle with activa because of the poor dealer I have got for access in my town.

There is no proper service available. It has been over 4 months since bought my activa. Now I have got a better idea about it in relation to access. These are the pros and cons of activa 125. At the end the review I am going to give my opinion on which scooter one should buy between the two

Pros

• Brand honda - Honda is renowned for quality products. Even the spare parts of honda are of superior quality and that is way honda bikes last long with minimal maintenance cost. It has also good resale market.

Good build quality - It is well know that honda bikes are made with better materials over bajaj or TVS. Activa 125 is not exception, in fact it looks more premium than activa 100.

Telescopic suspension It comes with front telescopic suspension which is missing in normal activa.

Combi-breaks & tubeless tyres Nowadays this are common features, but still I though to mention them.

Mileage Even though this is 125 CC and is heavier than normal Activa, it gives marginally lesser mileage. I get around 56 on average.

Smooth engine The engine is well refined by Honda. So it is smoother than activa 110. Even while going higher speeds that engine remains smoother and no vibrations unlike shine 125.

Cons

Taller & heavier I feel this scooter should have been a bit shorter for better driveability. The weight is also a bit too much. It is especially difficult for women to handle it, particularly if it breaks down.

Engine not so peppy  The engine is smoother but unlike access it is not fun driving the scooter. Access encourages us to be adventurous on the road due to its characteristics. But activa encourages smooth and steady driving. It is suitable for middle aged men who just want to go fast to their office, not for college students.

Price  Given its specification, ideally it should have been prices at least a 5000 rupees lesser. Acess is priced well comparatively.

So those are my opinions on Activa 125. Now I need to say among the two 125 CCs, which one is my favorite.  After considering all the facts, I had a easy choice to make- Access 125 is better over Activa 125. I came to this conclusion not for the reasons I have mentioned earlier, but for two other reasons I going to point out now:

Starting trouble In all the years I had my access, there is not a single day that I had to use the kick start or the choke. I always started in the first button press even if I did not use the scooter for few days. But with my activa, It never started in the morning without applying the kick start. When I go away for few days, I use to instruct my father to start the scooter every day otherwise it will be hard to start it when I return. Simply pathetic in this aspect. Even at the service center I was told that this is normal for activa scooters.

Engine position I recently fell from my scooter when I tried to stop it suddenly by applying break. I suffered injury in my leg caused me to be bedridden for 15 days. I came to know that the activa engine is not positioned centrally and it is one sided. This means that it requires to care fully handled especially while turning. But access does not have this drawback. It's engine is centrally positioned and so it is stable while riding. Access is also lighter and slightly shorter over activa.

I suggest only if somebody more particular about mileage he should go for Activa 125( in that case go for activa 3G or Jupiter instead). But if one is willing to compromise on few kilometers of mileage for better overall aspects, access is the best choice. Its engine is made to last long and less maintenance cost