Pulsar kind of scooter. Review on Suzuki Access 125

Hi friends,

I have been driving my access 125 for more than a year. In this period, I had analyzed my scooter's pros and cons. I have also read many professional reviews and comparisons on access. I thought of providing a comprehensive review on this scooter to help in your buying decision.

As I have mentioned in the title, I consider access as a scooter with the characteristics of pulsar. Traditionally we used to drive the 100 cc bikes. But in the last 10 years, people  are  willing to buy more powerful bikes to experience sporty and racy driving( at least a 125 cc bike) .These bikes are bought not simply for transportation bu for driving pleasure too.

So the Pulsar, Unicorn, Fazer kind of bikes have been selling in good numbers even though they consume relatively more fuel Similarly, scooters are no longer driven only  by  ladies and aged people. Even people who want to enjoy driving, opt for scooters due to their convenience, appearance and space. Scooters are also best to go with the family. Today it is common to see lots of college students to go on activa, dio, ray, access, vespa etc.

Honda started this trend with its energetic engine of Activa and stylish design of Dio. Access taken this to one more step by presenting a 125cc scooter. People who are inclined for more power and ability to overtake other bikes, without the burden of changing gears opt for access. For a normal user who simply wants a scooter for his/her day to day commutation,  scooters like Activa or wego would be sufficient.

Pros:

No starting problem - Even when I start the scooter after few days of being idle. I never used the choke till date.

Reliable engine - No maintenance expenses other than periodical engine oil change. Engine could  withstand harsh driving. It has good life several thousands of kms.

I recently met with a accident in my scooter. The scooter was hit by another bike.  I expected more damage and expenditure to rectify the scooter. But to my surprise, just the air filter cracked and I had to spend 800 rupees to replace that. It has proven that it is well made scooter.

Power- Gives more power than other scooters. On road, I use to compete with other bikes. Top speed in my experience is 75. Amazing pick up for a scooter.

Activa Vs Access

Maximum Power(bhp) 8 Bhp @ 7500 rpm     8.58hp@7, 000rpm

Maximum Torque(Nm) 9 Nm @ 5500 rpm     9.8Nm@5000rpm

Stability - This is the best quality of this scooter. It is completely stable at any speed, no vibrations, no fear of skidding.

Good driving position - Does not cause shoulder or back pain.

Appearance - It does not look very'stylish' like Yamaha ray but I use the term'cute' to describe its look. Most people would like access more than Activa.

Storage space It has ample space under the seat to keep a helmet or other items. There is an optional glovebox that is available at a cost of Rs 800 which I have installed.

Cons:

Mileage - 37 - 45 but for 125 cc scooter with good performance this is not too bad.

Resale value - Not as good as Activa or scooty. But it is improving now due to the increasing popularity and sales.

Price - Given the poor resale value, Suzuki should keep the price of this scooter little lesser

No disc break or combi break Honda scooters come with combi break and I guess Aviator offers disc break.

Center Stand It is extremely  difficult to put the vehicle on center stand. It is impossible for ladies. Suzuki should have addressed this issue given that it is also used by ladies.

No special features It just comes with the basic options. It does not even have a side stand indicator that is present in scooty. But I like the opening of under seat box by just twisting the ignition key instead of inserting the key separately like in activa.

I think many of the complaints pointed out in other reviews, like poor service, irresponsible dealerships, poor battery( exide battery used actually) etc. are all isolated problems. Such things could happen to any other bike and we can not generalize them to all Access scooters. I have got bad service experience with my Honda shine and Chevrolet Spark as well. I now learnt that this problem is common with all dealers and we must be prepared to handle them.

So if you want to get a spirited and agile performance from a scooter equal to a bike at the cost of little more fuel cost then go for access, but it you are concerned only about fuel efficiency, then better go with Activa, Wego or Jupiter. I think the only scooter that could beat access in performance is Vespa. But it is expensive. It is also better to buy Swish instead of access. Both are exactly same, just that swish has better looks and lighter than access.  Hope my review has helped you.