Good 125cc scooter. Review on Suzuki Access 125

When it comes to the scooter market in India, almost all scooters have calmly settled at the 110cc, 8bhp mark. It's as if they thought Indians really din't need a more powerful scooter. A few years ago, if you needed something more powerful than the Activa, your only option was a Suzuki Access or a Vespa, which was insanely expensive. Oh, there was the Mahindra Duro too, which was rather uncommon and didn't catch on. Even today, the list is still limited, with the only new additions being the Activa 125 launched in 2015 and the Swish, which was launched in 2012.

Since the 125cc options were limited when it was launched, the Suzuki Access caught a lot of attention from people who wanted the ease of a scooter but needed something more usable than the 110cc scooters. The looks of the Access were nothing extraordinary, and form several angles, it looked like Suzuki had copied the market leader, Activa. There were some significant changes though, in terms of features. The seat on the Access was a flat one as opposed to the bi-level seat on the Hondas. The Suzuki had the ability to open the seat from the ignition console itself.

Coming to the ride and handling, the Access felt more stable than most other scooters owing primarily to the slightly higher weight and the longer wheelbase. The front end was well weighted and aided by the telescopic suspension, handling was very stable and confidence-inspiring. It wasn't exactly plush but on state roads it felt comfortable. Many people claim that the pickup is bad. When I rode it, I realized that the gearing is different than Honda scooters so while it doesn't take off from a standstill, the midrange and top end is really strong. I rode the Access extensively in Goa for thee days and I could happily cruise at 70 all day. If pushed, it could touch a top speed of 90+ which was excellent and the Access felt stable at those speeds. Brakes were good too, though emergency braking would still need quite a lot of effort and would unsettle the bike. There was sufficient power available at all speeds, quite unlike the 110cc scooters which felt like underpowered after 60kph. The engine was a bit more rough compared to Hondas and the exhaust note was a bit brash. I can say this as the bike which I rented was a relatively new bike with only 6000kms on the odo.

I managed a FE of 35kpl with two people on board and a 80% highway riding while maintaining speeds above 70kph for most of the time. I'd say that's pretty good for a 125cc scooter, I owned a Yamaha Gladiator 125 which returned me an average FE of 40kmpl on highways, so being an automatic, this FE wasn't bad at all.