Aprilia SR 150 Race vs Suzuki Access 125 Comparison Review

Aprilia SR150 vs Suzuki Access 125 Comparison Review:



Pricing & Features:
The Access 125's Disc brake variant, retails for 63,000 Rs. on road, Delhi, which is 12,000 Rs. cheaper, than the Aprilia SR 150, costing 75,000 Rs. The drum brake variant of the Access is even cheaper, with a sticker price of 59,000 Rs. making it a good 16,000 Rs. cheaper than the SR 150. Is the Aprilia worth the exorbitant asking price over the Suzuki Access? Let's find out...

Aprilia SR 150 vs Access 125 Video Comparison Review:



Price, On Road, Delhi:
Aprilia SR 150: 75,000 Rs
Suzuki Access 125: 59,000 Rs. (Drum), 63,000 Rs. (Disc)

Performance & Tractability:
On paper, the Aprilia SR 150 has has a huge advantage over the Access, thanks to a 30 cc larger engine and 2.7 PS more horsepower. But in reality the Aprilia is actually slower than the Access, in the 0 to 60 kph dash. That is because the Aprilia, has much taller gearing than the Access, giving it more than 10 kph advantage, in terms of top speed, but denting it's acceleration, off the line. The sheer lag-free and refined way, in which the Access puts down it's power, is something that Piaggio could really learn a lot from. The Aprilia feels noisy and crude in comparison, however, it's vocal nature, and rorty exhaust note, does go along with its sporty character, and makes it feel faster than it actually is.


Power to Weight Ratio (PS/ton): Aprilia SR150 - 93, Suzuki Access 125 - 85 (difference 10%)
Torque to Weight Ratio (Nm/ton): Aprilia SR150 - 94, Suzuki Access 125 - 100 (difference 6%)

Power (PS@rpm): Aprilia SR150 - 11.4@7000, Suzuki Access 125 - 8.7@7000

Torque (Nm@rpm): Aprilia SR150 - 11.5@5500, Suzuki Access 125 - 10.2@5000
Kerb Weight (kg): Aprilia SR150 - 122, Suzuki Access 125 – 102

Displacement (cc): Aprilia SR150 - 154.4, Suzuki Access 125 – 124




Handling & Ride Quality:
The Aprilia SR 150 is a quantum leap over the Access 125, when it comes to dynamics. It has tremendous grip, never before seen in the scooter segment, excellent stability through the bends, and delightful agility around the switchbacks. The credit goes to its 120 section, soft compound tyres, mounted on 14 inch rims at both ends, long travel telescopic suspension setup at the front, and the longest wheelbase of any scooter, available in the market today. The Access though not bad compared to other scooters in its class, is nowhere even close to the handling prowess, of the SR 150.

 The biggest culprit are its tyres, with hard compound rubber, mounted on piddly little 10 inch rims, at both ends, make it nervous and vague around the bends, compared to the Aprilia. Both scooters suffer from excessively stiff suspension setups, resulting in a back-breaking ride, around our pothole riddled roads. We expected the Aprilia to fare better than the Access in terms of ride quality, since it has the requisite hardware, but Aprilia has biased the setup excessively towards handling. The Access on the other hand, has fundamental limitations, of suspension travel and tyre size and it is high time that Suzuki got around, to up-sizing these components.


Tyre Size:

Front: Aprilia SR150 – 120/70 - 14, Suzuki Access 125 - 90/90 12 Tubeless
Rear: Aprilia SR150 – 120/70 - 14, Suzuki Access 125 - 90/100 10 Tubeless

Wheelbase (mm): 
Aprilia SR150 – 1350, Suzuki Access 125 –1265


Comfort & Ergonomics:

The Access turns the tables on the SR 150, when it comes to practicality and ergonomics. It has a low, broad and flat floor-board, compared to Aprilia's slim one, which comes in handy, while carrying those huge grocery bags. The Access also has a wide and long seat, compared to SR 150's slim and short affair, which tends to draw a lot of criticism, from the pillions riding along, on the Aprilia. Both scooters suffer from a tall saddle height, which can be a bit of a bother, for the shortest quartile of the Indian populace, both male as well as female.

Seat Height (mm): 
Aprilia SR150 - 775, Suzuki Access 125 - 780


Fuel Efficiency:

The Access 125 has an ARAI certified mileage of 64 kmpl, which is 11 kmpl more than the Aprilia SR 150. In our back to back tests, the Access was an impressive 8 kmpl more efficient than the SR 150. This equates to a savings of 16,000 Rs. with the Access compared to the SR 150 over a running of 60,000 kms. 

ARAI Mileage: 
Aprilia SR150 - 53, Suzuki Access 125 - 64 kmpl


Fuel Cost (for usage of 60,000 km):

Aprilia SR 150 - 1 Lakh Rs.
Suzuki Access 125 - 84,000 Rs.

Reliability & After Sales Service: 

Piaggio's scooters, still have a long way to go, to even get close to the lofty levels, of product reliability and service support, provided by Suzuki, in India. In terms of the sheer durability of its products, Suzuki is arguably neck-and-neck with Honda. Whereas, Piaggio, just like its other Italian peers, stands at the bottom of the heap. Suzuki also has a much wider service network compared to Piaggio's. And the quality of service and repairs, is also far more meticulous and systematic at the Suzuki workshops, compared to the sporadic service support, provided at the Piaggio touch points.

Resale & Cost of Ownership:

The SR 150 is bound to depreciate around 7500 Rs. more, than the Access 125 over an ownership period of 5 to 7 years, mainly due to Aprilia's lower fuel efficiency and its dubious track record, at providing hassle free ownership experience to its customers. Overall, the SR 150, works out to be around 24,000 Rs. more expensive, than the Access 125's Disc variant in terms of Total Cost of Ownership, in the long run.

Resale Price (after 5 - 7 years & 60,000 km):

Aprilia SR 150 - 37,500 Rs.
Suzuki Access 125 (Disc)  - 32,500 Rs.

Total Cost of Ownership (Price + Fuel Cost - Resale Price):
Aprilia SR150 - 1.38 Lakh
Suzuki Access 125 (Disc) - 1.14 Lakh

Verdict:

Since you are looking at high cubic capacity scooters, you are not just looking for simple, trouble free, efficient, point A to point B transportation. If you are, then you should rather consider going for one of the 100 cc scooters and save up the unnecessary expenditure. But since you aren't, we believe you are not satisfied with the performance of those 100 cc scoots. In spite of its displacement disadvantage, the Access is quicker off the line, than the Aprilia. But that's about it. It loses the plot after that. More than its performance limitations, it is its dynamic limitations that hold it back. The Access just doesn't have the grip, the stability, the stopping power and the confidence to handle higher speeds. The Aprilia on the other hand, confidently handles speeds as high as its power-plant can achieve. In fact it has better underpinnings, than most of the 125 cc motorcycles in the market, and feels like it can easily carry an even bigger power-train. And that is why, it our clear-cut winner, of this comparison!


Aprilia SR150 Standing on main stand


Front view of the Aprilia SR150


Complete side view the Aprilia SR150


Pass switch on the Aprilia SR150


Speedo and fuel gauge dials on the Aprilia SR150

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