Access 125

Overview

The Access 125 makes the strongest arithmetic argument on the petrol shelf. Its 124cc single turns out 8.2 bhp and, more usefully, 10.8 Nm low in the rev range, so it pulls away from a signal with a passenger aboard with none of the throttle drama a 110 demands — on paper that is the same torque as TVS’s best 125, and in this sample catalogue it costs several thousand rupees less. The automatic gearbox is geared for response rather than economy and rarely leaves the rider wanting a second pull from the twist grip.

The packaging is what turns a good engine into a good family scooter. At 106 kg it weighs what many 110s do, which means it is light on the stand and easy to turn in a crowded parking row despite the flat, long footboard; two bags of market shopping sit flat where a rider’s feet would go, and the saddle is wide enough that neither half of a couple is perched. Claimed 57 kmpl settles to a still-creditable 46-50 kmpl in city traffic, and at that number the running cost against a 110 is close to a rounding error.

What the Access does not do is decorate itself. The instrument is a plain analogue dial in an era of split-digit displays, the base variant makes do with drums at both ends, and the styling is so purposeful it reads as blank to a first-time buyer walking past it. The wider problem is the network: Suzuki’s two-wheeler service footprint is the thinnest of the four brands in this group, and in smaller towns that matters more at service time than the price saving does at purchase.

• 10.8 Nm — 125cc pull priced under the premium 110s
• 106 kg kerb weight despite the flat family footboard
• 57 kmpl claimed, 46-50 kmpl typical in city use