APRILIA SR 150. WOLF IN SHEEPS CLOTHING?

Rule No 1

Don't call The Aprilia SR 150 a scooter. because it doesn't have any of the characteristics of a moped what makes a Honda Activa so popular among the masses except the CVT transmission. Scooters are supposed to be your dad's and mom's adopted kid which you never could be. Incredibly practical to use & taking them wherever they want, being their darling, carrying all the luggage, not having a drinking problem, simplicity and going easy on their pockets made it the go-to two wheeler for the Indian middle class.

The SR150 however doesn't fit to that. Undoubtedly your parents wont pick them up for 1 lakh rupees for their use with all the opposite features of what mentioned above. Then who would buy it? whats it all about? why is it launched? Whats the idea behind it?

This little beast is like a supermodel athlete whom you could date with your parents concern. From outside she looks like a little fashionable scooter whom your parents would prefer over a faster and less safer bike ( as per Indian parents logic). But look careful and you notice how sexy she is. Having chiseled shape, tall stance, large wheels and those bikini like fairings covering what is necessary, she has that sex appeal of a Victoria secret model. In its 2019 avatar the colours stand out too, Red being my absolute favorite among all. Being only one of its kind she turn heads like a super-sport and be prepared to answer frequently asked questions about the SR150 such as " what is this thing? how much does it cost? and of course "what's the mileage" every time you park it somewhere.

Looks like an arrow, she goes like one too. The 155cc single produces 10.05 bhp at 6000 RPM and 11 Nm of torque at 4500 RPM gives it enough oomph to catapult itself to speeds much faster than any other mopeds.

Ergonomics are upright and is more comfortable for medium to tall riders. The new instrument cluster looks good but still is not very informative as much as some of its competition offers. Seats being bit hard could carry 2 normal sized person quite comfortably for long rides provided strategic breaks are taken regularly.

Push start and ring the throttle and you feel the urgency of the engine. 0-60 comes in 7 seconds and 80 kph mark comes shortly after. engine feels stress free and could handle 80 kph all day long.

Add that to great chassis and stiff suspension and larger rims it will put some of popular sports bike into shame in cornering ability and speed it carries through them, the lightness of the  scooter changes direction like a ballerina and is nothing i experienced from one yet. Get to ride with a good company of 200s and she doesn't lags behind, catches up with the bikes pretty well on a winding section of roads. But it does has a disturbing rubberband effect especially when an extra load of a pillion adds up, still its not of a big issue to be worried about as it still goes faster than anything once you you get over the lag. 

BRAKES ARE IMPRESSIVE AND COMES WITH ABS

The brakes offered are the strongest in any moped. incredible bite and great feedback stops it as you want it to. Add ABS to that and the scooter inspired huge amount of confidence to carry decent pace and braking that much late.

NEW INSTRUMENT CLUSTER

IMPRESSIVE BUILT QUALITY

All those reasons making it a treat on corners also makes it phenomenal in the city. The narrow body and handlebars ensure that the scooter filter through traffic like a sewing needle finds gap between fabrics. Its so precise you could crawl through super congested traffic without even keeping legs down on the ground. Also the ground clearance of a SUV makes sure the scooter doesn't scrape going over anything.

REAR GRABRAILS ARE PLACED WELL

So the Aprilia is the sportiest scooter you could get in India. At just above a lakh is it too much to ask for?  Well if it was that i wouldn't have bought one myself, But truth is that its too focused to the sportiness that, it misses out on a lot of practical bits which you expect from them something which made scooters loved. You cant even fit a full size helmet in the under seat storage, fuel efficiency is not too great, and people larger than average size find it difficult to be a pillion. Then the super stiff suspension made bad roads a nightmare.

If you are a person who looks best of both worlds please get away from buying one, TVS NTORQ will be a much better option.

Then why should you buy an Aprilia SR150? the reason is the same which made masses buy a KTM motorcycles, The SR150 is literally KTM of scooters in India, The way it behaves is unique and is unbelievably sporty. A really good precise tool to carve out corners, made riding a scooter look cool again. This need buyers as impulsive as the scooter, someone who need a sporty scooter for having fun, showoff and reasons unknown.

It could also be the perfect companion for the Italian super sport in your garage, with which you can daily, seldom loosing the cool factor your super sport has.

Also,This is the most perfect vehicle for all the guys to fool your parents, who denied your request for bikes thinking bikes are too fast and dangerous for their ward.

By 

AMBADY ANIL

Assisted by: AARON JOSEPH