Long Term: Aprilia SR 150
I am not very fond of scooters. I prefer motorcycles. Though I use a scooter to help mom with household stuff, only occasionally. I have a 50km roundtrip to work everyday, and no I don’t fancy doing that on a scooter. Any scooter. Or so I had thought when I was handed the key to the Aprilia SR 150. I own a Gixxer, a bike that is a superb city commuter and shifting to the SR 150 wasn’t exactly what I wanted. Although, I was pleasantly surprised. The engine displacements of my Suzuki and the SR 150 are quite similar, which means I had more power to play with compared to all the budget scooters available in the country today. It is also the only proper moto scooter to debut here, no matter what others may have claimed in the past.
“What I absolutely loved about the Aprilia SR 150 is the linear power delivery, handling and huge wheels.”
These three parameters position the SR 150 leagues ahead of other scooters. Cutting through traffic is a breeze thanks to the minimalistic styling and that powerful engine. The scooter does take a bit more effort to tip in to a corner compared to my mom’s old Dio but once it’s in, mid-corner stability is as good as my Gixxer’. The Aprilia’s stiff ride might not be up to everyone’s taste though.
I was very happy with the way my 6kg bag found a sweet place in the front luggage space instead of my back and mind you, 25km with bag strapped on, is a bit of a pain. Also since I now had a luggage compartment under the seat, I could carry other stuff around as well, if required. I even calculated the time I took for a single way commute on the SR 150 compared to my bike and the difference was not more than five minutes.
“The sweet balance of convenience and pleasure is something I will surely credit this baby Aprilia with.”
I guess I too have fallen in with the exponentially growing scooter consumers in the country, only because of the Aprilia SR 150. The sweet balance of convenience and pleasure is something I will surely credit this baby Aprilia with. There are a few things that I am slightly grumpy about. The headlamps, though aesthetically striking fail to provide adequate illumination, the seat is front sloping and ergonomics could have been better though many won’t mind, considering the nature of the scooter. Under seat storage space could have been better. Everything considered, the SR 150 has definitely made me change my perspective on scooters.
