Aprilia Storm 125

The Aprilia SR125 was introduced in India for one main reason – make the brand more affordable. With the SR160's price hovering close to Rs 1.30 lakh on road, there was a desperate need of a scooter that can continue to bring more buyers into the brand, and that is where the Storm 125 comes into the picture.  

The SR125 Storm is still a premium scooter, but can also be looked as an alternative for buyers who want more than just a traditional 125cc scooter. There’s the TVS NTorq 125 and the more aspirational Suzuki Burgman Street, but the brand Aprilia takes things to a whole new level. 

The SR 125 Storm has borrowed all of its styling from its bigger cousin – the SR 160. The body panels, mirrors, headlamp cover, the tail section – all have been taken from the SR160. But there are a few things that are exclusive to the Storm 125. The black/silver stickers and the 12-inch wheels are found only on the Storm 125. Plus, the tyres are Vee Rubbers –a brand that was replaced by CEAT in the SR160. They look a bit off-road ready too. 

This Storm gets a 125cc motor. It makes around 10bhp of power and peak torque of 9.70Nm. The CVT gearbox is from the SR160 too, but has been heavily reworked. The semi-digital instrument cluster gives out decent ride information as well.  

The Storm 125 is equipped with combi-braking system (CBS). However, the scooter misses out on LED lights and there’s no parking brake. It also doesn’t get USB charging and boot light. And a multifunction ignition keyhole is missing as well. Having said that, the brakes are decent with a disc at the front and a drum at the rear. The entire suspension setup has been borrowed from the SR160 to keep costs in check. 

The Storm 125 continues to retain the sportiness and agility of the Aprilia brand. To start with, the 125cc three-valve air-cooled engine has decent amount of grunt but also manages to exhibit its smoothness. As soon as you twist the throttle, the Storm 125 feels extremely quick off the line. Give a bit more input and the scooter does some high speed runs quite comfortably. But there’s a huge speedometer error. In fact, the SR160 was plagued with the same issue. So, expect the Storm 125 to be at least 15kmph slower than what is shown on the cluster. But overall, the Storm 125 is a decently fast scooter.  

When it comes to city commuting, the Storm 125 plays well there. The ergonomics are comfortable. As a result, it’s easy to steer the scooter. In fact, even a tall rider like me didn’t feel uncomfortable at U-turns.  There’s enough room on the floorboard. So it can carry some bags from grocery visits too.  

This Aprilia uses the same suspension unit from the SR160 but it feels so much better over bad and undulating roads. The credit goes to the smaller 12-inch wheels. The presence of these wheels made the company use taller profile tyres. So, the softer side walls also help with the riding experience. Having said that, the Storm 125 still returns a good amount of jarring. As a result, it becomes a bit difficult to deal with that front end when it comes to bad roads.  

The brakes are done well. There’s good amount of progression and power. The CBS works well, but it could have been so much better, especially under hard braking.   

The Aprilia Storm 125 is priced quite higher than its rivals like the TVS Ntorq 125. But this Aprilia comes with brand and aspirational values, and that is something a lot of people want from their scooters these days. The Storm 125 is fast, can do city runs pretty well, and will make people look at you at every traffic signal. But it misses out on some must have features, and in the world connected with feature-rich products, the Storm 125 misses out on a lot of points. So, if you are in the market for a scooter that will enhance your style statement along with commute, buy the Aprilia Storm 125. But if you want bang for your buck, well, then you need to look at the NTorq 125.   

Photography by Kapil Angane