What is it?
Pros - First maxi scooter of the current generation, acceleration off the line, storage space
Cons - Asking price, doesn't fit maxi people
The Suzuki Burgman Street. Remember the Swish? That was an attempt to cater to the female-oriented audience, the ones that didn’t want the plain-Jane Access. Suzuki is moving with the times and is now catering to the male scooter users. This is a good idea, since that market hasn’t really been fully explored yet. Yamaha has attempted it with the Cygnus Ray ZR, but the Burgman is a whole different kettle of fish. It is unashamedly appealing to the male sensibility.
At first glance
The Burgman Street derives its styling from the same place it derives its name – the Burgman 650. It’s got maxi-scooter styling, scaled down to the size of the Access 125. Suzuki has got the proportions of the Burgman spot on. Beginning with the headlamp and its LED light guides and LED bulb, the slim near-vertical chrome strips that lead to either side of the visor, the aggressive extensions on either side of the headlamp that house the indicators… Move to the side, and you’ll see more cuts and creases than at a professional bodybuilding contest. Adding to the Burgman’s character is the stepped seat, and large grabrail and muffler. The rear view emphasises the width of the ‘Zook, with an all-LED taillamp that is a combination of light guides and LED bulbs as well. There’s also a tiny tyre hugger for the rear tyre. The only out-of-place thing on the Burgman is the width of the rear tyre. It looks too slim to be packaged with that broad rear mudguard and large exhaust muffler, despite actually being 10mm wider than the front tyre.
Touchy feely
The Burgman looks premium for sure, especially in this shade of matt grey. However, the switchgear has been taken from the Access parts bin. This is no bad thing, as the Access has proven that it doesn’t weather easily. It also gets an all-digital instrument cluster that looks like it has been derived from the Gixxer, but it displays only basic information – speed, fuel level, odometer reading, twin trip meters and a clock are present. The other 125cc scooters offer a lot more. The Honda Grazia offers a tachometer; the TVS Ntorq an oil temperature gauge, among other things. The footboard has an interesting feature: it has footrests that are closer to being vertical than horizontal, at the front, so that the rider can sit feet-forward, like on a cruiser motorcycle. Both this feature and the stepped seat make the Burgman quite comfortable for the average-sized person. The seating position will be familiar to those who ride a Dio, Grazia or Ntorq. There’s a little discomfort if you’re large – the Burgman only looks like a maxi scooter, it isn’t really one. Suzuki could have done better to improve things like the tactile feel of the buttons on the all-digital instrument cluster.
We really like the storage space on the Burgman; there is an open cubbyhole next to the ignition key slot, there is a closed one on the left with the capability of fitting a 12V charger, and a large underseat storage area. Both storage spaces on the front apron are very deep and will certainly be appreciated by owners – Suzuki might want to make the closed storage space a lockable one, since we know at least a couple of people in our team alone who will forget things in there when they park their Burgman.
The twist of the wrist
We always knew that the Burgman Street would run the Access 125’s mechanicals. After all, why fix what isn’t broke? The Access proved to hold its own even against 150cc scooters in most of our performance tests. What Suzuki has done is retune the CVT to offer more acceleration than the Access. The Burgman is a sprightly thing, sprinting off the blocks with surprising vigour. We know now why the tyres are so skinny! We’ll have to test it for performance with our datalogger, but judging by the seat-of-the-pants feel, it seems to be one of the quickest, if not the quickest 125cc scooter off the line at the time of its launch. The brakes comprise of a front disc and rear drum and have a combined braking system. Bite is good but the feel is not as good as the non-linked system – a trait we’ve noticed with previous CBS systems. However, it is very effective in bringing the Burgman to a halt quickly. The skinny tyres help the Burgman tip over really quickly, and filtering through traffic is effortless. The ride quality is also very good, undoubtedly helped by the cushioning of that wide seat.
Will it succeed?
This is a bold move from Suzuki – the current (and yet-to-be-launched-in-India) Swish is quite desirable, but rather than fight the market leaders at their own game, Suzuki has chosen a different path (albeit one that was blazed by the Kinetic, er, Blaze). It needs to get the price right like it did with the Access 125, and that will determine the fate of the Burgman. At Rs 68,000, ex-showroom, Delhi, it is priced a full Rs 8000 more than its competition, the Honda Grazia and the TVS Ntorq. On-road, that's nearly Rs 10,000 more than the other two, which offer more features. But they don't offer the styling that the Suzuki does - time will tell if Team Blue has been a little too greedy with its pricing.
Images: Kapil Angane/Kaustubh Gandhi
