The one-two-five Conundrum…

125s are the new 100s, they say. Well I don’t think so. The problem with the current 125s is that the manufacturers are never satisfied with just 25% improvement over a 100 cc bike. They are always hunting for something extra and in doing so they tend to just lose the plot, entirely. The Super Splendor and Glamour FI go all out for fuel efficiency. But apart from that, they don’t offer any significant upgrade over the 100s and retail for at least 10 grand more. The Yamaha Gladiator tries to deliver a good top-end whack but loses out big-time in terms of drivability. The Stunner goes for low-end grunt and drivability is no better than the 150s in terms of fuel-efficiency and has a top speed only marginally better than the 100s. The Stunner FI does manage to do all things right but what were Honda smoking when they came up with a price tag of 73 thousand bucks?

Maybe today’s manufacturers need to take a leaf out of the history books. The only 125 that didn’t try to be anything more than a 125 was the first 4-stroke 125 to be introduced into the market. Launched in 1998 the YBX 125 was actually a nice machine without any pretentious figures on its spec sheet, but it didn’t sell. Sadly, the bike was too far ahead of its time and it list price of Rs. 52,000 was same as today’s 125s.

The fact that there are a couple of excellent 100cc bikes in the market makes life even more difficult for 125s. Especially the HH CD-Deluxe and the TVS Star-Sport are excellent products available at fantastic prices. These bikes have been honed for decades compared to 125s which are more or less experimental products. It will take bloody perfection from any rival to beat them. Moreover these 100 cc bikes never feel lacking in the engine department anyway. It’s the chassis, suspension, tyres and brakes which feel vastly more inadequate than the engine. I personally think that the only 125 worth buying today is the Suzuki Heat. At Rs. 41,000 (On-Road, Pune) it matches the 100cc bikes in terms of price and is actually better than the 100s in terms of drivability, refinement and performance and build quality. Thanks to the great low-end torque, it also delivers great fuel efficiency in real world riding conditions.

After years of trying and failing to dethrone the CD100/Splendor/Passion from its top spot , Bajaj famously announced that it will no longer have a presence in the 100cc segment. I cheered their words. I envisioned that soon Bajaj would come out with a simple product with more sense than style, say a CT-125 for around 35 grand. Sadly, the vision never materialized. Times changed and Bajaj had to back-track on their own words. Nothing wrong with that, I say. Even Porsche announced that they would never make a diesel car but they did, while BMW’s M division swore that they would never touch their SUVs and but even they did. It is okay at times to roll with the punches. Who’s had the last laugh? Porsche and BMW are doing pretty well for themselves, in these recessionary times while other big-guns have gone bankrupt. Words don’t matter; it’s the products that matter. It seems that Bajaj are finally getting it right, at least in theory, by launching the Discover 100 with a stiff chassis, wide tyres, meaty suspension, electric-start and a 5-speed gearbox for a killer price-tag of Rs 44,400 (On-road, Pune).

In India the only thing people brag about is not top speed, not bhp but ‘average’, even the ones buying premium bikes. So if you want to be one of those confused souls, you are better off with a 100cc bike. But if you are one of those enlightened souls who looking for the perfect balance between performance, fuel-efficiency and value, do yourself a favour and go for a 150, because with a 125, you will end up getting neither.

You did proper research before buying your bike, didn’t you? You visited different dealerships. You collected all the brochures and quotations. You even bought the latest auto-mag and compared the fuel efficiency figures, power figures, and a dozen other figures until they started swimming in your head. Finally, you made the big decision. You couldn’t have been more thorough, right? Wrong! There are a lot of things that dry numbers don’t tell you. I call them the unquantifiables. These are the things that you actually feel while riding a bike.

Refinement, the most important of the unquantifiables, is a trademark of a good bike. However, refinement is usually confused with noise suppression. Sometimes even a reasonably silent engine feels gruff, while a gloriously vocal engine feels butter smooth, the 09 R1’s for example. Also more than the ‘bhp’ its the drivability that matters more. Peak power output can be exploited only on the racetrack or on open highways. For tackling city traffic you need good low-end grunt, while for speedy city jaunts you need a strong mid-range punch.

A good exhaust note goes a long way into enhancing riding pleasure. And good doesn’t mean just loud. Those glorious sounding expansion chambers on race prepped two strokes however, are an exception. Precise fuelling still remains an art form. Bikes which go on and off the throttle jerk free are very few and far between. Especially in India most of our bikes are extremely jerky while going on and off the throttle as they are tuned for extreme fuel efficiency.

Riding a bike is such a tactile experience, which is precisely what makes it such good fun. The controls of a bike are the connection between the rider and the machine. Having light, progressive and smooth controls can do wonders to riding pleasure. I love the bikes that come alive when you have hardly pressed the starter. While those that emit a sickening crack while cranking make my heart skip a beat. Then there’s the throttle feel. A well weighted, smooth accelerator with minimum friction between the grip-sleeve and the handlebar underneath is a pleasure to wring. The snick-snick of a precise gearbox is so satisfying. A gearbox which throws up false neutrals is not only irritating but also dangerous at times. Imagine changing down mid-corner and finding a false neutral. A clutch with a progressive bite and feel gives you precise control over the rear wheel. A bike with a hair-trigger clutch and an iffy gearbox will be out-dragged by a slower bike 8 out of 10 times.

Ergonomics of a bike are crucial to making your ride comfortably and fatigue free. Different riders might find different bikes to be suitable to them depending on their anatomy and riding style. A bike with functional knee recesses gives it that ‘big-bike’ feel. Some bikes have such poorly designed knee recesses that, when you place your feet on the pegs your knees are raised to a couple of inches above the tank which makes the bike feel smaller than it is. The seat padding should be just right, neither too hard nor too soft. I was amazed by the 1000 RR’s seat which inspite of being hardly an inch thick was surprisingly comfortable.

The frame should be flex free, only then will it transmit the feedback from the surface underneath the tyres. If you want to find out how much of deterrent chassis flex can be, ride a delta box framed R15 and any steel tubing framed 100cc commuter back to back and you will get my point. The damping calibration is also extremely difficult to get right. The perfect damping is one in which is tight enough so that the forks compress & decompress only once without any subsequent wallowing and yet is forgiving enough to allow maximum suspension travel on hitting a bump. The brake feel is also equally important there should be no sponginess in the lever and the lever should feel significantly tighter from the point where brakes start clamping the rotors.

Then there are the small things like the opening and closing click-clack of aluminum foot pegs which tells you that the bike was properly made.

Difficult to explain though these things might seem, there is just one word that explains them all. It is called finesse. Sadly even the best of road tests won’t cover most of these things. But not to worry there’s a simple way to gauge the unquantifiables. It is to take your prospective bike for a long enough test ride and feel it for yourself. There will be a bike that will feel just right. It’s almost like finding a soul-mate.