How does Suzuki’s premium 125cc offering stack up against Honda’s flagship scooter on paper?

With competition in the 125cc scooter segment heating up in India, Suzuki hopes to cement its foothold in the market with the Burgman Street. However, positioned as a premium offering, does the Burgman justify its hefty price tag, especially when compared to the Honda Grazia? We find out.

 

Design and Features - 

SUZUKI BURGMAN STREET 125

HONDA GRAZIA

Windscreen

Yes

No

Speedometer

Fully-digital

Fully-digital

Service-due reminder

No

Yes

LED headlights

Yes

Yes

LED tail lights

Yes

No

DC socket

Yes

Optional extra

USB Charger

Optional extra

Optional extra

Dual luggage hook

Yes

Yes

Front pocket storage

Yes

No

4-in-lock

Yes

Yes

External fuel filling cap

No

No

The Suzuki Burgman Street looks appealing, thanks to its overall bulbous design. Its imposing front apron gets neatly laid out all-LED headlight and windscreen. The sculpted rear panels, bulky exhaust can and grab rails also follow the design theme seen at the front. Everything works well in its favour. Well, except for the skinny 10-inch rear wheel, which looks odd and out of place. As mentioned earlier, the Burgman Street packs all-LED lighting, which provide ample throw and spread of light at night. 

The Suzuki Burgman Street is focused more towards practicality than features. This means, you get a generous 21.5-litre underseat storage space, which may not be the best in class, but still dwarfs the Grazia’s underseat storage bin by quite a margin. You also get additional storage behind the front apron, with a DC charging socket (comes as standard) on the left and enough space to carry a 1-litre bottle on the right. The floorboard is easily one of the best in the segment and is large enough to carry a laptop bag. Another thoughtful feature is the footrest moulded into the apron, which makes for a relaxed riding posture.

Designed as a more youth-centric scooter, the Honda Grazia looks much sharper than the Burgman. It follows a more aggressive design approach, with sharper lines and creases all across the body.

The first thing you'll notice about the Grazia is the massive angular LED headlamp. However, while they offer decent brightness in the city, our highway runs revealed them to be rather lacklustre. Other features include an all-digital instrument console with a 3-step eco mode for efficient riding style, a 4-in-1 key slot with a seat opener switch and an optional 12V phone charging socket. Storage space is also quite decent at 18 litres and can hold a half-face helmet. 

If the two scooters were parked side-by-side, and we had to pick a winner, we’d go for the Burgman Street. And that’s simply because it offers something different in terms of design with the added benefits of practical features.

 

Engine - 


 

SUZUKI BURGMAN STREET 125

HONDA GRAZIA

Displacement

124cc

124.9cc

Power

8.7 PS @ 7000 rpm

8.6PS @ 6500rpm

Torque

10.2 Nm @5000 rpm

10.54 Nm @ 5000rpm

Let’s start off by saying, none of the scooters get a new engine. While the Suzuki Burgman Street borrows its motor from the Suzuki Access, the Honda Grazia packs the same engine as the Honda Activa 125. 

Having said that, the engine has been tuned on the Burgman for better refinement and to offer better fuel efficiency than the Access. It’s also quicker than the Honda Grazia. The Honda, on the other hand, feels a little rough when rolling on the throttle. However, this behaviour changes dramatically once it gains some momentum.

According to our road tests, the Burgman offers an efficiency of 54.9kmpl on the highway and  54.7kmpl in the city. It packs a 5.6-litre fuel tank. The Honda Grazia, on the other hand, returns 46.7kmpl in the city and 48.4kmpl on the highway, with a 5.3-litre of fuel tank. This results in fewer fuel stops on the Burgman Street. 

 

Underpinnings -


 

SUZUKI BURGMAN STREET 125

HONDA GRAZIA

Underseat Storage

21.5 litres

18 litres

Length

1880mm

1812mm

Width

675mm

697mm

Wheelbase

1265mm

1260mm

Ground Clearance

160mm

155mm

Seat Hieght

780mm

766mm

Kerb Weight

108kg

107kg

Fuel Tank

5.6 Ltr

5.3 Ltr

Front Suspension

Telescopic

Telescopic

Rear Suspension

Monoshock

Monoshock (3-step-adjustable)

Front Brake

Disc

Disc/Drum

Rear Brake

Drum

Drum

Combined braking (CBS)

Yes

Yes

Tyre Size (Front)

90/90-12

90/90-12

Tyre Size (Rear)

90/100-10

90/100-10

While both scooters pack almost similar suspension setups, real-world tests reveal a different story. For example, hit a rough stretch on the Burgman and it will prove to be much more forgiving on your spine. Bumps and undulations are absorbed quite well by the Burgman, without unsettling the rider. In comparison, the Grazia feels stiffer when going through similar situations. Also, the Suzuki tips into corners quite fast, thanks to its front end weight, but it does take a toll on its corner to corner transition.

The Suzuki feels more progressive under hard braking in comparison to the Honda. However, the bite itself is far from being sharp. In our 60-0kmph brake tests, the Burgman took 21.56 metres to come to a standstill, a metre more than the Access, thanks to the added weight. On the Honda Grazia, however, one really has to go hard on the lever for the brakes to kick in, and when they do they don’t feel as progressive as the Suzuki. The Grazia took 18.03 metres to come to halt in our 60-0kmph brake test which is decent enough.

 

Pricing and Verdict -


SUZUKI BURGMAN STREET 125

  

HONDA GRAZIA

Drum

  

Rs 59,622

Drum & Alloy

  

Rs 61,552

Disc

Rs 68,000

Rs 63,994

(All prices ex-showroom Delhi)

Both scooters have their ups and downs. The Suzuki Burgman Street, being a premium offering, comes at a hefty price of Rs 68,000. This makes it Rs 4,000 more expensive than the top-spec Grazia (with disc brakes and alloy wheels). But, is it worth the extra money? Despite being a bit on the pricier side, we genuinely believe the Burgman Street comes out on top courtesy all the features, aesthetics and performance on offer. In a nutshell, you simply get more scooter for every penny spent, from Suzuki, rather than Honda.


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