Suzuki Avenis 125 and Burgman 125 Scooters

Suzuki Malaysia has recently introduced 2 new scooters to the Malaysian market. They are the Avenis 125 and Burgman 12 models. Are they any good – given the reality of both being 4-strokers, surely, they would be outgunned by 2-stroke 125 variants still on the road?

Well, that’s a Yes and No situations. Yes, a peaky 2-stroke scooter of either 125cc or 150cc will outrun both Suzuki scooters IF one come across them. But to come across a good, working condition 2-stroke scooters nowadays are quite rare.

That aside, how are both Suzuki scooters fared in this review? Splendid. Read on.

Avenis 125

At just 106kg for its kerb mass, the Suzuki Avenis 125 is compact and lightweight. It is also very agile, which is great for traveling from one place to another especially for running errands as it adapts very well in lane filtering through the daily traffic congestion in Klang Valley. With its generous fuel capacity of 5.2-litre, which is good for a mileage distance of 230km, which translates into a few days' worth of riding – averaging 40km per day! Well, if your daily commuting to work takes more than that, it’s still great for 2 days.

The Avenis 125 has a torque of 10Nm @ 5,500rpm – adequate for plenty of rides on flat tarmac. Anything steeper, such as riding upwards, it will naturally be slower, but the engine isn’t struggling or sputtering. It is also faster when starting from idling point due to its lighter weight and the amazement of being able to negotiate bends and multiple S-Curves swiftly on twisty sections within Selangor state.

Acceleration is modest on mild throttle opening but give it a full twist, it can go slightly faster. It’s still faster than most standard kapchai of 110 and 125 capacities

Of course, there are some limitations to the Avenis 125, such as when there’s strong winds blowing, one could feel the scooter getting swayed a bit but nothing to be concerned about. And the fuel economy mode indicator is erratic, to say the least. At times it won’t light up when cruising @ 60km/h but came on when riding @ 80km/h!

Where comfort is concerned, the Avenis 125 is a bit hard on the suspension and rear absorber unit when riding over speed humps and uneven tarmac surfaces on faster speeds. I could feel most of the bumps… hard. To minimise it, just go slower when there are incoming humps. Top speed reached is 110km/h* as indicated by its TFT speedometer, and it could do that easily without hesitation, unlike its heavier sibling, the Suzuki Burgman 125.

Burgman Street 125 EX

Ah, this is the more popular model, thanks to the famous Burgman designation. While the Avenis 125 looks akin to the 2-stroke scooters of the 80s/90s era, the Suzuki Burgman 125 resembles more to its senior sibling, the Burgman 400 and most other big bore scooters in the 350-600 range. In short, you can nickname the Burgman 125 as the “heavyweight” in 125cc class, due to its imposing looks and appearance.

That, by itself also lead to some limitations in performance when compared with the Avenis 125. Among them are less agile in making swift changes when negotiating bends/corners and be a little cautious when doing lane filtering due to the wider handlebars’ tip.

It is slightly sluggish than the Avenis 125 because of the higher kerb mass of 110kg and a larger fuel load of 5.5-litre. Despite the extra 0.3-litre of fuel, the Burgman 125 guzzles more petrol than the Avenis 125, and a lesser top speed of 108km/h on flat tarmac!

However, the Burgman 125’s advantages come with better acceleration from idle point, more Oomphh when riding upwards steeper terrains and very comfortable when going over speed humps as well as on uneven surfaces (potholes-filled). As for the slower top speed mentioned, for the most part of this review session, the Burgman 125 could hit 100km/h* easily but struggles to go beyond that, up to 108km/h.

With wind assisted (flat tarmac) or downward riding, it could reach 110km/h, also based on the TFT speedometer panel’s reading. As with the Avenis 125, the Burgman 125 has the same erratic behavior when the Eco mode is concerned. On the handling part, the Burgman 125 is also more comfortable than Avenis 125, with extra foot space to ride leisurely.

Other Features

Both the Avenis 125 and Burgman 125 have ample storage space underneath the seat, enough to keep a standard open face helmet or a backpack, a glove compartment just below the handlebar, a USB charging port and 2 separate hangers to attach lightweight materials when riding either scooter.

*Also depending on the weight mass of the rider