I’ve been in the scooter business for almost 20 years now and during that time I’ve seen some amazing 125cc and 150cc scooters come onto the market.
Almost 20 years ago the super popular Kymco Agility 125 was one of the the biggest selling scooters on the market. It was an air cooled carburettor machine with disc brake on the front and drum brake on the rear and produced 6.9kW of power.
A few years later along came the much bigger capacity SYM HD 200 with 11.4kW. It had a front and rear disc brakes and was water cooled, and was better suited to pillioning than the Agility 125.
With this in mind, in the past it always seemed that if you wanted more power to pillion or go further afield, you simply had to move up a class or two. A lot of riders might start on a 125cc scooter and once the had all their L and P plate requirements behind them, they’d move up to a 200cc or bigger so they could ride faster and further. It also gave them the chance to pillion more easily due to the increase in torque that bigger engine often gave them.
Fast forward to 2022 and we now have scooters like the Aprilia SRGT 125 and Piaggio Medley 150.
These two premium 125cc and 150cc scooters produce much more power than their predecessors. In fact the Aprilia SRGT 125 pumps out 11kW of power which is what we would have expected from the 200cc class not that long ago.
This newly found power is a function of the engineers having to think hard about engines and reduce emissions. Â
Recently we have seen the introduction of Euro 5 emission rules which once again required less tailpipe CO2 emissons and less exhaust noise emitted as well. The boffins at Aprilia managed to keep everyone happy with their latest generation SRGT125, by reducing noise and CO2 and increasing power output, which keep the end user particularly happy.
The upshot of all this is that many new riders can now spend a little more and buy themselves an SRGT125 or Piaggio Medley 150 and quite happily keep the scooter as their riding skills improve and their scope of riding increases, saving on the costs of changeover.
My advice to new riders in the market today is, if it’s in your budget, consider a premium scooter in the 125 and 150 category as a potential choice. Like we always say here at Scooter Central, we would much prefer to guide you onto a scooter that you will grow into, rather than grow out of.
Most buyers understand this, and are less likely to buy a 50cc scooter as its 50kmph top speed would seem fine on the day you get your license, but a few weeks later would feel a bit gutless.
The 125cc-300cc still seems to be the best starting point for most of Sydneys new riders. The next step is to come in store and discuss with our sales which of our 40 scooters are most likely to suit your riding, and then pop out for a test ride to confirm your thoughts.
If you’d like too talk scooters, give our team a call on 02 9938 5858
