Scooter……the very mention of this word gets common Indians excited. It is the mode of transport for the Indian masses. It is a utilitarian 2-wheeler meant for practicality rather than thrills or performance or adrenaline rush, something you associate with motorcycles. Though I might mention that it might give thrills to teenagers who are looking for thrills…….ahem, jokes apart. Basically, my point is that you don’t buy scooters to have fun….you buy them for commuting, or carrying groceries, or carrying a small family etc. But, there is a niche segment of scooter buyers who are looking for some thrills, some sporty performance and handling, like a motorcycle, but they want the convenience of a scooter and don’t want to shift gears, or their parents don’t allow them to buy motorcycles. So, today I am going to mention some scooters in the Indian market that are meant for performance and thrills…….and try to explain how did the scene of performance scooters start in India. By the way, you might be surprised to notice that the performance scooters in this list perform like motorcycles!
Well, to understand the scene of performance scooters, these insane machines that deserve the hype, we need to rewind to the 2000’s……..when young 2-wheeled enthusiasts were drooling over the Pulsars and the Apache…..and the new FZ-16, and the scooter scene was such that people were mad and crazy after the Honda Activa. Everything was going normal, when suddenly, in 2008, Honda dropped a bomb…..something that would set the Indian scooter market on fire. Something, that would be a scooter, that is okay for utilitarian purposes, but has so much performance, that it would humble some entry level motorcycles! Something, that would be the first performance oriented scooter in India, and its name is……………..Honda Kinetic Blaze! When it came in India, it did just one thing……it surprised Indians! There was nothing like it when it came in India. It had a humongous, motorcycle-like 165 cc engine and telescopic forks! It had a blistering 11.6 horsepower and 12 newton meters of torque! It could easily rocket to 100 km/h, its top speed. It is powerful as a sports scooter, even by today’s standards! But, the Indian market was not ready for such an insane offering, so it did not see much success.
But the scene of performance scooters did not end there. There was a lot of silence in the performance scooter segment, after the Kinetic Blaze, but then, a very renowned Italian motorcycle manufacturer with a lot of heritage and fan-following from enthusiasts enters the scene with a power-packed package. Yes! I am talking about Aprillia. Aprillia launched the SR150 in India and gave India world-class performance and quality….upto Aprillia standards. It had a 150 cc engine which promised blistering performance. When it came, it was the fastest scooter in India and again, there was nothing quite like it. It had huge tyres, unlike any other scooter, and it handled like a motorcycle! It could go upto 120 km/h. Later, it got updated to meet BS6 norms. The displacement, and power and torque was bumped up, and it got fuel-injection which made it more refined. This became the SR160 which is sold currently in the Indian market. It is currently one of the best performing scooters in the Indian market.
Well, now you might think that Aprillia is leading the performance scooter segment in India. But, that was the case before. Because quite recently, Yamaha, a company that drops bombs in India as usual, dropped a missile this time! Yamaha launched the Aerox 155, the spiciest meatball that you can get in the Indian performance scooter market. It has a 155cc 4-valve, liquid cooled, fuel injected engine with VVA! Guess what, the engine is from the legendary R15! I mean, this is a spicy meatball, for sure! It makes an unheard of, 15 horsepower and 13.9 newton meters of torque! Currently it is the most powerful scooter in India, and it has successfully dethroned the Aprillia SR160. It has a top speed of an insane 120 km/h! It also, like Aprillia, has huge tyres and handles like a motorcycle! It has a lot of boot space as well!
So well, this is my take on the scene of performance scooters in India. An honorable mention would be the TVS Ntorq 125. TVS entered the scene with this affordable, value-for-money 125 cc performance scooter. It really is quite quick and can easily touch 100 km/hr. It is still there and is a really good option for scooter enthusiasts on a tight budget. Well, times have changed, and there are quite a lot of spicy meatballs out there, for those young 2-wheel enthusiasts who cant buy a motorcycle and want some fun!
