I bought my Suzuki Heat 125cc about 5 months back and having complete 1700 kms till date, I thought this is the best time to write a review. This is especially true after I saw so many anti-Heat posts in this forum which I thought is not fair on this bike.
It all started with my 2003 model TVS Fiero which was giving me some real awful bad experience. After a moderate drive of 1 hr everyday to and from work, everytime the engine of my TVS Fiero would heat up very quickly and the clutch and gears would give me a hard time once I have driven continously for 1 hour. Repeated servicing attempts on its problems proved to be just waste of money as the underlying problem couldn’t be sorted. So decided to SELL THIS AWFUL BIKE and look for a replacement.
Enquired a Hero honda showroom nearby but they were not bothered to exchange my bike for a fair price. VERY RUDE. Just a few kms away was the Suzuki showroom near the Devegowda Petrol Bunk on the Ring Road (Bangalore). The staff were very interested and helpful to show me 3 bikes. The 125 cc Heat, 125cc Zeus and the scooter Access 125. What I wanted was a simple bike that would give me a good performance (both mileage and durability) at a reasonable price.
I liked a Silver Suzuki Heat that was on show and when I did a test drive I like it quite a lot. After a lot of negotiation for my Fiero I felt I got a reasonable price and decided to book the Suzuki Heat (Silver color). What follows is my honest (I really mean HONEST!!!) review of this bike.
For an on-road price of approx Rs. 40, 000/- this bike is a bargain by any standards. If we can compromise on the "Style" factor, what we get is clear round headlights, a fairly decent looking Speedometer dashboard, extended metallic handlebars for the accelearator/clutch and very responsive indicator switches.
What sets this apart is the fact that it has got the same 125cc engine as the Zeus. I don’t know of any 125cc bike that comes in this price range (under 40K). Also this bike comes with alloy wheels giving some good stability for this bike.
The leather seats on the other hand are a feet shorter than my TVS Fiero. Hence we can JUST ABOUT adjust a kid in the front and a passenger at the back, REAL TIGHT. Suzuki could have improved this a bit.
Pickup: The Suzuki Heat has amazing pickup. Especially after the second servicing of my bike, I feel its pick up has further improved. Sometimes on the traffic signals, I manage to take off much earlier than the Pulsars and Unicorns. But after a few seconds these bikes easily overtake mine, its OBVIOUS isn’t it? The Heat is not a race machine, its just a sensible one.
Now let us talk about the 5 Gears in this bike. With its XTP engine, people expect quite a lot of magic. But from my experience all this means is that the bike can start from NEAR STILL on the 2nd gear and one can easily handle the bike in the 3rd gear at around an initial speed of 10-15 km/hr. But the 5th gear is a different case. At under 40 kmph the bike feels really uneasy. Above 40kmph, it starts getting comfortable, but I would say if you want to be smooth at the 5th gear, you got to be going at a minimum of 45kmph, otherwise you can feel a tiny vibration. Anywhere more than 45kmph, the bike is simply SUPERB. I have gone to a maximmum of 65kmph in this bike but thats the maximum I have managed in this (mad) Bangalore traffic.
Mileage: I have been getting a consistant mileage of between 55 and 60 kmpl on this bike depending on whether I carry load at my back or not. Remember this is a very light weight bike, much lighter than my earlier Fiero. Hence carrying one more person in the bike would burn a bit more fuel - atleast thats what I experienced.
The sound of the engine is not like the ones of the Hero Hondas and Unicorns. Its a bit more continous - a bit like the samurai’s of the old generation.
Overall this is a good bike for the city. Simple and Performant. However there are a few areas Suzuki could have improved upon namely:
The gears could have been a bit more smoother, much like the ones in Unicorn and Shine. At the moment, Hondas have the best Gear systems. Suzuki will have to match up to that.
The idling mechanism is too unstable during the initial life of the bike - would improve after consistent usage.
The bike when brand new used to be lazy to start in the early mornings. That problem is resolved after a having covered 1000 kms. Now it starts INSTANTLY after the very first kick even on cold mornings.
But the above factors are only characteristics which come from the under 40K price band I suppose. All the bikes have some goods and bads afterall...
The nearest competitors for the Suzuki Heat are Yamaha Alba, Bajaj Platina, Hero Honda CD Deluxe, Honda Shine and the Bajaj XCD. Whereas I don’t know about the Alba and the Platina, the Heat is much better than the CD Deluxe in performance. Bajaj XCD is very stylish but of a poor build and a comparitively dearer price.The Heat has a better build. A good competitor to this bike I think will be the Honda Shine. But again it’s more costlier than the Heat.
Also its plain unfair to compare this bike with the Pulsars, Unicorns and Apaches as some guys on this forum have been doing. The Suzuki Heat doesnot come in their category. There is a huge price gap of more that 25, 000/- between this bike and the above ones with the Heat selling at less than 40, 000/- whereas the Apache and Unicorn sell around 65, 000/-.
Overall I would recommend this bike if you don’t have a big budget. Its a plain bike, durable and gives good mileage and pickup. Just look around you and you will find a lot of Samurai’s and Max 100’s still zooming around. The Suzuki engine is a GOOD ONE and has stood the test of time.
I personally enjoy this bike. The after-sales service is good and I get a prompt call from my Suzuki dealer asking me to get the bike for servicing.The Suzuki outlets around Bangalore give a reasonably good service.
My old mechanic once told me that there will never be bikes like the old Yamaha’s, CD100ss, Samurai’s and Max 100’s. He thinks the Suzuki Heat might be in this category. I too hope that he is right. After all optimism drives all of us right...???.
You can reach me at siva.subramanian@indiatimes.com if you have any queries...
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An Update on this bike on 21-June-2009.
I have now completed around 6500 kms in my bike. The performance of this bike is solid. The only weak point in this bike seems to be the gear. Initially the gear behaves OK but after riding for about an hour the gear gets heavy and gear shifting becomes difficult. Not sure whether Suzuki have corrected this in the next models of Heat. If not they need to engineer this now. Otherwise I can see a problem with the gears in this bike. People who test drive must make sure that they are happy with the gear and gear shifting.
I had a chance to drive the Hero Honda Passion Pro recently - the gears in this bike look solid. May be Suzuki India can take a lesson or two from this. Thanks for all the feedback.