I wanted a gearless scooter for my wife which I could also use and share for my local errands. I was hell bent on Honda Activa after having read a lot of favourable ratings about her and for the service centre hardly a km from my home. I almost booked her at a local sub-dealer who was ready to give the bike on the spot for cash. But then in a few days everyone in market hiked its price by about Rs 4000.
And we were back to square one. Then my wife tested the Suzuki Swish and was pretty impressed by its ride quality. Our main criteria for the bike were 2 things Ride Quality and Performance. Not only was this but the price of Swish quite less than Activa. Apprehensively we finalized the Swish and bought it on 10.10.12
Before I flood the review with the Pros which are many I would mention here a few minor Cons so that the manufacturer if reads this will note seriously.
Con#1: The Headlight beam angle even on low mode is bit high, got it lowered to max setting from service centre but still it should be a little bit lower.
Con#2: There is no Bag Hook below the handle bar, the only holder is below the seat and is way too low to keep your stuff, virtually useless. Got a bag hook fixed from local market on front top side just below the handle bar assembly as there is a screw fitting there and now it’s taken care of.
Con#3: Under seat space should have been a little bit more by about 10% although my half faced male size helmet does fit into it, but it would have helped.
Con#4: Brakes need to be just a little bit crisper although on city drive it is ok, on highways you do feel the need for it to be more sharp.
Performance: I have had a lot of experience driving 2 & 4 Wheelers since my college days and I must say I was quite impressed by the Bike’s performance. The engine is very refined, effortless and the bike behaves very well to your commands. The power of 125cc does feel under your hands when you twist the throttle. I once did a ’tripling’ for a very short distance and I never felt the engine strained even a little bit, bravo my 110cc bike did used to sound different on ’triplings’. I have now come to believe that if there is any company who can challenge Honda it’s got to be Suzuki.
Ride Quality: Speaking about ride quality, it’s absolutely spot on. As I said I have quite an experience about bikes and scooters but this is definitely one of the best ones. The ride is perfectly smooth even on those rough potholes and speed bumps. The front Telescopic suspension and the rear Mono suspension are the best in scooters. I can safely say that it is at par with Aviator and some would say even better. I won’t be exaggerating if I say that its ride quality is even better than some of the popular motorcycles in the market and having tested it back to back with ’SHINE’, I would dare to say Swish is better in terms of absorbing the rugged terrain. And yes I weigh 80kgs+ and I am 5’10” for those who might say I am a featherweight driver.
Mileage (The Big ?): We have completed almost 700kms in 70days now, done the first servicing and the bike is still steady (touchwood). The initial city mileage was comfortably 33-35kmpl before the first service and now it has improved to about 45-50kmpl in mixed driving of City & Highway routes (50-50). For those who still think Activa does better, do a reality check from the owners first. And I know some would say ‘Salaa Phek raha hai!’ There is a way to achieve this mileage, how?
First be patient. Always turn off the engine for any halt more than 10 seconds, punctually. Try to ’Idle’ the bike for 30-60 seconds on first morning start. As much as possible kick start the bike and unlike the motorcycles there is a way to ‘kick’ these scooters, you need to give little bit of push in your kick while kicking, I learnt it during my days with Bajaj & Vespa. Anticipate the traffic ahead and the speed bumps and lower the acceleration earlier. Avoid sudden acceleration and always keep the needle between 40-50 kmph no matter how empty the road may be. It’s a sheer stupidity on part of people who don’t know how to handle a vehicle carefully and then say mileage is bad.
Don’t believe me well it’s up to you since my wife is already asking for a 2nd bike, why? Because we fight for it like kids! Happy driving and please wear a helmet always.
Cheers!
P.S.: I am thankful to Honda that they ’forced’ me to buy a Swish. I am quite satisfied and I am, as I said, even planning to buy another one soon!
Update:
I have read in few places on this website whereby people have complained about the bike ’stalling’ i.e. losing power or ignition or simply speaking turning off while driving or while braking. I had a similar experience and found that it was a problem of carburetor setting. This was rectified by the service center when I gave the bike for servicing 2nd time. So this is not a big issue people you can ignore it.
Here I would also like to appreciate Simran Motors, Panvel for giving a good service until now and I am happy with their pick up and drop facility for which they charge just Rs.100/- which is a very convenient option.
Got a bag hook fitted on top side below the handle bar and it is perfect now. I will try to upload some pics ASAP.
Thanks to you people who have read and appreciated my review, and Pravin I hope you read my answer to your comment.