Updated, More Appealing Aprilia SR 160 & SR 125 Launched

Finally! Aprilia has given the ageing SR 160 a mid-life refresh, updating it with new graphics, a revised front fascia, and more modern features. And along with it, the company has also launched the 2021 SR 125. Let’s take a look at them:

What’s The Price? Who Are Its Rivals?

The new Aprilia SR 160 is priced at Rs 1,17,494 (ex-showroom, Pune), making it Rs 10,533 costlier than its previous iteration. Meanwhile, the new SR 125 costs Rs 1,07,595 (ex-showroom, Pune), or about Rs 10,405 more than the current-gen SR 125’s top variant. 

More importantly, the SR 160 costs Rs 11,500 less than its new arch rival, the Yamaha Aerox 155, giving it an upper hand. 

As for the SR 125, it rivals the TVS NTorq 125 Race XP and the Suzuki Burgman Street, both of which undercut it by a big chunk.

How Many Variants Are There?

Like before, the SR 160 comes in three variants: SR 160, SR 160 Race and SR 160 Carbon. The Race variant, priced at Rs 1,26,636, gets a MotoGP-inspired paint scheme, red alloys, and knuckle guards, while the Carbon variant retails at Rs 1,19,975, featuring a special stealthy paint scheme and pinstriped alloys. Both prices ex-showroom Pune.

What’s New?

For 2021, the most noticeable change comes to the design. Both scooters bid adieu to the halogen headlight and opt for a more muscular fascia with an all-LED headlight and an aerodynamic cowl.

This sharper design language flows to the rear too, as the scooters get a new tail light with an ‘X’ shape, and broader grab rails. We feel an ‘S’ pattern would’ve been more apt, but we’re not complaining. Adding to the sportiness, they now get stylish split seats.

And finally, the SR 160 and SR 125 switch to fully digital LCD instrument clusters, borrowed from the SXR 160. While the display shows mileage, top speed, RPM, odometer and time, Bluetooth connectivity is offered as an accessory for an extra Rs 2,000.

In addition to this, you also get a boot lamp and a USB charger as standard. 

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What’s Unchanged?

In short, every mechanical aspect. 

Since both the SR 160 and SR 125 were already BS6 compliant, Aprilia has used the same 160.03cc (11PS and 11.6Nm) and 124.45cc (9.9PS and 9.7Nm) engines in the new models. These were good numbers a few years ago, but with the more affordable TVS NTorq 125 Race XP and the Aerox 155 putting out better numbers, Aprilia should’ve paid a little attention here too.

As for underpinnings, the scooters carry forward the conventional telescopic fork, monoshock, disc/drum (F/R) brakes, 14-inch alloys, and single-channel ABS unit from the older model.

ZigSays

The Aprilia SR 160 and SR 125 have always been exciting, enthusiast-oriented scooters. However, in the past couple of years, their popularity has somewhat faded due to the lack of timely updates. Now, with this mid-life refresh, we expect the scooters to rake in good sales numbers yet again. 

That said, the premium scooter segment is still niche in India, and it will be interesting to see how they perform amidst newer competition from the Yamaha Aerox 155 and the TVS NTorq 125 Race XP, the current sportiest scooter in their respective segments.