Could This Be Suzuki's Answer To The India-spec KTM RC 125?

Suzuki has introduced its entry-level GSX-R125 supersport in Japan alongside the India-spec Gixxer 250 and SF 250. The move comes after studying the latest market trends which suggest that there’s more potential for performance-oriented entry-level motorcycles. Up until now, Suzuki mostly dealt with higher capacity two-wheelers in Japan, leaving smaller bikes for markets like Europe, Indonesia and Thailand.

But what significance does the entry-level Japanese supersport have in India? It mostly doesn’t, but one could draw parallels between the two markets while talking about the growing need for budget-friendly performance motorcycles. Take the KTM RC 125 for instance, it roped in impressive sales figures when it was launched in India in June last year, underlining the fact that there is scope for faired, performance-centric, entry-level bikes in India.

Moreover, Suzuki currently doesn’t have a track-focused bike in its India portfolio after the litre-class GSX-R1000 and Suzuki Hayabusa were taken off the shelf earlier this year. The GSX-R125 would be the perfect fit in a price-sensitive market like India. It comes with a DOHC fuel-injected 124.4cc engine that belts out 15PS and 11.5Nm (0.5PS more and 0.5Nm less than the KTM RC 125). However, the bike weighs just 134kg (kerb) which is a whole lot lighter than the RC 125 which tips the scale at 154.2kg (dry), giving it a power-to-weight advantage over the RC.

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When it comes to hardware, the bike gets a telescopic fork and a monoshock for its suspension setup and petal disc brakes at both ends for anchorage. The entire package costs 393,800 yen (on-road), which is approximately 2.77 lakh, which is quite steep. But, Suzuki could bring down costs by completely localising the product in India, just like KTM. It could even do away with the keyless ignition system which is offered in the international-spec model.

In order for the product to work in India, we believe Suzuki would have to undercut the BS6 RC 125s price (Rs 1,59,629 ex-showroom) by a substantial margin. We believe a price tag of around 1.46 lakh (Yamaha YZF-R15 V 3.0) or lower should hit the nail on the head.