Keeway SR125 Review: Peppy But Slightly Pricey

The Keeway SR125 is an attractive and fun bike to commute on, but doesn’t offer as much as it’s priced at. 

• Its 125cc single-cylinder engine makes 9.8PS and 8.2Nm, figures that are a lot lesser than most of its competition. 
• The bike’s on sale in three colours: Glossy White, Glossy Black and Glossy Red. 
• Features on the bike include a digital console along with some extra goodies. 

The sporty 125cc segment is a budding one. These bikes offer just enough performance to keep things interesting in the city, but are also quite light on the pocket. They’re affordable to buy, maintain and tank up. So how does the newest entrant in this segment, the Keeway SR125 fare, especially when compared to its rivals? Let’s find out: 

Keway SR125: Design & Features 

The SR125 has a classic retro appearance, with a huge boxy 14.5 litre petrol tank and a ribbed bench seat. Fork gaiters, a round halogen headlamp with LED DRLs, round indicators, and blacked out round mirrors complete the design.

The SR125 is outfitted with a fully digital instrument cluster and a side-stand engine shutdown mechanism from Keeway. The bike also has LED DRLs, but the headlamp is halogen. The indicators and taillights are also LED. It has a Combined Braking System (CBS) instead of ABS for maximum safety because ABS is not required for bikes with displacements less than 125cc.

Keway SR125: Engine & Specs

The 125cc single-cylinder SOHC, air-cooled, fuel-injected engine in the Keeway SR125 produces 9.8PS at 9000rpm and 8.2Nm at 7500rpm. It comes with a 5-speed transmission. In comparison, India's best-selling 125cc motorcycle, the Honda Shine, produces a much healthy 10.7PS and 11Nm.

This very heart feels peppy and very nice in the city. Yes, it runs out of breath post about 6000rpm but city duties are usually below that. It’s friendly and linear. That said, if you want something on the performance side of things, you’re better off with something like the TVS Raider, or the Pulsar NS125 or even the KTM 125 Duke. 

Keway SR125: Chassis

The Keeway SR125 is based around a single downtube frame that connects to a telescopic fork up front and twin rear shock absorbers with a five-step preload adjustment. The 125cc throwback bike rides on 17-inch spoke wheels wrapped in Yuanxing 110-section rubber up front and a 130-section unit at the rear. 

The SR125’s narrow tyres and monoshock suspension contribute to its agility. The steering is razor-sharp, the direction changes are quick, and it zips through traffic with ease. And if you want to learn how to corner around mountain twisties, this bike is very well up to the task.

The telescopic fork performs an excellent job of absorbing road bumps and undulations, while the monoshock is set up on the firmer side. However, it is not so rigid that the user is thrown out of the seat when going over bumps. The brakes perform admirably in terms of bite and feel, although ABS has been omitted in order to keep costs down. 

Keway SR125: Dimensions

Keeway has fitted the bike with a 14.5-litre petrol tank and a large 160mm ground clearance. The seat is also very accessible at 780mm, which, along with the modest weight of 120kg, make it a very nice bike to commute on. 

Keway SR125: Variants & Price

The Keeway SR125 is available in three colours: glossy red, glossy black, and glossy white, with prices starting at Rs 1,20,000 (ex-showroom India). Bookings for Rs 1,000 are now available at Keeway stores or online. The bike's test rides and deliveries have already begun. 

The SR125 competes with the other premium 125cc bikes on sale in India, such as the Bajaj Pulsar NS125, TVS Raider 125, and Honda SP125.

Verdict

The SR125, hence, definitely comes off as a slightly pricey proposition, given that you can have the sporty TVS Raider 125, or even the Pulsar NS125 at a fairly lesser price. But given that the SR125 is a CKD (Completely Knocked Down) product, its pricing isn’t all that unreasonable. Add to the fact that it looks like nothing else on the market and has a fairly peppy engine to make your everyday commutes a joy. 

So while its competitors do sound like the better deal, if you’re infatuated with the SR125’s looks, you should definitely visit the nearest Keeway showroom to check one out for yourself. 

Where the SR125 simply cannot make up for lost ground is with Keeway’s limited dealership network. What that means is less availability of spare parts and that could be a pain to deal with. But given that it’s a humble 125cc bike, those problems shouldn’t arise a lot.