The bike feels lighter than some others, and that definitely translates to more agility in end-to-end traffic and while getting it out of crowded parking lots.
BHPian AulusGabinius recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Hi everyone,
This is my review of the 2022 TVS Jupiter 125 scooter. Not really a huge buy, but the first vehicle I’ve bought with my own money, so forgive the high level of enthusiasm. That said, here we go!
The hunt:
Since I got married in December 2021, we were living in Wai, Maharashtra, and we had my parents’ old Suzuki Swish 125 (my daily office commute) and a 2017 i10 Asta AMT (loaner from my in-laws, since my wife drives it). We were due to shift back to Pune in March 2022, besides which my parents wanted another scooter to use, as well as I needing one for daily commutes. So we started off with a budget of 1 lakh, with not much there to stretch. The field consisted of:
- Suzuki Access 125
- Suzuki Burgmann Street
- Suzuki Avenis
- Activa 125
- Jupiter 125
We weren’t considering a Vespa, Aprilia, or anything of that sort mainly for the limited budget. The main focus was on having sufficient power to be nimble in traffic with a pillion, the comfort of said pillion, along with the ability to fit a large tote bag along with a helmet (imperative for my wife). We limited the field to 125cc scooters only, with about 8-9 HP and about 10 Nm of torque, as this was felt by us to be enough for the job. While our Suzuki Swish was and is fantastic, the Access failed to impress on the features front, while the Burgmann wasn’t a huge difference from it. The Burgmann had more storage, but not as much as the Jupiter, and being about 1,25,000, I felt the Jupiter to be more VFM. The displays, etc. on both were impressive, but the fuel filling location at the rear was still a minus point. Avenis was broadly the same as the Access, but the seat felt a little smaller to my wife. Activa 125 was a bit too basic as well, not to mention that the storage on it was the same as the Access. On the seating, we both felt the Jupiter’s seating was the largest and most comfortable of the lot. My uncle had just received his Jupiter 125, so took a test drive, and it was pretty good! Power was about right, but the big thing was that class-leading storage! The same uncle also had a hook-up at a dealership near his house, so off we went to make the booking, checkbook in hand.
At the dealership, Shelar TVS Kothrud, we were given a long test drive, and we went all the way to Vanaz, both self and wife riding. For us, the main standout features were the storage, the convenience of the fuelling cap, and the little pocket under the right handle (convenient for ton of things). We went with the bog standard variant (steel wheels and drum brakes) in the titanium grey colour, and I think it looks pretty nice and sleek in that one, not too loud, and even elegant. We booked with a booking amount of Rs 10,000, and it was a done deal. Delivery came two weeks later, and my father went in the second week of January to bring it home without too much fanfare.
Final price paid was Rs 1,10,000 OTR, against an ex-showroom price of Rs. 84,275, with dealer insurance from ICICI Lombard and RTO registration. The dealer threw in the usual accessories, a side-footrest, better mats, and seat cover in for free with an additional discount of Rs. 5,000 as a referral discount.
Some photos of the workhorse we got are attached.
Side view:
The front:
The rear view:
The console:
The much vaunted storage:
Features & build quality:
Overall fit and finish are good enough and comparable to any other scooter at the price point. The panel gaps are all consistent, so no real complaints there either. Paint is good, with even thickness, and looks great in that colour! A nice chrome exhaust cover adds to the overall premium feel, although most competitors do have it too. The indicator and starter switches are all hard plastic, but reassuringly sturdy-feeling, steady and easy to use. 12-inch wheels that are standard for the segment are here too, so no surprises there either. The tyres that came with the scooter are 90/90 square cross-section tyres, which might compromise the grip at the rear wheel, but so far no issues on that front.
The headlight switch is a bit tight, but as it is only for shifting from low beam to high beam, it isn’t really a problem. The display indicates the time, odometer, fuel gauge, auto-on-off system and the like, with warning lights for the side stand being down and low fuel. The auto-on-off system also gets a dedicated switch of the same type as the light switch on the right side. The default handle grips are comfortable, but can become slick if wet. The passenger footrest is made of flimsy-feeling hard black plastic, which could be an issue going forward, but if it’s that cheap it should be able to be replaced easily enough. It is not, however, particularly grippy, and my wife’s feet have slipped off on occasion. The rubber mat is also not perfectly fixed onto the footboard, so it does flap loose on occasion. At a seat height of 765 mm, it’s easy to climb on or climb off, and no shorter riders have yet told me otherwise. The fuel filler cap is very conveniently located on the right side under the handle, and opened by pressing the key inside in the off position and turning it to the right. The same to the left will open the seat. The mirrors are large and do give a good field of view.
Safety & storage:
Safety & related features are pretty much standard for the segment, but ABS isn’t on offer on any variant. The headlight doubles as a DRL when in low beam, but it can’t be turned off. Being an LED unit, the throw isn’t the greatest, but Pune roads are usually well-lit in the evenings and so far it hasn’t been an issue. The strength is definitely as good as a halogen, but I’m not sure I don’t prefer a halogen for the depth it gives me, especially since most white lights, xenon or LED, tend to make the road appear flat IMHO. Another feature worth mentioning is that the scooter has a warning horn for the side stand, which sounds continuously until you raise it or the bike is turned off. The start-up is fairly normal, just turn it on, make sure the throttle is at zero, pull brakes and press the starter. If the throttle is not at zero, it will not turn on. That took some getting used to, but it is now entirely habitual.
The storage though is really, really convenient. A full 33 litres under the seat fits almost anything you’d need, and then some. The claim of two helmets seems a tad dubious though, because I haven’t yet been able to do it with two small-sized Vega helmets. That said, I can fit a week’s shopping for two people in it without much effort. The two carry hooks on the footboard are excellent as well. The pocket under the right side of the handle is usually for holding your phone while charging it, but it’s equally useful for keeping it there for easy access while using maps to navigate if needed, or a small cloth bag for running errands.
Comfort & riding:
The bike feels lighter than some others, and that definitely translates to more agility in end-to-end traffic and while getting it out of crowded parking lots. The turn circle is nice and tight, and I haven’t needed to drag the bike around at all. The seats are bit firmer, but the shape is comfortable, and the pillion is wide enough to be perfectly comfortable. However, more than an hour and half or so continuously in the saddle will cause numbness. I really do not recommend putting it into a pothole either, because a softer rear suspension combined with tiny 12″ wheels (unfortunately the same on most scooters) will deliver a jolt to the pillion. My usual commute is 15 km per day, but rarely exceeds 30km/day, and almost always in morning empty roads or in Pune traffic. On my morning office runs I usually get around 42-45 kmpl, and around 47 in the city. The average it shows at the moment is 43.5 kmpl. I usually fill about 4 litres of fuel, and that’s enough to last me for a week fairly easily. The GC being a good 163 mm, I haven’t yet scraped it on a speed breaker or a pot-hole either. That said, with 5 litres of fuel at full tank that gives me a comfortable range of about 215-230 km. The brakes do their job just fine, but the disc brakes on the test drive version could use a bit more bite. The drum brakes are pretty good, but I tend to drive with them at their highest possible tightness, so in that regard they work pretty well, and I need to tighten them only once in six months or so.
Coming to the 8.15 PS, 10.5 Nm engine, does its job pretty well, but tends to get quite noisy when I hit 60 km/h or so on the Old Mumbai-Pune Highway on my way back from work. That said, the note is a nice, throaty sort of sound that I do enjoy, something you might expect from college kid’s scooter with the muffler held open by a rock. The power delivery is smooth, and it’s there when you need it, albeit with a bit of delay, which beings me to the CVT. The transmission doesn’t have more lag than any other CVT scooter, but is easily as good as the Activa or the Access. The rubber band effect is definitely noticeable, but still manageable. I’ve even learned to use it as a control mechanism in heavy traffic. It is a delay of roughly two seconds when you open the throttle all the way, off the line. Due to the slower response, however, the wind blast and vibrations don’t pick up quickly as well, which allows one to get used to them as they build. Once they do, however, the wind blast is significant above 60, but until then it’s a pleasant wind-through-your-hair kind of thing. The vibrations though are minimal, at any speed, even if the noise picks up significantly.
Likes & dislikes:
So on to the review, after 5200 km on the odometer. What I like and dislike:
Likes:
- The bike is easy to control, and never feels sluggish. The Swish cannot be tilted because the rear wheel slips, but this has given me no trouble at all while leaning it on turns taken at 50 km/h or so at a maximum.
- The storage is great. On runs into the city or for groceries shopping, the second hook in the footboard area and the huge storage under the seat is brilliant.
- The brakes are pretty good, but not overwhelmingly tight. I usually tighten them as far as they will go, but even at the most extreme they don’t feel too tight.
- The auto-off and on for the engine works great in traffic, but it can catch you off-guard when you’re in traffic. Using the starter button will cause it to need resetting.
- The trip meter has A, B and F, which are quite useful, and instantaneous and average fuel economy. Pretty useful feature there.
- The fuel filler opening is in the front, which really does stand out and make it easier to fill.
Dislikes:
- The rear suspension is a bit too soft, transmits a lot of shock to the pillion, and can bottom out fairly easily. That said, most of my family are as tall and big as I am (6’2″ and 120 kg), so for lighter people it should be just fine.
- Fuel filler location means you must stand to the right of the pump, or it gets quite awkward to position the the fuelling nozzle properly.
- The auto-off takes getting used to, since you must remember to rev the engine once every few seconds when stationary if you need to keep the engine on. Otherwise a simple twist of the throttle will being it back to life. Using the starter button will cause it to need resetting.
- Not sure whether will it actually fit two helmets, since the seat doesn’t close if my normal helmet (a Vega that fits easily in an Activa storage) is not positioned correctly.
- The headlight cannot be truly turned off, seems like an annoying waste of power to me. It seems to be a thing that’s getting more common these days in two-wheelers.
- The rubber mat on the footboard keeps coming off and catching on my feet as I get on and off.
After sales service:
Now for the ASS. Shelar TVS in Pune is pretty big, but their service yard is at least half an hour away from my home, so it does take planning and about half a day. Luckily I do have another dealer and service center nearby, where I will be taking it in future. That said, this scooter cannot be serviced outside the dealer network, because of the testing kits that have not been made available to third parties. The dealer has said that this is due to the number of sensors and other such requirements due to the BS VI adaptation. Their service is pretty prompt, the servicing gets done in three hours or so, and quality of work is pretty good too. Spares are not easily available for this model, and need anywhere from fifteen days to two months for them to reach the dealership. First service went fine, but the at the time of the second service, it was found that the dealer had inserted the first service as the second, so I had to pay for the oil filter and air filter change. Raised the issue with TVS itself, as per input from TBHP member JithinR. No response so far, but it’s a minor niggle. The recent third free service got done with no drama and on time as well, so not too much trouble overall. For the foreseeable future, the Jupiter 125 seems just as reliable as any Honda or Suzuki, and I don’t anticipate any real trouble nor any replacements being needed.
In the end, I’m quite happy with the scooter, and I think this one will be a long-term keeper for me until it’s time for it to ride off into the sunset!
Keyword: My TVS Jupiter 125 at 5000 km: Likes, dislikes & other observations