Honda PS125i Scooter - 2011 |
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| Thursday, 06 October 2011 15:51 | |||
 Back in August this year we got the opportunity to review Honda’s new Vision Scooter and also we had the chance for a brief test of the larger capacity Honda PS125i scooter. We understand the PS designation stands for “Perfect Scooter” and yes for many, scooters are the perfect answer to cheap mobility, ideal for use as commuter machines, that occasional trip to the shops or may be even a short social ride at the weekend.The PS certainly cut’s a bit of a “dash” with its classically vented front grill and its smooth lines with the front indicators built into the fairing. Even the “Pearl Cool White” colour seems to make it some how more classy Then of course there is the Honda build quality to add to that classy feeling. This is no cheap Chinese scooter, but one built to Honda’s exacting quality standards.  The instrument panel continues this quality look with a big clear analogue, backed up with a temperature gauge, fuel gauge, low fuel warning light, oil change light, indicator and high beam lights and even an LCD clock. The PS125i is equipped with a single cylinder 125cm³ liquid cooled 4 stroke engine designed to deliver quick acceleration whilst giving good levels of fuel economy. Unfortunately our road test with not long enough to conduct a fuel economy test and Honda don’t publish any official figures, but anecdotal evidence would suggest the scooter can achieve over 70mpg. With its twist and go throttle, and fully automatic belt driven suspension, this scooter certainly proved to be nippy and was great for easily cutting through the town traffic congestion we encountered on our test route. It’s great for zipping into road space that car driver’s are slow to exploit and obviously its size means that you can park virtually anywhere it’s legal to do so. On the open road the 125 engine pulled strongly and had more than ample performance to keep up with the traffic flow on A roads. We estimate the top speed to be in excess of 70mph, which should be more than sufficient for the likely uses for which this scooter will be utilised. The brakes on the PS are good, very good, if anything a little too sharp, but at least you have the confidence they will pull the scooter up to a rapid stop, with a dual piston disc brake on the front and a drum at the rear and Honda’s combined brake system. We were impressed with the ride quality; it proved to be very comfortable with ample leg room as well. Even after 50 miles the seat gave no cause for discomfort. The suspension easily soaking the poor road surfaces we encountered on test route. Equally impressive was the scooters stability, no doubt in part helped by the scooters bigger than normal 13” wheels.  Practicality is one of the big advantages of a scooter and the under seat storage space can easily accommodate a full face helmet, or some shopping. Likewise the grab rail is also a rack area, to which can be affixed an optional 35 litre top box; further increasing this scooter’s carrying capacity. There’s even a useful and lockable glove box in the front fairing and a shopping bag hook. The PS has a 7.5 litre fuel tank so should easily be able to do over 100 miles on one tank before needing a refill and at 70mpg and with a catalytic converter as standard this scooters “green credentials” are good.  The PS may be not everyone’s perfect scooter, but we think it certainly warrants strong consideration as the Honda build quality and practicality of this scooter consistently shone through on our road test. Note all performance figures, weights and technical specifications are as claimed by the manufacturer Specifications New price *: £2,800 Engine: Single cylinder 4-stroke Engine Size: 1258 cm³ Power: 10.1kW/9,000min-1 (95/1/EC) Transmission Automatic Weight (Kerb): 135kg * Suggested Retail Price for standard model includes first registration and road tax Article and photos by Jon Booth – http://www.inter-bike.co.uk – The UK Biker Site
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