Why I chose the Aerox 155 over its competitors: Ownership pros ...

I even looked at bikes like the Scrambler 400X & RE Meteor 350, apart from a few electric scooters like the Ather 450X & Ola S1 Pro.

BHPian anoopGTkrish recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Took delivery of my Aerox yesterday from the Yamaha Motorworld showroom in Bommanahalli. Have ridden for around 20Kms since then. Haven't taken it far out as I'm awaiting the HSRP plate from the showroom.

Purchase decision: I live around a very busy neighbourhood in Bangalore close to major IT parks like eco-space and ecoworld. I make two trips to my office located in Mahadevapura (12Kms from home) in a week, frequent trips to HSR layout (Kms from home), daily trips to the gym (1Km from home) and then ad hoc shopping trips to nearby grocery stores. I have been taking the car out for all of these trips. With the ever-increasing traffic and a constant decrease in the number of parking spaces, the need arouse for a two-wheeler. While I wouldn't call myself a biker or a two-wheeler enthusiast, I enjoy admiring good-looking bikes and always appreciate well-engineered products in the bike world.

Started looking out for options. The first decision point was choosing between a motorcycle or a scooter.

Started looking at motorcycles. I found only two of them I liked:

Scrambler 400XExcellent quality overall, good stance, sorted out suspension, nimbleExpensive for my use case of city rides, unclear service levels, lack of utilityRE Meteor 350Excellent quality, feels like a couch on wheels, good build qualityExpensive for my use case of city rides, it is a cruiser and not a city bike, lacks utility, RE serviceIt started becoming clear that a scooter was better fitted for my use case and my wife also was leaning towards a scooter as she also wanted to use it for her local runs. My wife still holds a grudge for not including her in the purchase decision of our car 5 years ago. She wanted an automatic but I insisted on a manual as I would be the primary driver. So I didn't want to gather another strike on an otherwise happy married life. Started looking at scooter options.

Started in the world of electric scooters.

Ather 450XBrilliantly engineered, good quality, good storage, a myriad of features on board and fun to rideRelatively expensive, longer charging timeOLA S1 ProValue for money, fast charging, good storage, decent set of features and extremely funQuality concerns, passive cooling, bad plastic qualityI was leaning towards the Ather but upon enquiring with the RWA, they weren't allowing installation of chargers and common chargers are always occupied. This immediately eliminated electric options. Off to ICE Scooters. Didn't look at the Activas, Jupiters, Avenis and Ntorqs as they were all far too common, and boring to ride and I had a personal inclination towards maxi scooters.

This left me with three choices:

Suzuki BurgmanSuzuki reliability, smooth engine, decent storage, good service networkProportions look off, lack of power, expensive for what it isAprilia SXR 160Personally feel this is the best-looking scooter in the Indian market now and missus loved it, The showroom experience was also good.But I was left underwhelmed after the test ride as I was constantly wondering where all this displacement was being utilized. 10Hp from 160 cc feels under utilization and it was genuinely boring to ride. Plus all the service and quality concerns raised across team bhp and other forums led me to drop it.Yamaha Aerox 155

The final option I tried out was the Yamaha Aerox. This was sort of a wild card entry after I saw a blue one in the office parking lot. Researched a bit online and realized it could be a good balance between a motorcycle and a scooter. Went to check out the scooter at Yamaha Motorworld in Bommanahalli along with Missus. Initial impressions were not good. Missus didn't like this one bit as she preferred scooters with a flat footboard. She also found it to be expensive for a scooter. It didn't help much that they didn't have a test-ride vehicle for Aerox as well. Thankfully one of the staff offered their personal Aerox for a test ride. The machine bowled me over instantly with the smoothness of the engine and power delivery. Missus also liked the overall looks and quality. Though very apprehensive, she managed to squeeze in a quick ride and loved the overall feel.

This is what I feel about the Aerox in terms of pros and cons:

Pros

Looks - I love the looks of this scooter. Smooth lines, no unnecessary design elements and unique on our roadsEngine and power delivery - Unlike the Aprilia, Yamaha has managed to utilize every bit of the 155 cc well and this results in excellent power delivery. The scooter is a hoot to ride and it's absolute juvenile fun to rev it and take off at signals. CVT tuning seems to be done well to provide linear acceleration. The motorcycle spec wheels and tires help put the power to the tarmac well.Under-seat storage - Good storage space under the seat and I was able to fit my helmet while placing it upside downSuspension - Now before you all start wondering whether I'm cuckoo for mentioning this as a pro, hear me out. I ride a drop bar road bike with no suspension whatsoever for 50 to 75Kms every weekend. So my standards for suspension comfort are extremely low. For me, the suspension felt good enough for the limited riding I did. Might change my opinion over long-term useTCS/ ABS - Traction control is a welcome addition and ABS is a minimum for all modern vehicles

Cons

Perceived Build quality - Now this is a premium product and Yamaha should've taken a more no-compromise approach to quality. The quality of plastics used for the fuel lid and the front storage space doesn't belong on any vehicle in this day and age. Overall they could've given better-quality plasticsLights - Again a case of Yamaha skipping on important features. Lights are adequate at bestUtility - No charging option within the lockable storage, front storage is small enough to fit any modern smartphone, central tunnel restricts carrying things on the front.It is expensive

What made me buy: It ticked the boxes of a fun, easy-to-use, easy-to-maintain looking two-wheeler that my and wife both could use.

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