Aprilia Storm 125 Drum Brake Variant To Be Launched — Least Expensive Aprilia Model Yet

The Aprilia Storm 125 will feature a drum brake setup at the front instead of the disc brake setup usually found on Aprilia scooters. It will be the first scooter from Aprilia to feature drum brakes at the front end too.

At this point in time, we aren't sure if there will be two variants of the Aprilia Storm 125, but it could very well be the case. Aprilia is the brand that has single-handedly built up the performance scooter segment in India.

The Aprilia SR 150 was the first performance scooter that saw significant success in the Indian market and there has been no looking back since. Soon after that, the Italian marque launched the SR 125 to try and get a piece of the 125cc market.

However, considering that it was priced significantly higher than the other scooters in the segment, it did not find many buyers. Aprilia might be attempting to change just that by launching the Storm 125 drum brake variant.

A report by Autocar India has confirmed that the upcoming Aprilia Storm 125 will feature drum brakes and a differently designed wheel. The report has images of the upcoming scooter and the major changes up front are clearly evident.

The wheels look similar to those used by Vespa models, although these are 12-inch wheels while Vespa models use 10-inch wheels. Therefore, they look similar but are not the same. Also evident up front is the removal of the disc brake and addition of the drum brake. Yet another visible change in terms of design is the large grab rail at the rear.

The Aprilia Storm 125 was first displayed at the 2018 Indian Auto Expo and back then, the Aprilia moniker was red in colour. The new pictures reveal the same in white. However, not everything has been changed.

The off-road biased tyres from Vee Rubber that we saw at the Auto Expo has also made it to the production model. These tyres are expected to make a significant difference to the way the scooter handles Indian road conditions.

Design-wise too, the scooter remains the same as it features bold and attractive graphics. The rest of the scooter remains identical to the Aprilia SR 125. It features the same design, the same instrument cluster and even the same engine. The Aprilia Storm 125 will be powered by the same air-cooled, 124.49cc, single-cylinder engine.

It produces a maximum power output of 9.4bhp and a peak torque output of 9.9Nm. It has a claimed top speed of more than 115km/h and that is nothing short of brilliant for a scooter.

Thoughts:

In the Indian scooter market, most mainstream manufacturers typically launch different variants of the same scooter just by adding or removing the front disc brake and alloy wheels. It is still a big deal for the Indian customer to have disc brakes and alloy wheels on their scooter and hence manufacturers are playing this card.

Aprilia too has learnt this game now, and figured out that its scooter can be priced lower by replacing the disc brake with a drum. Aprilia will certainly make an impact in the 125cc segment if the drum brake variant of the Storm 125 is priced close to its competitors like the TVS Ntorq 125 and the Honda Grazia.