Out of nowhere, Gladiator has got a sibling! In a desperate attempt to capture market volumes, Yamaha is trying all permutation and combinations to somehow create a mark in the ever burgeoning Indian two wheeler market. And in the same bid, here comes another silent offering, the SS125 from their stables. They already have Gladiator Type SS and Type RS in this segment and SS125 forms the third model in this segment from Yamaha.
In fact Yamaha is trying to play a Hero Honda by flooding each segment with plethora of options. They have 4 models with the same 106cc engine in 100cc segment, 3 models with the 124cc engine in 125cc segment, 3 models with the 153cc engine in 150cc segment and then there is the 150cc engineering marvel, R15 as the flagship product.
SS125 is basically another version of Gladiator which is very slightly stripped down to cater to the more commuter mindset gentry. The bike sports the same 4 stroke, air cooled 124cc engine which is capable of producing 11PS of peak power at 7500rpm and 10.4Nm of max torque which comes at 6500 rpm.
Changes from Gladiator:
New SS125 remains technically similar to Gladiator, albeit with the following changes according to Yamaha’s official website…
- Reduced Dimensions: SS125 is a wee bit smaller in dimensions as compared to Gladiator Type SS and Type RS. SS125 is 70mm lesser in length at 1995mm compared to 2065mm of Gladiator. However it is 10mm taller in height at 1110mm against 1100mm of the Gladiator. Width remains unaltered at 730mm.
- Higher Saddle Height: As a result of increased height, the saddle height of the bike has been increased by 5mm to 795mm from 790 of Gladiator.
- Shorter Wheelbase: Wheelbase finds itself reduced by 5mm to 1295mm from 1300 of Gladiator.
- Reduced Weight: As a result of above mentioned trims, SS125 is 3 kilograms lighter at 125kg (kerb weight) than 128kg of Gladiator.
- Increased Fuel Capacity: The fuel tank of SS125 can hold 0.6 liters of fuel more than Gladiators. Total tank capacity stands at 13.6 liters compared to 13liter of Gladiator.
- Headlamp: The front headlamp of SS125 is 12Volts 35/25 watt as compared to 12V 35/35W of Gladiator.
- Graphics: The bike looks slightly snazzier with fresh new graphics.
The bike is available in two combo color offerings, Blue & Black and Black & Red apart from the regular Gladiator features like a high-flow Air Filter, machine gun type muffler, retractable footrest, racy engine cowl, tachometer, 240mm front disc brakes, aluminum wheels and a 5 speed gearbox as standard. On road Price would be around 56k in Pune.
Though, Yamaha dealers in Pune informed us that after this launch, Gladiator would be discontinued, however we remain a little skeptical about the same. Nonetheless, we would keep you updated if there is such a step from Yamaha.
– Saad Khan
saad@bikeadvice.in