Suzuki GSX-150 Bandit: Bland-looking Commuter With R15-level Performance

Suzuki has launched the 2020 iteration of the GSX-150 Bandit, an Indonesian origin commuter bike, in Taiwan. The new-gen version features updated colour schemes (red, black and grey), though the mechanicals are unchanged. It is priced at TWD 120,000, the equivalent of Rs 3.06 lakh. Even though the bike originates from Indonesia, a country with a reputation for high performance in small packages, some might feel that’s an awful lot of money for such a boring looking commuter-ish motorcycle.

However, as they say, it is not right to judge a book by its cover. This unassuming motorcycle packs a properly modern liquid-cooled 147cc single-cylinder DOHC engine, churning out 19.3PS at 10,500rpm and 14Nm at 9000rpm. That’s pretty impressive considering the much sportier-looking, India-spec Yamaha R15 V3.0 also produces similar output figures: 18.6PS at 10,000rpm and 14.1Nm at 8500rpm. It offers a claimed city mileage of 37.45kmpl, which is pretty decent for a bike of its class.

The icing on the cake is that it weighs just 135kg kerb and has an accessible seat height of 790mm. It also features a Showa linked monoshock at the rear and a telescopic front fork. For optimised braking performance, it gets a rather large 290mm front petal disc and a 187mm petal disc at the rear. However, there’s no ABS even as an option.

Notable features include an LED headlamp, a central locking system for both ignition and fuel tank, hazard lamps and a fully digital instrument cluster that looks quite similar to the India-spec Gixxer/ Gixxer SF.

This motorcycle undercuts the Suzuki GSX-S150 ABS by TWD 3,000 (around Rs 7,600). However, the GSX-S150 gets dual-channel ABS, a sporty headlight cowl and split seat setup -- pretty substantial feature additions for such a small premium.

All in all, while we’re glad that we have the Gixxer and not the GSX-150 Bandit, we couldn’t help but wonder: what if Suzuki offers such an engine in a sporty-looking bike like the Gixxer/ Gixxer SF? That should give proper competition to the Yamaha MT-15 and R15 V3.0. Do let us know what you guys think of this motorcycle in the comments.