[parrys]

The Mahindra Duro 125 DZ has been launched in India at a price of Rs. 42,332/- (ex-Delhi).


What you’ll like:

• 125 cc engined scooter, while others range between 90-110 cc
• Composed ride quality and handling abilities even around corners
• Handle bar position is higher, so tall riders will not hit their knees while turning
• MRF Zapper tyres provide good road grip

What you won’t:

• Inconsistent paint quality and poor plastic quality
• Looks identical to the Kinetic Nova (apart from the bigger headlamp & telescopic front suspension)
• Small 6 Litre fuel tank limits riding range
• Under seat storage cannot occupy big full face helmets

[parrys]

I started off at 5:30am from my house in Thane for the unveiling and test-ride that Mahindra had organised at Lavasa - Pune. I reached the venue at 10:30am followed by a quick presentation by the Mahindra Two-wheeler officials. As soon as the Duro 125 DZ was unveiled, I was highly disappointed since it looked very similar to the Kinetic Nova. It has been a while since Mahindra acquired Kinetic and still there were no major changes made to how the bike looks. The Duro and now the Duro DZ are still based on the Kinetic Nova styling. Well the Duro has a 125cc engine unlike the Nova's 115 cc block, but apart from that and a slightly broader headlamp there is nothing that can help you differentiate between the two. Also, Mahindra is going to continue selling the existing Duro along with the New Duro DZ side-by-side. Between the refreshed version and the older one there is nothing new apart from the DX sticker and the headlamp. (NOTE: At the time of launch, Mahindra changed the badging of the Duro from "DX" to "DZ". No other changes were made)






I got on to the scooter and the most noticeable fact was that the seat is very comfortable. The seat was very supportive and the wider base will help during long rides. However, for the ladies the wider base can be an issue. Considering that women in India ride wearing a saree at times, a wider stance might make it a little awkward.

Also, the handle bar is placed a little higher as compared to its competitors; this helps tall riders being very comfortable during the turns. Otherwise when the handle bar is placed a little lower, you tend to hit your knees and constantly need to adjust your legs depending on how much you need to move the handle. So the handle bar position is surely a plus point on the Duro.

All said, I took the bike out of the premises and went towards the twisty Lavasa ghats section since it would have been the best route to test the handling abilities of the Duro. The bike is very light in weight and on the first turn itself when I leaned a little, I felt like I was just about to tip and fall. But then when I got a hang of how much weight I need to balance on the turns and how, I was very comfortable. I must mention that the bike could corner brilliantly. Going up the incline section on the Ghats, the bike provided ample grunt to keep me going. But when I hit the front brake alone, I noticed a little brake judder. This surely will make you nervous during braking hard. Apart from that the brakes are adequate. What could have been better is if Mahindra could provide an optional disc brake at the front (like the Honda Aviator) instead of the regular drum brake.



One more reason why the bike could handle so well is because of the tyres. The Duro gets MRF Zappers which are of the same profile at the front and rear. The Zappers have been known for the good road grip they provide and they continue to do so on the Duro DZ as well.

[parrys]

I did not ride as a pillion but just tried sitting on the rear seat and it seemed comfortable. Nothing new or better I can say as compared to other scooters in the market. All the scooters provide more or less the same space on the rear seat.

Rear step-up foot rest (only on the left side)


There are two options where the pillion can place his feet, one is the standard lever which you can pull out and the other is the moulding provided under the rider seat area (2nd picture below).




The tail-lamp is just the same as the Nova. No change at all. Some change in design would have made the Duro look a little different. If you place the Duro, the Duro DZ and the old Kinetic Nova together; just looking at the tail lights it will be impossible to differentiate.



The speedo console is very simple. No screen to show the speed in digital format. Just the odometer, fuel gauge and speedometer.



The headlamp on the Duro is a new wider design. We could not check the range of lights since the ride was during the day.



The side indicator also resembles the Nova's styling. However the Duro has clear lens lights.



LHS controls for the side indicators, high / low beam and the horn:



RHS controls for headlamp on / off and self start:



Keyhole for ignition and handle lock:




The rear view mirrors are placed well and have a good enough range to movement to suit the preferences of different riders.



For additional luggage there is a parcel hook just under the rider's seat, in the foot-well area.



The oil re-fill pipe is located near the exhaust muffler. For those who like to service the bike themselves I recommend that do not change the oil if you have just got done with a ride since there is a chance that you might burn your hand by touching the exhaust pipe.

[parrys]

The Duro has the brake hold lever which you can use to keep the bike stationary on an incline or a decline. This also helps while parking your bike on a slope or in uneven parking spots.

This is how the Brake Hold Lever should have been like:



However, on the test ride model that I got, the brake lever was not placed properly. Or rather it was an assembled wrongly. It was lost inside the headlamp fairing and left handle grip area. I tried to pull it out with my finger but just could not reach it. Mahindra needs to keep an eye on these things in quality control.



The Duro has ample space under the seat. You can store your bags, jackets or even medium sized helmets inside it. But those who use the full face imported helmets will be disappointed. I tried to fit in my helmet but the seat just could not close all the way.




The lid cannot close when bigger helmets placed in the storage area.



Duro DZ fuel cap is placed under the seat. It could have been useful if it had a fuel filler pipe near the keyhole. This would make it convenient during re-fuelling and the rider would not need to step off the bike completely, ala TVS Wego.



There is a storage bin placed in the housing under the handle-bar to keep your valuables in on the go. Apart from registration papers or some small packets there is nothing much you can store here. The plastic quality of the lid of this storage bin is so bad that after a few harsh open and close movements it would probably start rattling. Add to that, the plastic lid is so thin that you would not feel safe keeping any valuable stuff inside it whilst you're away.



The floor mat on the Duro is very useful. It protects your feet from slipping during the ride. The section of the bike where you place your feet is also well spaced so somebody who is about 6 feet tall can also manage riding the Duro comfortably.

[parrys]

The Duro is powered by a 125 cc engine which is adequate for city riding. The engine produces 8.04bhp @ 7000 rpm and 9 Nm of torque @ 5500 rpm. It has a much more refined engine, delivering more linear acceleration (compared to the 115 cc Nova). The engine has been produced with the help of Kinetic-SYM.

The Duro also gets Digital Ignition which improves fuel efficiency, Mahindra claims a fuel efficiency of 53.3 Kpl, which is more than the current Duro and also marginally higher than its competition. However, naturally in real world conditions, we must expect lower fuel efficiency figures.

Technical specifications :


You can notice the SYM badging on the engine of the Duro which indicates the Joint Venture between Mahindra 2-Wheelers and Kinetic-SYM.



Duro DZ exhaust pipe.



One of the reasons why I mentioned that the Duro handles well around the corners is the suspension setup. It has been changed from the earlier Duro which was a little on the softer side. The setup is accurate to handle bumpy rides as well as highway cruising. We did not have a rough patch to check the ground clearance, but it is higher than the Suzuki Access and Honda Activa. Also when we hit the brakes hard, the suspension balanced it well.

The front end now has telescopic forks



While the rear has hydraulic suspension



Mahindra has also moved on to four point mounting of the wheels which make it safer to ride on. The Honda Activa and the Suzuki Access already had this implemented before.



The side stand and main stand

[parrys]

During the ride I faced some technical problems. When I was climbing the Ghats, the bike gave me jerks in between. Once when I hit the brakes hard to stop the bike, the engine shut down as well. I restarted the bike and went on a couple of kilometres more but then while taking a turn when it went back to idling; the engine again shut down and after that it just would not start. I kept it off for 10-15 minutes while I managed to click a few pictures and then it started just fine. After a short run again the bike stalled, and this time no matter how much time I gave it to cool off; it did not start at all. I could feel the battery also going weak as I was pressing the self-start.

One more flaw that I noticed is that when I tried to kick start the bike, the kick could not do the full motion unless on the main stand. The main stand interferes with the kick-start lever. Now when I asked Mahindra's technical staff about why the bike stalled, they told me that it was because of the impurities in fuel, but I somehow feel that this was an over-heating issue. Because after the bike stalled for the first time and I gave it a rest for a while - it worked perfect after that.

The Duro 125 DZ is not a completely new model from Mahindra 2-Wheelers and will continue to face stiff competition from Honda, Suzuki and TVS. Mahindra has to work on the dealership network and provide some good after sales service to enhance sales.

[Rehaan]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line section.

Thanks for sharing!

[vigsom]

Excellent pics.

Having owned a Nova135 for 7 years and also tried out the Duro,the Duro engine is light years ahead of the Nova in refinement(courtesy sym)

The boot is cavernous ; it may not take an imported full face helmet but is good for my SAFE full face helmet ; and it swallows up a whole lot of shopping stuff.

The headlight and the suspension were pain areas and it is nice to see Mahindra wipe these two out.

But , all this will not result in a significant increase in market share for Mahindra . The Japs will continue to rule.

[parrys]

Originally Posted by vigsom

But , all this will not result in a significant increase in market share for Mahindra . The Japs will continue to rule.

Depends,

If they manage to come up with more dealers and better marketing backed up with good after sales, they can make a difference.
But its true that when compared to Honda's or Suzuki's - Mahindra is fairly new to this game in 2-wheelers.

[flycatcher]

Great review! thanks for sharing it. Did you get a chance to keep a tab on the FE while you were testing?

[parrys]

Originally Posted by flycatcher

Great review! thanks for sharing it. Did you get a chance to keep a tab on the FE while you were testing?

To Flycatcher;

I couldn't test the FE since I just had a 45 minute run with the Duro.
Also the roads were empty and was riding in the ghats section, so even if I would have managed to get a figure out; it wouldn't have been appropriate as per City conditions.

[vigsom]

I don't like the horizontal location at which the chassis no. is stamped ; the area gets corroded over years,PRIMARILY DUE TO STAGNANT WATER after a water wash and in 6-7 years time the no. is no longer visible .

I have seen this on my Pep in Chennai and also the Nova135.

What prevents these guys from stamping the no. on a vertical surface as is done in cars?

[parrys]

vigsom,

Its true that due to water wash over the years it will get corroded.
The least they could do is cover it with that same under seat plastic which could flip when required. That would atleast make it last longer, visibly longer.

[deadman]

As per sales guy, Duro DX 125 will be priced around Rs 47,000 ex-showroom. It will be out for sale from 12th December onwards.

[parrys]

The Ex-Delhi price of the Honda Activa - the best seller in the segment is at INR 44,832.
Now if Mahindra intend to price it higher than the Activa, there is less possibility of people being attracted to the Duro.
Mahindra needs to be a little more competitive and less optimistic in their pricing.