Yamaha's wallet-friendly RayZR 125 | First ride

Side on photo of a Yamaha RayZR 125 in Midnight Black.

At just £2301, Yamaha’s new for 2024, RayZR 125 scooter is certainly friendly on the wallet. In fact it’s affordable enough to put on most people’s credit card.

Despite being budget-priced, this scooter ain’t bad at all, in fact I was pleasantly surprised when I took one for a spin recently.

The RayZR’s design is angular but it grows on you

Like most manufacturers, Yamaha have factories outside of their homeland – their XMAX range are built in France for instance.

Indian by design

This particular model comes from their Indian factory, which allows it to be very affordable. Just what a cash-strapped teenager, or commuter on a budget needs right now.

Its origins in the Indian market shows through in the design of the RayZR, it’s a bit at odds with the rest of the Yamaha family in the looks department. Having said that, it grew on me during the day I had with it and those sharp lines probably inspired the scooter’s name.

VIDEO: Power Assist explained

In India they refer to the scooter as a “hybrid” due to it using electricity to drive Power Assist

Power Assist

As entry-level scooters go, the Yamaha RayZR is pretty good. You’re getting the backup, warranty and reputation of Yamaha. Despite its low cost you also get a few bits of added tech. The air-cooled version of the Yamaha Blue Core motor has a little trick up its sleeve with an innovative ‘Power Assist’ system that gives the scooter an acceleration boost by means of some clever electrickery.

Power Assist works in tandem with the Smart Motor Generator System (which makes starting the scooter much quieter and allows the Start/Stop system to work). The generator feeds electricity into a battery beneath the scooter’s central floor tunnel whilst the scooter is being ridden. That electricity is fed back to the generator when accelerating to boost torque, taking it from 9.7Nm to 10.3Nm. Power Assist makes the scooter feel much nippier than most 125cc 4-strokes, it aids hill climbing and makes things easier if you’re carrying a pillion. Simple but effective. A quicker than average 125 is always a good selling point.

VIDEO: We road test the Yamaha RayZR 125

Stop & Start system

I’m sure most modern car drivers are familiar with Stop/Start, as will be many 125cc scooter riders. The RayZR also gets the feature and it’s said to reduce fuel consumption by up to 4%. Stop & Start can be switched off if you prefer, using a button on the right handlebar. When in use it adapts automatically to the style of riding you are doing, Normal Mode will cut the engine around 1.5 seconds after you come to a standstill. Twist the throttle again and it bursts almost silently back to life. If you’re in start/stop traffic it’ll switch to Traffic Mode to prevent frequent engine stops which otherwise put a strain on the battery.

Nippy enough?

Riding the RayZR around the Epsom Downs gave me a chance to get a feel for the scooter and I was pleasantly surprised. Performance is a big thing for me, I don’t like to feel like a scooter is underpowered for real-world riding conditions. The RayZR certainly isn’t. The Power Assist gives it a bit more oomph when compared to a ‘normal’ air-cooled 4-stroke 125. I’d go as far as to say it is fairly nippy, both on the open road and in traffic. A welcome boost for sure. You’ll see around 57mph top speed on the clock (probably closer to 60 once the engine has bedded in a bit) but the way it gets there is the useful part.

Compromises

A scooter built at this price point is always going to have the odd compromise and more often than not it’s the suspension that suffers. When I first got on the scooter, the front forks felt a little underdamped but within a few miles I’d got used to the way they worked and forgot about it so it’s no deal breaker. The rear suspension felt good enough though.

VIDEO: Yamaha promo

Electrics

With LED lighting, including a striking ‘Y’ front running light and a digital multi-function dash with mobile connectivity, this entry-level scooter is pretty cool.

Practicality

Scooters by their very nature are a practical mode of transport, they’re simple to ride, agile, usually fairly lightweight (this one weighs just 99kg so is perfect for sticking on the back of a motorhome) and have some useful storage space beneath the seat. Whoever decided the underseat space should be called ‘helmet storage’ has given scooter designers nightmares for years. Not many can fit a full face helmet under there, on the RayZR you’ll get an open face lid under the seat but it’s much more useful for storing things like a lock, waterproofs, your phone and odd bits and bobs.

Our verdict

I really don’t think you can go wrong at this price for a Yamaha 125. If you compare it to Suzuki’s new budget Burgman Street 125EX, the Yamaha is £898 cheaper and it weighs 13kg less. Go up another level from the Burgman and Honda’s excellent PCX 125 costs £3659, although the Honda is liquid-cooled and more refined.

If you’re looking for a wallet-friendly 125cc with a name you can trust then you won’t go far wrong with the RayZR125. It’s an exceptionally good little scooter for the money.

Pay your local Yamaha dealer a visit and tell them we sent you.