[Draunzer21]

Hello BHPians,

My wife and I were looking for a scooty recently and we had below requirements.
1. My wife's height is 5 feet so we wanted a scooty with low saddle height.
2. Light weight
3. No electric scooter

The requirements kept were very simple as we were mostly focused on ease of riding in Pune traffic and we did not focus on digital speedometer, great pick up, disc breaks or any other features.

A little background of 2 wheelers in our family:

Currently we have three 2 wheelers and I was not involved in any of their purchases so buying a 2 wheeler was totally new experience for me.

1. My father bought Bajaj CT100 in 2008 and he had taken his friend for the buying process as I was in 1st year engineering. We still have it and use it occasionally.

2. My father bought Apache RTR 160 for me in 2009 but again as I wanted grey color which was not available in our city and had waiting, we bought it from our home town which was 250 kms away so my father did all the procedure and then kept bike at his friend's place and then on one weekend I went with my father and got the bike home.

3. We also have a TVS scooty registered in another state which is in very good condition but is used by my father for running errands.

As I was not present in any of the buying processes, I was actually expecting some discounts at year end on bikes as we get on cars.

Finalizing the scooty:
After deciding on our requirements, I went through lot of YouTube videos and forums to finally come to a conclusion that we would take test ride of TVS Zest and Honda Dio. Both of them had low saddle height and we thought we should check them out.

As we stay in Baner, Pune we called Kalamkar TVS and Iconic TVS and asked them to send the quotation. Iconic sent the quote right away but Kalamkar TVS did not send that. I actually called them twice but no quotation. Iconic also mentioned that only matte colors would be available.

The next day we visited Iconic TVS and then asked them for test ride and they had a Scooty Zest available in matte blue color and my wife was easily able to handle the Zest and could take a turn without keeping her foot on the ground. She used to ride Scooty Pep earlier but as she was working from home, her scooty pep was not utilized since last 4 years and we sent it to my in-law's place so that it could be used there.

As we were checking Zest, we also saw very colorful Jupiter 110 and my wife and I thought let us take it's test ride as well. She took the test ride and she was not able to comfortably take a turn on Jupiter, she was still saying she can manage by putting a leg on the ground but I was hesitant and I told her to see what is best for her and understand she has to ride the scooty in Pune's traffic. So she agreed that Jupiter might not be the right scooty for her.

We took final quotation from TVS and they said they could give us 90K including accessories if we book it right away. They had earlier quoted 91.5K + 4K for accessories.
Accessories included : Steel guard, seat cover, floor mat, front bumper guard.

Standard fitting included : Ladies foot rest, side stand, mirror, number plate and PDI


We told them we still want to check Dio and we can't book it right away and we left that day.

Next day we went to Honda show room. We had also called Honda the previous day and had got quotes from them for Dio. Honda had 2 Dio 110 in stock but they did not have test ride vehicle. My wife also checked Activa and they had test ride Activa available so my wife tried that and it was on the heavier side for her. So we cancelled Honda right away as Dio was not available for test ride.
Anyway I was leaning towards TVS after spending more than 15 years with TVS Apache and having a fuss free ownership experience.
Next we went to Kalamkar TVS which is opposite to Honda showroom and took a quote from them. They had not given the quote even after couple of calls but we thought let us compare the quotes. They gave a quote of 91K + 5K for accessories. After some bargaining, they said they can make it 91K + 2500. We said okay and left.


In the evening luckily Iconic TVS guy called us and I asked him if he still had 90K all inclusive offer on table and he said no but after some discussions on WhatsApp, he said okay come tomorrow and book the scooty.
Kalamkar TVS called us again and asked us about our purchase and I told them Iconic is giving us 90K all inclusive can you give that? They said it is below on-road price so not possible.

Booking and registration:
Next day we went and checked the Zest in Matte Black colour and there were 2 available. They both looked new and we checked their VIN and we were sure they were 2024 manufactured scooties. The sales guy said they were November 2024 manufactured so we went ahead and paid the amount in full.
Once the payment was made, we told the guy about the particular VIN number they should allot us from the 2 available and the guy gave us a receipt and that's it. No congratulations nothing.
Once we were in our car my wife said , "Paise milale ki jhala, congrats pan karat nahi ahe ha manus"
Translation : Once he got the money, he is not even saying congrats.
We had asked the guy to deliver the scooty on 1st Jan. He had told us showroom might be closed on that day so we told him if not 1st Jan then make it 31st December, 2024. He said okay.

The next day - no calls from them, I called the guy but no reply. Day after, I get a call from them asking for couple of OTP's and I realized that VAHAN registration has begun. After that again a day was gone but no calls or anything. I called the guy but no reply.
I went to their showroom and got to know that our sales guy had some family emergency and was on leave. I told the other sales person that I need to do PDI but he said PDI is not needed sir, scooty is allotted to you. I was going to escalate the matter to his senior but I controlled myself. While coming out of the showroom, I just saw one Matte Black Zest so checked the VIN and the Zest we had booked was not there. On further checking, I found one Zest ready for wash and went there and saw my name on that. I was relieved even though it was filled with dust.



Delivery:
On 31st we got a call from our sales guy and he was back, we went to the showroom and checked the scooty, it looked good. Sales guy parked it in their delivery area and then Pooja and some pics followed. Our sales guy and watchman - that's it. But this time the sales guy said congrats.

There were at least 6-7 other people in the showroom but no one even came out while delivery. May be 2 wheeler delivery happens like that - I thought.

When I had purchased my Swift, there were at least 6-7 Maruti guys congratulating me and my family in 2017. Anyway, we came home, our neighbors were also happy and they also did Pooja and then took test ride.

In the evening I took our scooty to fill some petrol and clicked some pictures at a nearby shop.




Next to my aged Apache which still runs fine.



I have not got owner's manual and sales guy said they don't give it now and we have to get it online. I had a downloaded copy with me so I just let it go.
Helmet was chargeable; my wife and I have our own helmets anyway so we did not buy it.

As I have completed nearly 100 kms now, I can surely mention few pros and cons:

PROS:
1. Lightweight
2. Agile and easy to handle
3. Under seat storage is good for storing one full size helmet.
4. Helmet hook available under the seat which can be useful when we go out and park it in public parking.
5. Best for ladies who have height less than or equal to 5 feet.
6. Storage space at the front and couple of hooks at the front.
7. As soon as side stand is applied, the scooty shuts down which can be very useful for people who forget to remove side stand and then crash.

CONS:
1. We have been noticing a shuddering sound towards the front of the scooty when we reduce speed, I have shown it to the showroom and they are of the opinion that it is because of number plate holder touching steel guard. More on this as I go for first servicing towards the end of February, 2025.
2.This scooty is strictly for people who want to ride slowly, the power is definitely less and we can feel that on road even in city traffic.
3. Vibrations are felt on higher speeds.
4. The petrol tank opening is still below the seat. While many scooters provide an opening near the handle now, Zest 110 still comes with under seat fuel lid.

Some more pictures:
Speedometer:


Glossy finish near buttons makes it look cool:


Front storage along with retractable hook:


Hook below the seat for attaching polyethene's or bags:


15A Fuse below seat:


Helmet hook under the seat:


OBD:


Parked near a bank:


Under seat storage:


Curved mirror - very good design and covers good amount of visuals from behind:



As it had lot of dust when we first saw it, we decided to name it "dusty".

It attracts lot of dust, some advice on how to maintain black matte colour would be helpful.
The owners manual says mobile charger USB port is available below the seat but I do not see that, someone who knows more about it can throw some light on that.
Please also let me know if this looks like a good deal or I should have asked for more discounts.

Hoping to have a tension free ownership with this scooty.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[arjab]

Congratulations on your new acquisition!
That's a real, little tough cookie that you got for yourself! The Zest is a solid performer and can withstand an enormous amount of use & abuse with utmost reliability. My cousin sister had one. She sold it, at 85,000 kms, when she moved out of the country. Till then the little scooty had run faultlessly.

Wishing you many "zest"-full miles of riding and happiness!

Cheers!

Best,

[boxwrench]

Congratulations on the new purchase. My father has a Zest(Non ECU model). It has been bullet proof at a current odometer reading of 62k kms. There have been no major issues. Had replaced the CVT drive belt and rollers at 53k kms as the belt ripped apart but still didn't leave me stranded(could move at a lower speed). I do all the maintenance myself and it has been a solid ride even with all the abuse it gets.