Yamaha SZ-R Vs. Honda CB Shine

Yamaha SZ-R and the Honda CB Shine are bikes in two entirely different engine ranges. However, I decided to put this comparison up here because I noticed a lot of people looking for this specific comparison. The Yamaha SZ-R is just slightly different from the Yamaha SZX – except for a few changes in the way the bikes look and the accessories made available, both bikes come with a 153cc four stroke air-cooled engine, a power of around 12.1 PS at 7500 RPM and a max torque of 12.8 Nm at 4500 RPM. In comparison to these specs, the Honda CB Shine comes with a 124.7cc  engine that delivers 10.3 PS power and a torque of 10.54 Nm.

Mileage Comparison

The manufacturer claim on mileage is always to be taken on an optimistic note. That’s evident because these claims are tested under “standard test road conditions” which are very different from the regular city roads and traffic we actually ride the bike on. According to Yamaha, the SZ-R is capable of delivering 62.4 kmpl FE. In comparison, the Honda CB Shine with a lower engine displacement is claimed to deliver 65 kmpl. It doesn’t seem like a big difference considering that the power offered by the Shine is noticeably different from SZ-R.

To see what the bikes actually deliver on city roads, let us look at the various test-ride and customer feedback reports. On the IndiaGarage forum, the SZ-R customers report a decent fuel consumption of between 43-55 kmpl. In comparison, the Shine customers on the same forum report 50-55 kmpl on city roads and 58-62 kmpl on highways. So as we can see, the city road performance of both the bikes is not very different.

Let us take a look at the MaxAbout reviews. The website claims that the SZ-R has a pretty good performance on city roads. They claim a figure of between 55-60 kmpl on the Yamaha bike. The report on CB Shine is not too different either and they report 58 kmpl on city roads.

The similarity in mileage delivered on the two bikes is also noticeable on the BikeAdvice reports. A report from one of the SZ-R customers on the website reports a city FE of around 45-49 kmpl. Another reader, who owns a CB Shine reports 50 kmpl – marginally better but not enough difference to make a 125cc value for money compared to the 150cc alternative.

MouthShut has always been a popular place to check out user reviews of bikes. For the SZR, the customers posting on the site report a city fuel consumption of anywhere between 40-52 kmpl. This is a huge range and is not sufficient to draw a conclusion on the bike performance. In comparison, the reviews for the Honda CB Shine are at a more consistent range of 50-55 kmpl. I guess this is the only comparison that makes the CB Shine look like a better bike from a mileage perspective compared to the SZR.

There are several other reports for both the bikes. For the SZR, MotorBeam reports a city figure of 55 kmpl while for the CB Shine, the Yahoo user reviews, the reported number is between 55-60 kmpl. All the reported figures from various sources are tabulated below.

Overall, I think the mileage delivered by both the bikes is more or less comparable. Honda CB Shine is slightly better. But given that at a price of around Rs. 3000 more, you can get a higher cc engine with much better power and torque, the SZ-R seems to be a better choice. What do you think?