Scooter Review Derbi Boulevard 125 Can this Derbi Boulevard tame the city streets. We find out..
Allen Drysdale
 Choosing a scooter these days can represent quite a conundrum. What capacity do I need ? What Brand do I choose ? How much should I spend? and not to mention what colour. Lets face it, there is a mountain of choice on the market today.
Derbi may not be the best known brand in Australia but span across the ocean to the homeland of Spain and Derbi takes on the role of hero status - being a brand that most experience at some point in there lives. And believe me, after just returning from the vibrant city of Barcelona, two wheels are very much a natural every day way of life.
Celebrating its 85th birthday in 2007 Derbi continues to introduce a bunch of unique models and designs to market. And being apart of the Piaggio stable Derbi has been able to also cross share a bunch of models to create a broad range for the local Spanish market. And that is where we introduce the Derbi Boulevard 125.
The Derbi design team have performed a pretty good job on this one to differentiate the Boulevard from its Piaggio cousin. Black wheels, vented grill treatment and a small see through lip on the headlight all help make the Boulevard seem like the sports variant of this Piaggio platformed machine. Though you could say that these subtle styling extras are typical of the individuality that Derbi places into each of its models. A little bit of spaniola in every model you could say!
So my mission and I did choose to accept it, was to jump on a Boulevard 125 and do a days riding around the inner streets of Sydney. Easy.
Throwing a leg over the Boulevard isn't hard. The scooter certainly isn't as big as some but it is still pretty substantial in size due to the wide broad seat that is as comfortable as it looks. Its an easy reach to the bars from the seat and the comfort factor is enhanced through a floor area that is as wide as it is flat - But more on that later.
Thumb the starter on the Boulevard and you do get a relaxed sense of nature from the leader engine. It immediately jumps into a smooth idle and little changes as you twist the throttle. Smooth and gradual is the best way to describe the flow of power from the 7.8 Kilowatts on offer, as speed builds in quite a fluid manner and can catch up on you if your not watching the speedo.
In the cut and thrust of city traffic the Boulevard handles itself with ease and is never embarrassed by its capacity. The engine provides more then enough substance across all speeds, the Boulevard is as happy at 20 km/h as it is at 95. Commuting lets just say is the forte of the Boulevard and the city streets are certainly well and truly apart of its domain. Heading through the hilly areas of Glebe or across the bridge and onto the Cahill Expressway the Derbi didn't flinch, easily catering to the needs of surrounding traffic.
 
The dashboard is standard affair having a large speedometer and fuel gauge as the main point of focus. You have a bank of warning lights to remind you of things like low oil, engaging high beam or that you have turned on a blinker and this is nothing new but it is well laid out, easily visible and worth a mention. Nice feature as always is the digital clock, I like it.
Braking is standard affair offering good feel on both the front 200 mm disc and the 140mm rear drum. Of course you tend to favour the front disc when your needing to pull up quick but the rear drum works well for steadying yourself in corners or just holding yourself at a standstill when stopped at a set of lights.
The Derbi also holds its head up high in the handling department with a compliant ride all round that will suit most styles of riding. Not too sporty, not too soft, the Derbi provides the best of both worlds making it one of the more relaxing scooters on the market to ride. Again this adds value to its capability of being a very handy all round commuter and although we only see one shock absorber on the rear this doesn't impact the handling at all.
One of the big considerations when purchasing a scooter is storage and the Derbi doesn't disappoint in this department either. Heaps of storage under the seat combined with a bag hook and the afore mentioned flat floor. All these combined mean that 99% of trips are catered for easily. Sure you can opt for the optional rack and box but standard the Boulevard has got you covered. If you need to lock your helmet outside the scooter to cater for some extra load on board then no problem the Derbi caters for that also with the obligatory helmet hook.
I didnt get a chance to test the overall fuel efficiency of the Boulevard 125 but if going off other leader engine products I have ridden the 8 litre tank should take you some fair distances. Filling up the Derbi with fuel is a simple under the seat affair, no fuss, just flip open the seat after unlocking it with the key and open the filler cap - simple.
Lastly the fit and finish on the Derbi Boulevard, which I must confess to being exceptional for a scooter in this price range. The plastics look and feel right, and all the panel gaps line up the way you would expect, nice and evenly. The scooter feels solid with no creeks or groans and items like the pillion grab handle for example not only look the business they also do the job as intended.
The Derbi Boulevard has more then enough going for it. If scooter riding for you needs to be hassle free with the sole purpose of getting you from A to B then put the Boulevard 125 on your shopping list. It just so happens that the Boulevard is also comfortable, competent, with a hint of that spanish frivolity Derbi are renowned for.
So in a world that has us spoilt for choice you could do far worse then making the Boulevard the main meal on the Tapes menu. Enjoy!
published 4/12/2009 |