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Maxi-scooters sold in our country have always been a little odd to me. It is a case of Goldilocks trying to find the one that is just perfect, but also having to sift through all the ones that aren’t in the process. The Suzuki Burgman was one that was the closest to the end result, and quite a number of people have come to that same conclusion since it arrived in the market.

Now, the latest update with the Burgman Street EX seems to have taken care of the only disproportionate part of the scooter, which was the rather small 10-inch wheel at the back. Everything else remains untouched, as one wouldn’t want to mess with a winning formula too much, lest it falls apart. It gets the same digital instrument cluster unit as the Ride Connect variant, and the same 124cc single-cylinder engine as on the lower Burgman variants, Access 125, and even the Avenis.

The Burgman Street EX additionally gets the new Suzuki Eco Performance Alpha feature, along with Suzuki’s silent starter and smart start-stop functions. All this combined makes for quite the economic ride within the city. The smart start-stop function works beautifully in stop-and-go traffic, where the engine goes into hibernation silently within five seconds of coming to a halt, and silently comes back to life upon twisting the throttle.

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The riding ergonomics remain untouched with the wide handlebar, and Suzuki’s ‘flexible foot position’, which allows one to stretch their legs out and comfortably place them on the footrest moulded into the apron. The seat cushioning does seem to be a bit on the softer side, which may play spoilsport on longer commutes.

Looking at the ride quality on the new Burgman Street EX, one would expect it to be a lot better, owing to the new 12-inch rear wheel. Unfortunately, Suzuki seems to have messed around with both the front and rear suspension in the process, thus making the ride quality stiffer than one would like. This means that the rear end doesn’t cushion the rider against most bumps as nicely as it used to on the older models.

That being said, the Burgman Street EX does feel a tad sharper when it comes to handling. The larger rear wheel and the firm rear end make sure that it goes into corners with a lot more confidence now. Braking on the maxi-scooter also seems to have improved in comparison to the older variants. It seems that Suzuki has taken the concept of ‘no pain, no gain’ a bit too seriously with this update.

It still gets the 21.5-litre under-seat storage, bottle holder, and storage compartment, with a lid housing a 12-V socket located below the handlebar. As previously stated, this is not a facelift, but rather an update to the existing model. It is still the bold, butch and bulky maxi-scooter that we all really liked from the get-go, with a few more-than-bearable changes (a few being genuine upgrades), so it is very likely to do well for Suzuki once again.