Aprilia RS50?

[Tude]

I think that I heard of some people owning them on here. Any comments? Suggestions? Love it? Hate it?

I currently have a Honda Hawk and am a beginner on the street, 2 years on the dirt regularly. I am looking for something a bit smaller and lighter (yes smaller than the Hawk!). I saw all those cute little bikes in Europe and want one, and this little 50 looks like fun.

Would it be stupid to trade the Hawk for a 50? I think I want one but might need some sense smacked into me.

Thanks for any input!

 

[Neh03]

Hey whats up I got a Aprilia RS-50 well its 68cc but Im gettin a 75cc kit for it cus I blew my piston .. it was my first bike . its hella fun I love it. I smoke cars with it at lights all time. gets me everywhere and it cost me 5bucks to fill her up and get like 150 - 160 miles to the tank. Here a link to a pictures of mine
My Sexy Aprila

if you have any other question feel free to ask me

-Niko

 

[Tude]

I am more interested in top speed and stability, can you ride it on the freeway or is it illegal? Does it have any bottom end or midrange at all or is the power like a small bore 2 stroke dirtbike? How stable does it feel with those little wheels?
Also, what is the real weight of the bike? Do you have to mix the gas manually?

I just don't know if it would be a good idea or not, not that I am a speed demon by any stretch of the imagination, or that my Hawk can really top 100mph himself!

Thanks for the response!

Kali

 

[slowpoke]

Keep the Hawk.

 

[ThatSteveGuy]

I think the legal minimum for highway/freeway riding is 250cc isn't it? Also on the little 50 I think the top speed is 80mph but Neh03 would know that better than me.

Personally, I say keep the hawk...

 

[Neh03]

ya with a stock RS-50 you get like 60mph if you get a regular stuff for a rs-50 like the bigger carb new pipe and TP 75cc big bore kit you'll hit like 80mph.. a stock RS-50 weights about 190lbs.. pretty light.. yes you can ride on the freeway. Is it fun. not really . really light soo big gust of wind your all over the place. you don't have to mix the gas. its injected but check the oil regulary don't want to do what I did :smile. other than that its a tight bike I love mine.. plus it gets alot of attention cus it soo sexy.

 

[ThatSteveGuy]

tight bike I love mine.. plus it gets alot of attention cus it soo sexy.

BWAHAHAHA!! And thats the primary reason we ride bikes in the first place right

 

[Tude]

Thanks for the candid responses. My boyfriend says keep the Hawk too, he absolutely loves it, but I am a little intimidated by the size and weight of it being a dirtbike rider primarily. Yeah the Hawk is small but still quite bulky compared to a 200cc dirtbike He keeps talking me out of a supermotard as well!

I guess the general concensis is that the RS50 would make a fun little SECOND bike eh? Damnit.

ShadowKnight, I see you have a RVF400...I really wanted a little VFR400 but chickened out on buying one as I was frightened about parts etc here in the states. Maybe I made another mistake. I sure wish the bike manufacturers would realize that there IS a market over here for the 400cc bikes!

Thanks again for the advice.

Kali

 

[ThatSteveGuy]

You were right about the parts situation actually. So far the bike has been a parts nightmare, even tho I hate to admit it. Here is the history of my bike so far:

End of April '02 purchased
New Regulator/Rectifier took 1 week to get
New Fuel Tap/Petcock valve took 3 months to get (I will never order from that guy again) and I got an HRC CDi at the same time
New Stator/Alternator 6 weeks and counting

So basically I have owned the bike for nearly 6 months and barely been able to ride it at all. Plus its still not titled or registered in Cali. Even still I have no regrets about buying it.

Here is a link to a couple pics... http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=123045#post123045

 

[Tude]

Nice little Honda! When I was in the UK I saw soooo many of them, neat little bikes! The one I looked into for sale here had Cali plates already and was cheap, but the parts... I couldn't imagine having to replace plastic or anything like that. The Hawk I suppose is the next best thing without any headache. I couldn't pass up the bike too, I practically stole it from a guy with 6k miles on it in pristine stock condition.

Do you have any contacts over in the UK for parts? If you don't I lived over there for a while and have a lot of friends still there that help me get parts for my Gas Gas, I could possibley find a good lead for the RVF ? I got some emails addresses while I was on the IOM as well since I was certain I wanted one back then. If you don't have someone over there I could check around.

Kali

 

[Max Smiley]

RS50 = fun for sure! sometimes referred to as scooters because of displacement but small bore sport bike more like it, especially if breathed on. not freeway legal and I'd almost say top speed is irrelevant unless you want to rebuild often and/or risk engine seizures with any extended hi-rpm running. these are definitely tuner bikes though and hey! GP replicas so they look so sweet!

Also consider the Cagiva Mito (a baby 916), and the various Derbi's and Gileras. again, for scootin' around town, errands, up in the hills fun, maybe even trackdays! but freeways a no no really. these are all for the most part affordable two strokers though parts can be hard to source.

hmm, hawk too big. maybe a CB-1? wasn't there a bandit 400 at one time too? I think it sucks we don't get all the cool small bores in the US!!! Instead the 500cc step through scooters are making their debut.