Opinions Aprilia rs 125
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What's your opinions about these bikes? Thinking about the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Enginewise, access to parts etc. -
Fantastic bikes. I'd recommend getting the later models of course, better engine better chasis better handling better everything.
Or a very early AF1 model would be the dream.
Parts are cheap and these bikes have plummetted in price, now is the time to buy!
Loads of tuning parts were used for juniors to race on before they hit Moto3 GP during the SuperTeen championships. The result, engines highly tunable and high top speeds can be had out on them.
Reliability wise, expect it to go wrong. Expect a used RS to be completely worn out. Expect to spend time on it. It's not the sort of bike that will just start at the press of a button, even when miticulously maintained these bikes demand attention.
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@calum I was about to buy a 94 model for £600, sadly it got sold. Would have been nice to own one.
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@irongamer727 All I will say, is for that price range, be prepared to spend another 1k on it getting it actually road worthy. But they are fantastic bikes/engines
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@calum 1k on what? My intentions are not to tune it immediately. Ye sure a nice piston £100, carb cleaning, change some hoses, new spark plug etc. £200 tops.
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@irongamer727 Bushes, suspension electrics, chain, sprockets, mate they're thorough bred bikes. Trust me when I say a £600 is going to be worn out. When these bikes tire they really show it. You don't notice it so much on a DT because they're so low spec, but when you got a 26hp engine making 16hp, that's a massive jump. But it's still as much power a s DT.
Everything about these bikes scream maintenance. The cush drive rubbers perish and cause the sprocket carrier bearings to collapse and violently shake whislt riding. The shock absorbers notoriously fail and cause them to be ineffective. Wheel bearings are common to fail. Fork seals and head stock bearings from all the kids pulling wheelies. Also the RAVE system is really prone to failing.
I'm not going to describe everything, you can have a look at the aprilia forums if you're interested. But trust me, they are meticulous and everything needs attention on them. They are after all, Italian.
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@calum hehe, it wasnt even running
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@irongamer727 Trust me, I've been around these bikes for nearly a decade. I know what they're like. They are superb 125's, the cream of the crop. But in this world you don't get something for nothing. It would be like buying a Ferrari for under £10k. We've all seen how that worked out. It can be done, but don't expect it to compare to a 10K Honda...
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@calum you familiar with the Honda nsr's? Pretty cheap as well, and Japanese.
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@irongamer727 Don't hold a candle to the RS's. And no I'm not familiar with the NSR's. The RS is the better bike, but for £600 don't expect to buy a sports bike two stroke and have it all working.
Another really nice bike is the Yamaha TZR RR Belgarda SP
That's probably the only bike that comes close to the RS, other than Cagiva, as these are tuned and built in Italy for the SuperTeen series.
Very rare unlikely to buy one. Don't confuse it with the TZR RR Belgarda as the SP is a totally different kettle of fish.
After that, the Honda SuperTeen bike is the Honda RS 125. This wipes the floor with the lot of them, but they never made road going versions of these bikes. Therefore the Aprilia trumps all IMO.
