APRILIA RX50 (2006 - 2012) Review

Year: 2006

Cramped ride position. Hefty steel swing arm. Suspension ridiculously soft. Brake pedal tip and kick start lever lack sufficient knurling. Soft frame bends easily when dropped (footrest bracket area). Auto vacuum fuel tap unreliable. Ignition magneto unreliable. Speedometer wiring unreliable. Shares Aprilia RS / Derbi GPR sport bike engine - minus crankshaft counterbalancer. Inevitably vibrates like magnitude 8 earthquakes. Engine mount brackets fracture. Fairing panel screws, exhaust system screws, engine mount screws, magneto screws, timing plate screws, all require anti-vibe lock washers. Big-wheeled Japanese auto scooters offer more satisfaction.

Year: 2007

New crank bearings, gearbox bearings, piston kit every 15 - 20,000 miles and it'll serve you well if you don't ride it in a neglecting manner. But you have to spend a few £££'s replacing the Italian Ignition, carburetor, fuel tap and adapt the battery box.

I have owned this bike for around 11 months, and around 3-4 months i didn't really have the time to ride it as me and my family travel alot. The bike has been awesome in the year though, my RX 50 is a 2009 registered bike and i have covered just over 2500 miles riding it in the year. I only ride for pleasure, and obviously a 50cc bike is never going to be brilliant when you only ride for run but the bike has been brilliant, it has a spunky little 2 stroke 50cc engine which can give you a little bit of a scare in it's de-restricted form as it wants to be ridden full throttle every where, and with a top speed of around 50mph on a straight, the inexperienced will soon learn from their mistakes. I have had 58mph down a big hill, but the whole look of the bike makes other road users treat you with a little bit of respect as it really does look like a bigger bike, the only downside is the poxy L plate that UK residents will have to show. Overall the bike has been great, i have loved every second of it and it has really prepared me to get on a 125cc machine. Great bike, potentially the best 50cc moped money could buy!

Had this bike from new for 6 months now - and I love it!! Picked up a Gianelli exhaust as, although it was restricted to 30, it would struggle to get to 30, let alone maintain it. Now it will happily maintain 40mph no problem. The powerband is quite pokey and will out accelerate cars when filtering up until 30 or so. The only gripe is that the seat is NOT comfy for prolonged periods! Reminds me of my mountain biking days... There is also NO storage anywhere, so be prepared to use a rucksack, should you need anything. No reliability issues at all. Mine hasn't had an easy life: dropped while off-roading, knocked into neutral while attempting to change up into second several times resulting in maximum engine revs and is either full throttle or nome at all due to my 'exuberant' riding style. Still going strong. Great styling as well. Will always stay with Aprilia (as long as this one serves me well for the next 4 months (which I'm sure it will)) and looking at an RS4 125 next as I've always wanted a sports bike. Got this one due to the manual gearbox, and not the RS50 because that's a 2 - stroke sports bike and that's just not cool!

Great value for money. can hit 55 on straights (de-restricted) and is so reliable. great handling too!

my aprilia rx has never let me down, it may only be a 50 but fells like it should be bigger it is a joy to ride in what ever wheather. the engine is solid and it is fairly quick for a 50cc. i have topped at 55mph on the flat a 70mph down hugely massive hills. if i was to ever go back to a 50 it would be an aprilia rx

Good Points - Brilliant Whilst Working, Engine Good, Handling Good, I have had 54mph out of my fully derestricted stock SX50. Parts, take a while, and you will be lucky to go a year without neading to order and wait for any. The speedo is good but the rev counter doesnt tell you how many revs your doing just has a bar that goes up and down. Overall, a brilliant little bike and is a great head turner. Get a new model 2006 - current and if you are 16, it is guarenteed that all you mates, bike lovers or not will want one. Just remember you cant have it all, speed and style are the pluses, typical italian reliability - poor and bad parts service.