Aprilia RS125 – The Razor’s Edge
Story by Mohan K.R.
I remember a time when 2 strokes were ubiquitous on the road. Their light weight, knife edge power bands, a power to H.P. ratio that wouldn’t look out of place on the specifications sheet of a 750 c.c. bike.
The minimalist chassis, coupled with a sub-150 k.g. weight, meant that 2 strokes were suited for kamikaze corner bashing, and head down antics in pursuit of top speed. But their rather anti social tendency to smoke unburnt 2-T lead to their swift banning in many countries around the world because of pollution concerns.
2 strokes are still with us, of course, in dirt biking, and in the GP 125 and 250 classes. Aprilia Malaysia recently launched the RS125 in this country at Sepang International Circuit. We had a go at it, so read our report after the jump.
The RS 125 is, as the name suggests, a 125 c.c. 2 stroke racing styled machine. Very closely patterned after their 2008 125 GP bikes, the RS125 is very much intended for the young racer, or racer wanna-be. A Rotax single cylinder liquid cooled engine with crankcase reed valve and a balance shaft delivers the power smoothly, although the engine needs to be brought up to the upper reaches of the power band before things start happening. Fuelling is via Dell’Orto carburetor, with the exhaust swept up the left side and tucked up out of harm’s way.
The cockpit is minimalist, as is to be expected from a racer, but it comes with everything you need to know, including a lap timer.
The twin beam aluminium frame brings everything together, with 40 mm USD forks, and there’s a hydraulic shock handling absorption duties at the rear. Brakes are typically racer like in feel and bite, with a single disc front and rear. The front brake is a 4 piston caliper, biting a 320 mm disc. More than adequate to bring the entire package of rider and bike to a stop in less time than it takes for you to read this sentence. The brakes are very controllable, and showed some signs of fading after several hard laps around the track. I suspect this might be because the rider is, perhaps, slightly heavier than the whippet weight 125 jockeys this bike was designed for.
The office, as you can well imagine, is a trifle cramped. This bike is definitely designed for slim, fearless, young men in their late teens or early 20s, not older riders who prefer to, shall we say, stretch things out a little. Saying that, once you fold your legs up onto the pegs, bend your elbows slightly outboard of your knees, ( and your elbows will touch your knees in race position), and place your chin on the tank, it feels right, allowing you to dream of being Simone Corsi.
But, the way to ride a small capacity 2 stroke can be summed up in two words. Corner speed. In this, the RS125 does admirably well. Although taking off calls for some cold hearted treatment of the throttle and clutch, once things get going, the 6 speed gearbox is smooth, each gear clicking into place without hesitation. You rev the engine towards 10,000 r.p.m., aim for the corner, and then, You. Must. Lean.
The RS125 is capable of some very extreme lean angles, allowing you to carry and hold the corner speed. At this stage, you really don’t want to start messing with the throttle, because any loss of engine speed takes a long time to claw back, due to the lack of torque. But if you do it right, the bike takes care of it all, allowing you to concentrate on the line, and the exit. Taking turn 9 at Sepang, the corner that is perhaps the hardest to get right, due to its off camber entry and invisible exit, was carved admirably well on the RS125. The light weight of the bike allowed this slightly ham fisted rider to choose a line, and lean over without fear of launching himself, and the bike, into the sky. This is something I couldn’t ever get away with on, say, a Ducati 999.
The RS125 is a motorcycle that rewards a brave rider. It is perhaps not suited for the rider who prefers something that requires minimal maintenance, or a daily commuter, as the Rotax engine requires regular maintenance to have performing at optimum. The handling is razor sharp, and easy to control, as any well designed motorcycle should be.
The peaky engine, together with its insane lean angle and corner speeds, makes this bike one for the racetrack, in the hands of a young racer.
March 17, 2009 @ 1:49 pm
Look at the bike l still traumatized Paul.
March 17, 2009 @ 1:50 pm
im first back..dah lama tak first…goood bike
March 17, 2009 @ 1:51 pm
rempiters.. hehe!
March 17, 2009 @ 1:55 pm
er…should can ‘tapau’ Yahama 125Z right?
March 17, 2009 @ 2:18 pm
ok ler tu
March 17, 2009 @ 2:30 pm
where got Yamaha 125Z any>? now is 150 (something). but with so many edgy specs, it wouldnt allow too much modification as those hand-skill done by Balakong workshop, which easily goes up to 220km/h.
March 17, 2009 @ 2:39 pm
Great article Mohan KR.
PaulTan, hopefully in the near future do include stories on the motorcycle scene.
March 17, 2009 @ 2:39 pm
Not very green but very mean machines
March 17, 2009 @ 4:04 pm
wonder if it’ll ever move if i’m pulling the throttle with me on it… hahaha… bike is too small plus i’m too old for ‘rempit’ (again)… LOL
err.. how much is it anyway?
March 17, 2009 @ 4:17 pm
Paul, how about cruiser bikes? Honda DN-01maybe?
March 17, 2009 @ 4:45 pm
ini lah mesin merempit zaman gua muda2 dulu (replica yg lama, bukan yg ni). baju tetap bau 2T. Tapi pergi tak hengat. awek ramai je sebuk nak naik. Panas je seat yg gua polish tu dulu. Dari 11th College sampai Eng Fact kejap je, jatuh dekat jalan belakang 10th College sekali, pokok hantu dekat ASASI sekali.
March 17, 2009 @ 4:56 pm
teringat zaman muda2…zaman rempit dulu2…haihh….
March 17, 2009 @ 5:23 pm
rempit siut.. still miss the old kawasaki zxr-250 ninja… that exhaust note like a ferarri… whats become of the world..
March 17, 2009 @ 6:23 pm
[quote comment="221801"]rempit siut.. still miss the old kawasaki zxr-250 ninja… that exhaust note like a ferarri… whats become of the world..[/quote]
hahah i think rs125 can beat zxr250 anytime…
March 17, 2009 @ 6:36 pm
[quote comment="221818"][quote comment="221801"]rempit siut.. still miss the old kawasaki zxr-250 ninja… that exhaust note like a ferarri… whats become of the world..[/quote]
hahah i think rs125 can beat zxr250 anytime…[/quote]
yalah.. 2 stroke werd..sure can beat.. i was mentioning bout the exhaust note… just sounds better IMHO
March 17, 2009 @ 6:49 pm
mo tgk dr tepi sekali imbas mcm shogun
March 17, 2009 @ 9:27 pm
[quote comment="221854"][quote comment="221801"]rempit siut.. still miss the old kawasaki zxr-250 ninja… that exhaust note like a ferarri… whats become of the world..[/quote]
now everybody drive mopeds….sad…stupid modenas[/quote]
yeah man.. even minah rempit gettin into the trend… all those gearless things.. sigh. where did “live to ride” go to.. quite upset with the new ninja 250 (2008) anybody know why the engine sound / exhaust note has changed to the silly jaguh sound instead of the “vroom”
March 17, 2009 @ 10:04 pm
[quote comment="221901"]yeah man.. even minah rempit gettin into the trend… all those gearless things.. sigh. where did “live to ride” go to.. quite upset with the new ninja 250 (2008) anybody know why the engine sound / exhaust note has changed to the silly jaguh sound instead of the “vroom”[/quote]
its all about reliability.. you can opt for yoshimura slip-on.. my personal fav is leo vince.
[quote comment="221718"]nice, how much is it?[/quote]
its somewhere around RM22,300
March 17, 2009 @ 10:07 pm
nat, the old ninja is a 4 cylinder 250cc engine. thats why the sound so smooth…but the new one is only two cylinder…sad…my fren even change the muffler but still sound like jaguh…(T_T)
March 17, 2009 @ 10:12 pm
22,300?? walao!!! let me consider 1st. lol
March 17, 2009 @ 10:22 pm
[quote comment="221718"]nice, how much is it?[/quote]
its somewhere around RM22,300[/quote]
r u sure? damn expensive for a 150cc
cheers!
March 18, 2009 @ 12:02 am
This is when i envy the Singaporeans… actually i envy them every time i see a FT plate bike…
March 18, 2009 @ 1:02 am
[quote comment="221916"][quote comment="221901"]yeah man.. even minah rempit gettin into the trend… all those gearless things.. sigh. where did “live to ride” go to.. quite upset with the new ninja 250 (2008) anybody know why the engine sound / exhaust note has changed to the silly jaguh sound instead of the “vroom”[/quote]
its all about reliability.. you can opt for yoshimura slip-on.. my personal fav is leo vince.
[quote comment="221718"]nice, how much is it?[/quote]
its somewhere around RM22,300[/quote]
even with the yoshimura slip on it still sounds like the jaguh.. tried the two brothers with my friends one and stil sounded so bad….sigh
March 18, 2009 @ 1:04 am
[quote comment="221918"]nat, the old ninja is a 4 cylinder 250cc engine. thats why the sound so smooth…but the new one is only two cylinder…sad…my fren even change the muffler but still sound like jaguh…(T_T)[/quote]
thx for d info.. no wonder it sounds like jaguh… mayb a yoshimura mufler would make it osund a lil macho like what mockviper said… but it stil sounds… different.. lol.. i would swap the reliability for the sound.. after all.. its a weekend sportsbike.. IMHO..
March 18, 2009 @ 1:20 am
[quote comment="221715"]Great article Mohan KR.
PaulTan, hopefully in the near future do include stories on the motorcycle scene.[/quote]
Thanks. More reviews will depend on Paul getting the invitation to test and me having the time available.
March 18, 2009 @ 2:01 am
any review about the new ninja zx-6r 2009 model?
thinking of buying it someday
vroom vroom
March 18, 2009 @ 2:50 am
vroom rules. thanks to Mohan K.R for great review… more please Paul.
March 18, 2009 @ 8:14 am
Aprilia has got new a new weapon in their arsenal, the RSV4, which already battling for podium in the World Superbikes this year. Would be interested to see, perhaps Aprilia entered into Supersports territory to challenge the likes of Big 4 & Triumph.
March 18, 2009 @ 10:56 am
Great review by Mohan K.R…..can recalled during my biking days (10-12yrs ago when i still got hairs…hahahaha), one of our riding buddy ride an RS125…will smoke us on the big cc sbk on tight corners (kuala klawang type route) and can only stay ahead of him on long fast sweepers. Really have high corner speed but u must be very2x brave + a bit mental…heheheheh
March 18, 2009 @ 6:34 pm
you can search youtube and listen for the exhaust note.. try leo vince.
March 18, 2009 @ 6:59 pm
[quote comment="221977"]Thanks. More reviews will depend on Paul getting the invitation to test and me having the time available.[/quote]
great review, and if possible, please review the latest Kawa ER6N 2009.
[quote comment="221925"]r u sure? damn expensive for a 150cc
cheers![/quote]
yeap, thats what u have to pay for this italian beauty.
March 19, 2009 @ 3:19 pm
Gua tapau 3 rs125 bikers at kuala kelawang road with my 11year old tzm last weekend. Lol..
April 4, 2009 @ 8:56 pm
wait until belang 150 released..can beat this aprilia lor…LC 135 pun bungkus….nice bike belang 150…
April 9, 2009 @ 12:29 pm
how much is this bike?? wow.. loook so nicee
April 17, 2009 @ 11:47 am
How much does this bike cost???
May 12, 2009 @ 10:01 am
Gua tapau 3 rs125 bikers at kuala kelawang road with my 11year old tzm last weekend. Lol..
yeah i agree, last time (maybe 3 times kot?) my tzm also smoking rs125 at PLUS h/way…until they gone from my side mirror…heheh :p
May 12, 2009 @ 2:10 pm
[quote comment="226958"]wait until belang 150 released..can beat this aprilia lor…LC 135 pun bungkus….nice bike belang 150…[/quote]
yeah.. i saw it on tv.. the belang was so gorgeous.. waahh.. i really want to ride the bike..
June 16, 2009 @ 1:17 am
ini moto brapa puluh sen?
June 25, 2009 @ 4:16 pm
memang cun abis… kalau pakai ni mau bising bini aku sampai pagi. maklumlah nak naik tak boleh..
August 11, 2009 @ 12:35 pm
rs 125 cun..but old zxr 250 ’sound’ better..