The Aprilia RS 50 is the raciest 50cc bike ever offered to the public for legal street use in the USA. The Fluo Red example you see here is a current 2009 model. As with most of the prior year models, the '09 also comes in black. The RS 50 has been offered in a variety of colors and graphics patterns over the years, most of some combination of black, red, white, and silver in flashy patterns. No technical component of the RS 50 has been left in the past. Although the wheels are still seventeen inches, just like those on the original Honda 50, the tire compound and tread have been strongly influenced by the racetrack and the brakes are discs. The engine is a 50cc liquid-cooled two-stroke making six horsepower through a six-speed transmission. The top speed claimed is between 50 mph and 70 mph, and I'm sure that is a function of gearing and rider weight. Two nonracetrack-inspired items are the oil injection and electric starter, but the aluminum, perimeter box frame, full fairing, fat gas tank, thin seat pads, upside down fork and monoshock all scream racer!
Of course the price for this exotic little hotrod minisquirt is a lot bigger than its displacement, and that's the leading reason the little Italian is rare on American streets. I have never seen a new RS 50 listed at less than $3595, the official 2004 base price, making it somewhat higher than the cost of a Kawasaki Ninja 250!
See Also: The Aprilia RS 50 Page
The RS 50 Wikipedia Page
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