Impulse buy of the weekend: Italian Sportbike Edition

"Decay buys too many beaters" (decay)
05/07/2018 at 13:39 • Filed to: decay's beaters, tiny racebike, Aprilia, 50cc

Yet another motorcycle appears to have come to my house and adopted me as it’s owner. And this one is fancy! And Italian! And rare!

A friend of mine has a couple Aprilia SR50 factory scooters which I’ve had the chance to ride. Both impressed the hell out of me in terms of what a 50cc was capable of. As a result I’ve had an IFTTT recipe set up for about 6 months now in order to find an SR for myself to ride around the city. Unfortunately the market’s been pretty dry lately and I haven’t seen any real good deals. Well thanks to a quick dyslexia moment by the seller, this RS50 triggered my search and sent me a notification. Two hours later it was in my garage.

Power comes from a carbureted water cooled 50cc two stroke and gets put through an impossibly close ratio 6 speed transmission. It certainly won’t light your hair on fire, but at 10-12 HP (depending on where you look) it’s pretty damn impressive for 0.05L. From about 6k through the 11.5k redline it pulls with surprising eagerness and makes a fantastic noise doing it.

This one has been sitting for the better part of a decade, so the carb is a little gummed up. Runs and rides just fine, but it won’t hold idle. Thankfully parts for these are cheap and pretty easy to come by (as long as you are willing to ship from Europe). So far it seems pretty easy to work on, everything is laid out in a logical fashion with easy access to all service areas.

I’m excited, this thing is going to be a riot once it’s back to 100%. The more I ride them, the more I find myself drawn to low displacement bikes, just like the “slow car fast” principal, there is something really fun about a motorcycle you can really wring out in most situations.

DISCUSSION (26)

CaptDale - is secretly British > Decay buys too many beaters
05/07/2018 at 13:42

That is awesome!!! Welcome to the Aprilia club. I have heard those 50cc bikes are a hoot.

JCAlan > Decay buys too many beaters
05/07/2018 at 13:45

Wait, FIFTY cc two-stroke? That’s weird, man. I love it!

Decay buys too many beaters > CaptDale - is secretly British
05/07/2018 at 13:49

I’m surprised so far, for all the shit people talk about reliability, everything on it seems well thought through and of high quality. Time will tell, but I know my friend has around 4k in the last year on his SR50 with zero issues.

It’s astonishing for the displacement. I need to bring it out to the drags to see it it’s faster than my Grom. Pretty sure it is.

bob and john > Decay buys too many beaters
05/07/2018 at 13:50

RINNNNGGG DA DING DING DING DING DING DING DING RING RING DRING DING DING DING

I really need to come out and help you exersise some of these :D

Decay buys too many beaters > JCAlan
05/07/2018 at 13:51

YES! 0.05L 50CC.

Apparently, some places in Europe limit 16 year old riders to 50cc bikes. Aprilia decided to make to dopest 50 they could for that market.

CaptDale - is secretly British > Decay buys too many beaters
05/07/2018 at 13:53

Yeah... My Aprilia so far hasn’t been very reliable, but I believe that is mostly from very poor previous owners.

Decay buys too many beaters > bob and john
05/07/2018 at 13:54

There needs to be a few decel pops in there, but you’re close :p

Decay buys too many beaters > CaptDale - is secretly British
05/07/2018 at 13:58

Previous owner on mine seems to have neglected a bit, but it’s a two stroke single, even if everything is broken, it’s easy enough to tear down and build back up.

Biggus Dickus (RevsBro) > Decay buys too many beaters
05/07/2018 at 14:03

There is a mint RS250 for sale near me. I REALLY want it!

CaptDale - is secretly British > Decay buys too many beaters
05/07/2018 at 14:06

yeah... My Falco 1000 has been a PIA

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Decay buys too many beaters
05/07/2018 at 15:12

Hey is that for racing?

Decay buys too many beaters > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
05/07/2018 at 15:24

Ha! I had some dude on a Honda 600 try to race me from a light on the ride home after buying.

feather-throttle-not-hair > Decay buys too many beaters
05/07/2018 at 15:38

Man, i have a weird love for those. I don’t ride, but that would kinda be my choice, just because it kinda embodies whatever the bike equivalent of “slow car fast”

Decay buys too many beaters > feather-throttle-not-hair
05/07/2018 at 15:43

100%

For the record, I love my Triumph, but she does 75 in first gear. I don’t get to do a pull more than once or twice a commute, going out to the canyons is a different thing all together, but for normal transportation type riding it’s almost boring. The Grom on the other hand (and I assume this will be similar) lets me do a WOT pull through multiple gears in traffic without breaking laws.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Decay buys too many beaters
05/07/2018 at 15:56

How long until you start shopping for more garage space?

Decay buys too many beaters > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
05/07/2018 at 16:01

I made an interesting realization while I was moving it in. The Aprilia will fit in my house...

Kinja'd!!!

I’ll also have a whole bay free once I get the lift installed :p

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Decay buys too many beaters
05/07/2018 at 16:02

Then you should be able to fit the Grom and scooters in the house too! Just go ahead and start buying all the bikes on Craigslist. ALL OF THEM

Decay buys too many beaters > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
05/07/2018 at 16:04

They don’t :(

Both the Ruckus and the Grom have motocross bars that are too wide to clear the door.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Decay buys too many beaters
05/07/2018 at 19:06

So what’s your problem? Bars are easy to remove!

Decay buys too many beaters > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
05/07/2018 at 19:35

Actually... doors are pretty easy to remove. Hmmmmmm....

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Decay buys too many beaters
05/07/2018 at 19:43

Also a fact. And as for the bars I just meant unbolt them and pay to the side with everything else attached. Either way, pretty easy. But remember, if you go the door route, and feel like you’re going to drop it when moving it, drop it away from the bikes!

Decay buys too many beaters > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
05/07/2018 at 19:47

I could also knock down a few walls and more than double my garage space!

Mercedes Streeter > Decay buys too many beaters
05/08/2018 at 16:30

Woah...that’s a 50cc bike? With looks like that, I would have guessed much higher displacement!

Decay buys too many beaters > Mercedes Streeter
05/08/2018 at 16:35

Over in Europe they are called “sport mopeds” or more commonly “Sixteener specials”. Apparently, in some countries, 16 year olds are not allowed to own anything larger than 50cc, so a few companies have built sport bikes to chase that market. After the upgrades I’m planning, it should be capable of 65-70mph while still being 50cc!

Mercedes Streeter > Decay buys too many beaters
05/09/2018 at 14:22

TIL, thank! :) Holy smokes 70mph on 500cc sounds rather amazing.

Decay buys too many beaters > Mercedes Streeter
05/09/2018 at 14:26

Well, I’ve got my ruckus knocking on the door of 60mph while still being 50cc, but that’s on a slight downhill with favorable wind conditions! This, I’m hoping, will be able to sustain more than 60 on a flat.