Aprilia RS125R

Although I dont own the bike, a mate of mine owns one, its is a 2001 fx plate, in Matt Black,red and Silver, (other colours for the year are Yellow,grey and gloss black)
He brought the bike as new last october, the first thing he noticed was the sheer size, as compared to other 125's it is very wide and very short, this makes it very roomy for shortish people but a little hard on the wrists for those of us over 6 foot. Upon turning the key, you see the very nice digital display turn on, desplaying the time, and a choice of Engine Temp, Lap Timer(which can be set using the left hand thumb button) and Battery voltage. For when you start the bike up, you really want it on Engine temp ( change using middle button on the left side of the display screen), if it is the first time that you have started the bike up that day it will nearly always display "cold", this will mean that you will have to open the choke, this done by sliding the lever ,on the inside of the right hand bar, towards the rider, once open press , and hold if neccessary, the starter button on the underside of the left hand bar, untill the engine sparks in to life. You should let the engine warm it's self up, without touching the throttle (as this can flood the engine) you will the see the digital display change from cold to 30* you will the start to see it rise slowly, this is when you can start to take off the choke, till it is totally off at about 45*, now you can ride. The bike should not be pushed hard until the temperature exceeds 70*, but once it has the bike becomes a load of fun.

Riding

This bike is easy to ride, due to its lack of power, the first thing you notice is that it is not very strong below 8000rpm, but the second you go beyond
this, the bike really takes off, as from my experience of having a go on it, it will take you be surprise as it wrenches you arms out of there sockets as it tears off down the road propelling the bike and rider up and over 110mph . Also due to its light weight it is and 33bhp (derestricted) two stroke engine (fully synth recommended, silkolene Pro 2) it can carry very high corner speeds, and those with knee sliders can start wearing them away very quickly.

So far I have only mentioned the points, but there are some real downers to come with buying this bike, First up, it is very unreliable, Speedo bearings go quickly, front wheel bearings ( dangerous as this can cause the wheel to lock or become very lose, even fall out,) then the radiator can blow very quickly, thid causes a chain reaction throughout the engine, as everything becomes warped and twisted, meaning a full engine rebuild. The clutch also goes quickly. All this with in 7 months of buying new, with only 5000 km on the clock. Its a good job the UK Specs come with a 3 year warranty!
Secondly, it is rather uncomfortable after traveling any more than about 50 miles, and the pillion seat offers little resistance to the poor passenger falling off the back when accelerating.
last of all Aprilia, being Italian, takes ages with getting replacement parts in to the country which can leave the bike unusable for long periods while you wait.

Overall this is a good bike to learn to ride on, and to show off, but you really need to have enough money to afford the constant repairs and the very expensive insurance (700+ tpft best quote with Bikerplus) and the fuel bill (35mpg or less).