First impressions: 2018 Aprilia RX and SX 125
Initial thoughts from our Laura in Germany, riding Aprilia's mini-dirtbike and supermoto
APRILIA HAS tasked us with reliving our hooligan teenage biking years on the RX and SX125 launch today. For me, that’s barely 1,000 days ago so yobbo Laura comes naturally (did she ever really leave?). And the RX/SX is the perfect bike for the job.
Weighing 136kg wet, with a 124cc single cylinder four-stroke lump and making just 15hp, the spec sheet alone isn’t enough to get your pulse racing. In fact, that Derbi-derived lump harks from the 2010 GPR125 and certainly wouldn’t win any prizes for its cutting edge tech. But hop aboard the 880/905mm seat (and balance precariously on your tippy toes) and you’ll soon realise that power is irrelevant when you’re having this much fun.
The little Aprilia is light and agile. You have to rev the shit out of it to make the most of that little engine, but when you get to the rev sweet spot it’s perky and power delivery isn’t bad - providing you’re in the right gear that is.
The RX is the off-road version, with a 21 inch front and 18 inch rear, while the SX wears supermoto shoes, with a 17/17" set up. Both are clad in CST tyres - no doubt an initialism for China’s shittiest tyres, although that won’t matter for long as you’ll soon square them off nicely with the obligatory ‘skids 4 daiz’...
The only other difference between the two is the rear sprocket - the SX has 62 teeth – a whole 7 teeth less than the RX (kind of like Alan and me). I haven’t yet ridden the supermoto but will report back in due course.
At £3,399 it’s cheap and cheerful and Brembo ABS up front makes up for maybe less-than-Aprilia quality elsewhere.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to spank a supermoto around a go kart track...
More from LT on the RX and SX ASAP.
