Aprilia 125 sighting

I saw a nice Aprilia RS125 in Taichung today. It looked new, and had one of those fancy wavy brake disc things that have become popular in the last couple of years. It had a regular white plate and appeared to be fully legal.

I asked the rider where he bought it. He said in Taipei, through a company he found on the internet. I wanted to get more details, but we were at the traffic lights so couldn’t talk for long.

So the days of zippy little two-strokes may not be quite over yet. I wonder whether these bikes have got type approval and how they passed emissions tests. There was a noticeable puff of smoke as this one accelerated off.

if an nsr150 can pass the test, i’m sure an rs125 can… it’s a much more refined bike than the nsr…

besides… on that site for the bikes given in that other thread, i noticed the aprilia rs250 was represented… which seems to indicate that it’s possible to get a legal one…

The emissions regulations have been tightened since the NSR150s were type approved. If a new version of the NSR150 were released, I don’t think it would get type approval. The ones that are already here can continue to be used because they only have to meet standards that were in force when they were registered.

Yes, I saw that RS250 on the official site. Intriguing but I really can’t see how they could meet emissions regs.

Maybe the RS125 was type approved several years ago. How long have they been around?

As you say, it seems like an altogether more refined beast than the NSR, so perhaps it just manages to scrape in under the emissions limits.

The last RS125s to be legally plated were back in 1997. Any newer Aprillia RS’s you see now are bikes who have had there engine and VIN numbers changed (illegally) to match the registration from a pre-1997 model. However, I know of 2 2002 RS250s that were legally plated in Taipei, and are the only 2 known that passed the emissions test. The owner paid around $800,000NT each to get them legal. That was when the banned on big bikes was first lifted. No 2-stroke would make it through the emissions tests now.

There was a dedicated Aprillia shop in Toayuan for about 14 years, and in 1992 you could buy a spanking new one for 160,000NT.

Maybe the emissions standards are less stringent for smaller bikes.

I’ve ridden the 125cc Aprillia two stroke, and at 30+bhp, it’s a smoking fun little bike.

[quote=“MotorcycleRider”]The last RS125s to be legally plated were back in 1997. Any newer Aprillia RS’s you see now are bikes who have had there engine and VIN numbers changed (illegally) to match the registration from a pre-1997 model.[/quote]Right. So it was either a pre '97 bike in pristine condition., or a new one with the numbers changed.

[quote=“MotorcycleRider”]However, I know of 2 2002 RS250s that were legally plated in Taipei, and are the only 2 known that passed the emissions test. The owner paid around $800,000NT each to get them legal. That was when the banned on big bikes was first lifted.[/quote]I wonder whether those two bikes are the reason for the RS250 photos on the official DMV site.

Friend of mine has an aprillia 250 smoker. He uses one of those pre 97 125cc registrations to put a white plate on it.