A Great Urban Bike - worth every cent
Written: Dec 13 '05
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Pros: Handling, quality, storage, lots and lots of fun.
Cons: Remember that it is a 50cc when you buy it - interstate trips are out.
The Bottom Line: A great machine for city living. You should at least test ride it before you buy a scooter.
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| srstu's Full Review: 2005 Aprilia SR 50 Ditech |
I bought my 2005 SR 50 Factory five months ago and have been riding it as my daily transport since then. It is an outstanding scooter for daily use in the city. With a top box and the underseat storage I manage to take my laptop, files and lunch to work every day and still carry some light wet weather gear just in case. (Sydney, Australia, where I live, is dry but has sudden summer thunderstorms).
The construction quality is very good. There was one small initial problem with the turning indicator light on the dash board but that was quickly fixed. It is a solid machine and all the locks, buttons and switches are solid.
The outstanding feature of the bike is its handling. I've ridden several cheap scooters and my partner's Aprilia Mojito and none of them handle like this. Even a BMW F650GS I rode in Europe recently didn't have the same level of control. At first the SR seems a little nervous but you quickly realise that it is you, not the scooter. After four months I have found out that it will lean over quite happily to a point where people on the street stop and look at you as you go around the corner like you were on a Suzuki GSX-R or similar sport machine.
The double disc brakes pull it up like a charm (my friend who rides a Honda CBR-600 recently took it for a ride and almost went over the handlebars the first time he squeezed the brakes). In fact, you need to be careful when coming to a hard stop that the vehicles behind you are stopping too - a lot of car drivers just don't seem to realise that a scooter can stop so quickly.
The engine may be a technical marvel (all the DiTech stuff) but it is also smooth and powerful. For a 50cc scooter it really has some power. This is not to say that it is like a 500cc - but that it is quite enough for inner city riding. It is quite easy to keep up with the traffic in the city and I often pull out in front of cars from the kerb side lane at the traffic lights. I am a big bloke (101kg) so this is quite an achievement. I had the derestriction done (removed the restricting washer in the variator and the new engine mapping installed) and I have ordered a Leo Vince pipe to get the extra power. It's not that I need to power around town, but on my weekends I like to go for a ride down the coast from Sydney through the Royal National Park and along the coast road, and I would like a little more power up the long open hills. It drops back to 50 to 60 km/h up the steeper hills, but most of the time it cruises nicely at 70 to 80. Out there you do reach the limitations of a 50cc - although still, it does rides comfortably that on any other 50 I just wouldn't attempt.
So, worth it? Yes indeed! Good quality, minimal petrol consumption, sports handling. I recommend this bike to anyone who wants a scooter for the classic scooter things - zooming around town and the occasional trip a little further afield.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): AUS4990
Condition: New
Model Year: 2005
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Epinions.com ID:
srstu
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Reviews written: 1
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