Intermot 2016: Aprilia launches Tuono 125 and RS125
Aprilia has just taken the wraps of their two new offerings - the RS125 and the Tuono 125. The RS125 is the same RS4 125, the brand's learner legal 125 that looks like the bigger RSV4. If you remember, this is the same four-stroke bike that replaced the two-stroke RS125 in 2011. For the new model year, the motorcycle gets a fresh name in celebration of 25 years of the RS. The new motorcycle is now Euro-IV compliant and gets underseat storage big enough for a tablet and a USB charging point.
The bigger news though is the Tuono 125. The name was previously used for the two-stroke, 125cc motorcycle that was discontinued in 2005. The new Tuono 125 is again based on the newly unveiled RS125 and uses the same 124cc, DOHC single cylinder. The fuel-injected, liquid-cooled motor makes 15PS and 11Nm of torque. It is ready to be fitted with Aprilia's quickshift system - the same that is used in the bigger Tuono. It is styled on the same lines as the bigger Tuono and is essentially a RS125 without the full fairing and with a flat handlebar.
Will they come to India? Unlikely. Firstly, the RS4 125 used to sell for Rs 3.8 lakh in the UK. That price for a 125 isn't something the Indian customers will accept. Secondly, the main market for the motorcycle, even in Europe, is as a learner motorcycle used by people holding restricted licenses - a situation that doesn't exist in India. So until the India customers mature to that extent and there is a huge change in the licensing system, the motorcycles make no sense for us.