A nice machine, but not for me
Written: May 18 '07
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Reliability: |
 |
|
| Comfort: |
 |
|
| Handling And Control: |
 |
|
| Quality and Craftsmanship: |
|
|
|
Pros: Storage, braking power, overall handling
Cons: Looks, height, seat comfort, squealing, wind-sensitivity
The Bottom Line: Take it for a test ride to decide if it will suit you or not.
|
|
|
| bridgeybou's Full Review: 2000 Aprilia SR Racing 50 |
My husband bought me an Aprilia SR50 for Christmas in '05, and I was thrilled. It was on backorder, so I didn't get to test ride it first - big mistake. We had to wait weeks, but when I finally got it, I was....kind of horrified. It was a lot bigger than I imagined (I'm 5'6" and 120 lbs.), and I really couldn't envision myself mastering that beast. Granted, that might be because my husband and I had to pull it out of a mini-van when we got it home, and we nearly dropped it many, many times! When we finally got it to the ground and I tried just sitting on it, I'm ashamed to admit it, but I was in tears - my weeks of excitement were all for naught, I thought the bike was out of my league - I could barely touch the ground on my toes, and felt like I would inevitably drop it and / or get significantly injured while trying to adjust to its large size.
My husband cheered me and encouraged me enough to get me on the scoot and gingerly riding it. Doing laps around a nearby parking lot slowly pushed my confidence up, and soon I was racing around corners and pushing the speed to its highest levels. The bike slowly started to feel smaller and actually very manageable. I felt great - but then, I took to the street and found myself struggling. My center of gravity felt nonexistent when it came to stopping and going, because the more stopping and going I did, the more I struggled. Turning from a complete stop, especially, was rough because leaning on that turn seemed to throw off the whole balance. I immediately knew I needed a bike lower to the ground to offer more balance and stability. It was also a fairly windy day, and even the smaller gusts were throwing me way off my course and nearly into oncoming traffic. As the weeks and months went by, I just couldn't get the confidence I needed to comfortably ride the SR50. A year or so after we bought it, we sold it.
Here are the great perks of the SR50: really exceptional handling - I felt comfortable leaning to the extreme in turns from the beginning on this thing, but only when I had the speed already established to carry me through. It accelerates powerfully (though I always hated the high-pitched squeals it emitted). The brakes are extremely responsive. The under-seat locking storage space is awesome. Mostly, I absolutely loved that it could support a passenger. It hauled my husband and I together about as well as it hauled us apart, though I had to be almost like a 2nd driver and lean with every turn (something I do anyway thanks to growing up with a dad who took us on motorcycle rides from about birth).
Here are the drawbacks: in my opinion, the SR50 is unattractive. I think it looks cheesy and as though it was designed with youth in mind, and it looks and feels deceptively cheap. I prefer a more rugged look, but this resembles a toy. The seat, in my female opinion, is not very comfortable, and the passenger "seat" is even less comfortable. The brakes, powerful as they are, can be a little scary if you panic and squeeze them too hard. And because the bike is so tall, it is much more likely to be affected by a windy day than one with a lower center of gravity. Despite its weight, it can get thrown around a bit by wind (but maybe that's because I don't have a man's weight working in my favor).
All in all, as a woman, this bike just didn't work for me. My husband, however, desperately wants this scooter back and plans to buy one for himself as soon as we can afford it. With that in mind, I'm not by any means condemning the SR50, but just saying that it didn't offer what I wanted. I opted for the Honda Ruckus and am more than pleased with my choice.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 2600
Condition: New
Model Year: 2004
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
bridgeybou
|
|
Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.