TWIST and go!

APRILIA’S MOTTO IS “DESIGNED FOR RACERS, BUILT FOR RIDERS” — BUT DOES THAT TRANSLATE TO ITS SCOOTER RANGE?

I’ll admit that even with my usual level of enthusiasm at collecting a shiny new bike, I wasn’t expecting a heck of a lot from Aprilia’s SR125 “Motard” scooter out of the box.

After grabbing it from Bayride Motorcycles in Tauranga — straight off the showroom floor — with just 1km reading on the digital display, I was expecting my 80km ride home along the state highway network to take much longer than the norm.

However, to my surprise, the little Aprilia not only made the trip in easy fashion, it hit the legal highway speed limit straight out of the box. An impressive feat, considering it was still, technically, running in when I handed it back and was pushing a top speed which, at times, would get a speeding ticket from the boys in blue.

Behind all the plastic at the rear of the SR125, is a 124cc 4-stroke single cylinder punching out a seemingly tiny 9.5hp and 8.2Nm of torque.

A powerhouse this motor is not, but when combined with a CVT transmission, the little scoot makes happy progress no matter where you take it.

Like the majority of scoots these days you simply hop aboard the plush seat — which looks fantastic in red and black — turn the key, and throttle away with no more to it. The hardest part is popping the bike off its centre-stand, which, depending on which way you look at it, is either a Godsend or an oversight, due to it being the only stand option.

Thumbing the starter requires you to hold the brake lever (there’s no clutch, obviously) and once the motor has sung itself to life you ease off on your next adventure.

With the SR125 my steed for a wacky and highly entertaining ride around the Waikato with the Moped NZ MC club, I set off from Cambridge to meet the group out on the road and grab some of the action as they passed through.

Heading into the hills near Te Miro, I was impressed by the Aprilia’s ease at maintaining a decent speed up the tight and twisty road through the hills. Sure, it’s not designed for running