okay, i am now 17 and want to derestrict my aprilia rs 50, but i read somewhere it was hard? I mean can you send my a link to a tutorial vid or someit? Can you get it done at a dealer ship? Also would it be cheaper just to get a big bore kit? Plus will you need like new brakes etc
6 Answers
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Mad Jack’s answer covers most of the situation but is US oriented– You post from UK and mention just termed 17 so the UK laws restricting 16 year olds was in affect when you got the restricted scooter as that was all you were legally allowed to ride. Now you can legally ride faster than 30mph, you are used to the scooter and it is a model/make that is made in unrestricted form capable of doing 40/45mph- so may as well do it for another year until you turn 18 and can get your 15hp /125cc license with new test. the UK graduated license drill is a bit silly for us old US riders that used to ride 1200 Harley’s or 200cc Cubs with a basic car license at 16. Get it done at dealer, upgrade your paperwork, insurance and try to survive until 21(?) when you can legally ride a over 33 hp motorcycle- and by that time will have saved up enough money, be out of school and have a job or done a military tour so will make a informed reasonable choice of ride. .
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Aprilia Rs 50 Performance Parts
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How many times do we see questions like this on Yahoo Answers each day?
I have this little 50cc scooter. It’s slow. I want to make it faster.
Guess what, it is slow for a couple of reasons. Most local laws that qualify this as a moped require that a 50cc scooter go less than 30 MPH (48 KM/h) on a level surface. They are also usually limited to 3 horsepower or less by law. Most modifications that would make this scooter any faster than it is will also make it illegal.
It doesn’t take much to get caught with an illegal scooter. You only need to be seen buzzing by at 40 MPH and the police know exactly what you have done. Get caught and expect to have your scooter impounded and expect a fine. Have an accident on an illegal scooter and don’t expect your insurance company to pay.
If you soup the crap out of this scooter there is very limited potential in this tiny motor. If you were to increase the power an unrealistic 100%, that’s only a measly 6 HP.
You have 3 choices here.
Choice 1:
Keep it as it is and be satisfied with what you have.
Choice 2:
Throw lots of money at it in parts and labor only to realize minor improvements in performance. Then discover that you have now made your scooter unreliable because you are putting too much power to the rest of the drive line components and things are starting to break. So now, you need to throw even more money at it in repairs. You will also discover that you will very quickly run out of gearing. You can only rev this tiny motor so fast, no matter what you do to it. In addition, the transmission design of most scooters makes them difficult to change the final gearing. Therefore, what you end up with is a scooter that will accelerate better and slows less going up hill. However when pushed too hard on level ground your risk catastrophic engine failure. Spinning a little engine that is designed to max out at 7000 RPM to over 9000 RPM and you are asking for trouble. Your little souped up scooter quickly ends up a worthless pile of junk.
The small tires found on most scooters and mopeds are not safe above 35 to 40 MPH (55 to 65 KM/h). Have you ever heard of “Death Wobble”? It’s not pretty.
Choice 3:
Enroll in an accredited Motorcycle Safety Course and start working at getting your motorcycle license. Sell this tiny 50cc scooter. Take the money from the sale. Add the large amount of money that you would have spent on upgrades and repairs. Put it towards something with a larger engine. Maybe a 125 or better yet a 250. If you are restricted to 50cc or a certain horsepower, this may not be an option. You will need to wait until you are old enough for a motorcycle.
A 125cc or 250cc motorcycle will be much faster than your tiny 50cc scooter could ever hope to be. And since the drive line components of this larger bike will be matched to the power of the larger engine from the factory, it will be a much more reliable ride.
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If it’s the old am6 engine (made before 2006/7) then literally all you need to do is take the large washers out of the exhaust although it’s a lot easier to buy a sports exhaust,
Post 2006/7 they put the slightly more sophisticated Derbi engines in them. It is still restricted via the exhaust so again you can just remove the washers but it will also be restricted via the CDI unit (so you’d have to buy an aftermarket one to fully de-restrict it. Same situation with the 125cc’s).
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I had my 50cc scooter de-restricted by a dealership at 17, and it’s a well known one. So I’m presuming you can, you’ll just have to notify your insurance company of the changes, otherwise it may void your insurance. It cost me around £100 to have it done. A big bore will more then likely cause reliability issues, not to mention put strain onto the engine; also the brakes & tyres etc are not designed for that kind of speed. It will be kind of pointless, you’re better off upgrading to a 125cc.
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You are better off selling it and getting a 125cc as if you de restrict a moped it needs re classing with DVLA as a motorbike and your insurers need to be notified. Plus de restricting may get you 10mph extra on your speedo (5mph true speed) so not worth the extra cost and unreliability.
Big bore kits are the quick road to engine rebuilds, very few will last over 12 months so avoid.