Exclusive: India-bound Aprilia RS 150 Spied

The motorcycle is quite similar to the one showcased in India, but there’s a big twist in the tale

• The bike was spotted at a dealer event in Goa.
• Compared to the bike shown at the 2018 Auto Expo, there seem to be some subtle changes to the bodywork.
• Expected to be launched as early as mid-2019 in India.

Showcased at the Auto Expo 2018, the Aprilia RS 150 concept garnered a lot of attention from show goers and enthusiasts alike. While Aprilia didn’t give a definitive launch timeline for the bike, the production-spec version was expected to debut at the 2020 Auto Expo. But now, there has been an interesting development. What we suspect to be the production-spec Aprilia RS 150  has been spotted in Goa during a dealer meet. However, compared to the Aprilia RS 150 showcased at the 2018 Expo, there seem to be quite a few subtle changes in this motorcycle.

We dug a little deeper, only to find out that this bike is actually the Zongshen Aprilia GPR150 (APR150-V) sold in the Chinese market. The Chinese motorcycle and the one spotted in India look exactly the same. Even the paint job, fairing design and underpinnings appear to be the same. The bike sold in China features a 149cc DOHC liquid-cooled engine producing 18PS at 9750rpm and 14Nm at 7500rpm. Interestingly enough, the RS 150 showcased at the Expo also made the same numbers. It does point to the possibility that Aprilia has plonked in this engine in the India-spec bike. 

Underpinnings for the Chinese motorcycle include 41mm upside down forks and a rear monoshock. It also gets disc brakes on both ends - 300mm at the front with a radial caliper. The bike shown at the dealer event doesn’t appear to have an ABS ring, but expect the production-spec bike to feature the same to comply with our norms. Both the India-spec RS 150 and the Chinese APR150-V appear to be sharing the same perimeter frame coupled with the odd-looking gullwing-box-section hybrid swingarm. The motorcycle weighs 140kg, and comes with a 15.4-litre fuel tank.

It is likely that Aprilia will be bringing in this motorcycle instead of the one shown at the Expo. Perhaps, it will rebrand the China-spec bike as the Aprilia RS 150 for our market. Also, to keep the cost competitive, the brand will most likely manufacture the bike here. We expect Aprilia to launch this bike as early as mid-2019 or by late 2019. Expect Aprilia to price this motorcycle at around Rs 1.6 lakh (ex-showroom). Once launched, it will compete against the Yamaha YZF-R15 v3.0.

Image credits - Chandresh Revankar