Aprilia RS150 and Tuono 150 will soon be a reality for the Indian market. Piaggio, the parent brand for Aprilia India, seems to be happy with the response that both these bikes got after being displayed at Auto Expo 2018. They have officially revealed that both Aprilia RS 150 and Tuono 150 will be made in India. More than that, they have even hinted at an upcoming platform that will support 250cc-400cc engine with Aprilia badge. This segment is witnessing impressive growth levels as buyers are jumping single cylinder benchmark to reach products with extraordinary potential. These are lightweight and thus, one gets class leading feel during every ride.
Aprilia’s presence in India is exclusively through Piaggio dealerships while superbikes and other performance centric products are retailed through limited number of Motoplex dealerships. When it comes to these two upcoming products, they will definitely retail through the bigger network as Aprilia will need to bring bigger numbers to justify their presence among mass market brand Yamaha and sport centric options like Kawasaki and Benelli. Aprilia could name the upcoming 250cc-400cc product under RS series but one should not expect any prototype spotting feast before 2019. The 150cc duo could save on research by sharing their frame with RS 125.
Piaggio will use single cylinder, liquid cooled and fuel injected 150cc engine producing 18 HP and 14 Nm in India. This makes RS 150 a direct rival to Yamaha R15 V3 while Tuono 150 will be a unique offering with no street bike in competition. Local production will help them keep cost under check. As April 2019 will see all bikes switching to ABS above 125cc limit, Aprilia RS 150 will offer dual channel ABS as stock at time of its launch. On the other hand, Yamaha will need to bring ABS into their lightweight racer, taking the price up by a minimum of INR 10,000. As per the latest details available, Aprilia India will open the bookings for RS150 and Tuono 150 in December 2018, and the official launch is expected to happen between January-March 2019.
