Aprilia's Junior Harley

Aprilia's junior Harley

Harley clones are all the rage in Italy, rivaling even the popularity of the Paris-Dakar replicas. In general, image is everything, and even more so with the Harley lovers, but the real thing is too expensive for young Italian riders. So, Aprilia is doing something for the young rider who is still in school and can’t afford anything more than a 50cc runabout. That’s the philosophy, at least, behind the Red Rose from the flourishing Aprilia factory, now Number Two in the Italian market.

The Red Rose may have an English name, but it’s as Yankee as apple pie and mom—that is, apart from the 50cc, liquid-cooled, six-speed, two-stroke engine that provides the most unHarleyesque exhaust note you’ve ever heard. As a cheeky styling exercise, the Red Rose is hard to beat; but with a price of just over $2000, it’s not cheap. Still, the Red Rose is affordable to the average Italian youngster who can only dream of ever being rich enough to own a Harley costing ten times more.

—Alan Cathcart