Aprilia SX 125 2022 — Specifications

When Aprilia resurrected the SX 125 in 2018, after a few years of absence from the catalog, many raised their eyebrows. A four-stroke 125 cm3 supermotard, when the two-stroke version had bet everything on ferocity and noise? The gamble seemed risky. A few years later, and notably with this 2022 version inheriting Euro5 revisions, the machine asserts its character with a logic that is difficult to contest.

What strikes you first is the seriousness of the chassis. Aprilia didn't do things halfway: 41 mm inverted fork, progressive linkage monoshock, generous suspension travel for a machine in this category. The 134 kg fully fueled remain manageable, and the 880 mm seat height announces the color. Here we are on a machine designed for a standing pilot, with bent knees, in the claimed supermotard style. The 17-inch spoked rims are fitted with sport tires, the 300 mm front disc bites with authority, and ABS integrates a rear wheel lift-up function. The latter point is worth stopping at: finding this kind of electronics on a small displacement engine is exceptional. Faced with a KTM Duke 125 or a Husqvarna Svartpilen 125, the Aprilia SX 125 scores a clear point on this ground.

The engine plays by the strict rules of the A1 license. The 124.8 cm3 four-stroke single cylinder, bored to 58 mm for a stroke of 47 mm, produces 15 horsepower at 10,000 rpm and 11.2 Nm of torque at 8,000 rpm. The six-speed gearbox allows this little block to live, which has been seriously reworked during the transition to Euro5 standards: redesigned combustion chamber, iridium spark plug, more aggressive camshafts, new mapping via the Magneti-Marelli MIUG4 ECU. The goal was not to gain horsepower, the law opposes it, but to make the engine more flexible and more available at intermediate speeds. The maximum speed of the Aprilia SX 125 is capped at 120 km/h, in line with category expectations, and the announced consumption of 2.6 liters per 100 km makes the small 7-liter tank less restrictive than it appears.

We're not going to pretend that this 2022 Aprilia SX 125 is for everyone. The 880 mm seat height initially selects its audience, and smaller-statured riders will have to think twice before signing a purchase order. At 4,099 euros, the price is in the high end of the category, but the richness of the equipment justifies the gap with some less well-equipped competitors. For a young A1 license holder looking for an engaging machine rather than a simple means of transportation, or for an adult looking for a light and technical machine, the SX finds its legitimacy. Those who still dream of the brutality of the two-stroke Aprilia SX 125 used to accept that this page is turned. The four-stroke has gained maturity what the two-stroke had in savagery.

The result is a consistent, well-equipped machine that fully embraces its sporty positioning in a segment too often populated by bland motorcycles disguised as supermotards. The Aprilia SX 125 technical specifications speak for themselves: it's not the machine that will make you forget the larger displacements, but it's the one that will teach you to ride.