That is the youngest age at which anyone can ride a motorcycle on the road, and while that age also limits you to a 50cc Motorbike proficient of no more than 30mph, now there is a larger and more varied selection of machines available than ever before. In other words, if you’re 16, there’s never been a better time to put away the PS4, turn off Netflix, and do something much cooler as well as exciting instead.
To assist you in doing so, we’ve updated our list of the top 50cc Motorbike available.
Mash Roadstar 50
Anyone interested in motorcycles can’t have missed the recent trend for all things retro and scrambler,’ usually accompanied by a heaping helping of ‘hipster’/Bike Shed fashion and culture – and this most junior of motorbike categories has now caught on. However, because performance takes a back seat to style and the bare minimum of the bikes are basic, ‘old school’ roadsters, the manufacturers of the machines are starting to offer are impressively affordable. Mash Motorcycles, a French newcomer, is leading the way with a range of Chinese-built lightweights with trendy European styling.
The Roadstar is the cheapest and most established of its 50cc offerings, with an uncomplicated, air-cooled, twin shock, single-cylinder four-stroke, tubular steel chassis, and 18-inch wheels – all for a more than reasonable £1699. If that’s not trendy enough for you, Mash also offers the flashier Dirt Track 50 for just £200 more, accomplish with flat track-inspired styling reminiscent of Ducati’s ultra-trendy Scrambler. Never before has stayed on trend in biking been so simple – and affordable!
Aprilia RS 50
Aprilia has long reigned supreme in the world of lightweight, smaller-capacity motorbikes, just as Ducati reigns supreme in the world of large-capacity exotica. Having risen to prominence in the 1970s prior to becoming the poster bike for all teenagers with screaming two-stroke GP replicas like the RS125 in the 1990s, their latest 16-er fare is every bit as desirable, despite the fact that Euro emissions regulations mean they’re now four-stroke, not two-stroke powered.
The latest sports 50 is the RS50, which is heavily based on the RS125 and comes with an aluminum twin-spar frame, mono-shock rear, inverted forks, and saucy bodywork reminiscent of Aprilia’s RSV4 superbike big brother. Sports 50s simply don’t get any more desirable – as they should give the £4029 price tag. If that’s too much, Aprilia also makes a street supermoto-style version for £3429. It has the same engine and frame but has longer travel, standard Marzocchi forks, and sexy supermoto styling.
WK Colt 50
Another recent motorcycling fashion trend that most will not have missed is the return of the ’70s style monkey bike – and once again, the 50cc category is defined. Honda, the initial force behind the fashion over 40 years ago with its Z50, kicked off the trend with its MSX125, or ‘Grom’ as it’s popularly known, complete with chunky 12inch wheels, back in 2014 – and it became a huge, cult hit, so much so that Honda has complimented it with a more retro version for 2018.
WK Bikes has taken up the baton in the 50cc class with its Colt 50, which unrepentantly copies much of the look of the Grom but with its own, four-stroke engine in a tubular, air-cooled, lattice-style frame. It’s cute, simple to ride, enjoyable, and temptingly cheap at £1399. However, with only 30mph and a fraction of the stature and size of a full-sized machine, you do feel mildly vulnerable on the road, and it lacks the quality, durability, and class of the Honda.
Rieju MRT 50
Aprilia isn’t the only Italian company luring 16-year-olds with exotic, GP-replica-style 50cc sportsters as well as supermotos. Rieju is a Spanish company that specializes in high-spec, good-looking lightweights. This time, they’re using two-stroke, single-cylinder engines, Rieju is a Spanish company that specializes in high-spec, good-looking lightweights.
This time, they’re using two-stroke, single-cylinder engines, Yamaha-derived Minerelli liquid-cooled, but with a similar ‘dual perimeter’ spar frame with saucy styling as well as cycle parts. Along with the sports RS3 and roadster NKD, they also offer three different specs ‘MRT’ supermoto versions beginning at a more affordable £2899, which, while not quite an Aprilia in aspects of allure or spec, is still very cool.
Rieju isn’t the only one. Derbi offers three different supermotos that share some parts with their Aprilia counterparts but is two-stroke powered, like the Rieju. These, too, start around £2795, but neither has the same dealer network or backup as the Aprilia.
Lexmoto Hunter 50 E4
Lexmoto, like WK, is a UK-based importer of Chinese-built and yet European-styled budget expensive bikes, primarily learner-friendly 125s. They’re not as high-tech as WK, but their quality and design are improving by leaps and bounds, and their popularity is growing as well, owing primarily to their low prices.
The Hunter is the company’s sole 50cc offering, and it’s very simple and straightforward, but it only costs £1099, and considering a 50 is rarely used for longer than a year, all can only do 30mph anyway, and 16-er budgets are tight, that’s enough to tempt most. So you have an air-cooled, single-cylinder engine, four-stroke, a basic chassis, and a fairly understated style, but you do get a useful (especially for beginners) gear indicator, fuel gauge, luggage rack, and even a center stand.
The bottom line of 50cc Motorbike
Here is the list of top 50cc Motorbike we would like to share with you. If you highly recommend any 50cc Motorbike, please let us know in the comment section below.
