Rieju RS Sport is a nifty little number

Visit the online configurator if the Rieju RS Sports blue and white finish doesnt tickle your fancy

It’s well equipped, with 13-inch alloy wheels fitted with low-profile Michelin Pilot Sport tyres. It’s also got wavy discs at both ends to improve braking performance and a multi-function digital dash complete with trip computer, time, speed and battery condition readings, plus the usual warning lights.

Forward lighting is very good, with dual projection halogen headlights and a trick-looking “alien face” front LED daytime running light, which should help the scooter to stand out a bit on the road. The whole front end looks very modern with the contrasting blue and white paintwork and race graphics. In my opinion, it looks even better in black but colour choice is a personal thing and Rieju has launched a new service which allows you to go on to its website-based configurator and personalise your new scooter before it leaves the factory.

You can choose from eight different base colours, add four kinds of graphics (or leave it plain), choose from three different seat colours, upgrade the rear shock, add ‘naked’ bars if you like, or a large screen and swap them about instantly to perfect the look you’d like. Once you’re happy, you can order your customised scooter for delivery to your local dealer within 15 days.

Obviously it adds cost to the scooter in much the same way it does if you order a new car and add changes to the spec, but it means you’ll get a much more individual machine. I expect more graphics options will be added before long.

Protecting a scooter is always important, especially when it looks as desirable as the RS (even more so with your custom design), so Rieju has incorporated a steel security loop for you to attach a chain through. Of course the scooter also has a steering lock as standard. A good bit of advice for any new riders is to always lock your scooter up properly to a tall and immovable object. Having a proper security loop makes it a whole lot easier.

One thing I’m not too keen on is an unnecessary separate indicator cancel button. It’s located just above the indicator switch but means you have to move your hand a bit to cancel the indicators. It’s not a big deal but it’s one more thing to remember, although you do soon get used to it.

With the Rieju you’re getting a Spanish-built scooter with a liquid-cooled two-stroke – but heavily restricted – engine from Yamaha. It comes limited to 28mph, and with its shackles in place it struggles for useful pace, especially from a standing start and it really suffers when pulling away uphill. If you’re 17 or over, though, it’s a fairly straightforward job for your local motorcycle dealer to derestrict the scooter to make it much more useable. The scooter instantly sounds better, revs cleaner and will see a genuine and much safer (in my opinion) 45mph, which enables you to hold a good position on the road rather than hugging the pavement for your own safety. The brakes are fantastic, as are the tyres and suspension, and they’re perfectly able to cope with anything you can throw at them so there are no concerns over the running gear or equipment.

At less than two grand, the RS Sport is good value for money. There’s also an RS Sport NKD available complete with motocross-style straight handlebars which gives the scooter a more aggressive look.

VITAL STATS: Rieju RS Sport

PRICE £1,999

ENGINE 49cc, liquid-cooled, two-stroke

TYRES 130/60, 13-inch

BRAKES 190mm discs

SUSPENSION Front hydraulic fork, rear monoshock

DIMENSIONS Length 1,765mm, width 704mm, height 1,160mm

SEAT HEIGHT 810mm

DRY WEIGHT 93kg

FUEL CAPACITY 9.5 litres