125cc Motorbike / Motorcycle Choice

125cc Motorbikes are one of the smallest but practical motorcycles you can buy. The engine power is typically enough to carry anyone at a decent pace and not cause a headache for everyone else like 50cc whizz bang motorbikes can.

They are available in moped/scooter (feet together, knees at 90 degrees) form or the more traditional motorcycle style with feet either side of the engine. 125cc Dirt Bikes are also very popular and so are 125cc sports bikes and mini motorcycles commonly have the 125cc engine and make for a fun filled ride.

Automatic and manual transmission is available for both, but you tend to find automatic transmission on the scooter style 125cc machines and manual on the 'horse-straddle' style 125 motorbikes.

The main reason you would choose a 125cc motorcycle is because they have enough power to be practical and get up to a reasonable speed, and yet are still affordable to purchase, run and maintain.

Parts are very cheap to produce and replace, with engines being relatively easy to access a skilled mechanic can do a full rebuild a lot quicker than a bigger motorcycle and even more quicker than a car. So even if the worst happens after tens of thousands of miles, it will be cheap to refresh the engine to it's original status.

Cheap to Run - Road tax will be one of the cheapest out of all vehicles (only expensive 'environmentally friendly' cars seem to get cheaper tax). Fuel consumption will at worst be 35mpg (this is for the 125cc sports bikes at high revs constantly like freeway riding), 55-65mpg is much more common. Safety tests are also quick and consumable parts like brake pads are also cheap as they don't need to stop a heavy vehicle or require specialist materials to manufacture.

Cheap to Buy - The cheapest motorcycle by Harley Davidson is the Harley Davidson 883 and that still sits in at $7k. No 125cc motorbike cost even similar to that unless we're talking specially tuned race bikes.

Environmentally Friendly - How many energy and material do you think are required to manufacture a Toyota Prius? Enough to manufacture 20 125cc motorbikes I imagine, and that doesn't include the specialist materials in batteries.

Easy to ride and park - These motorbikes are designed for the city, getting between traffic, finding small gaps, they are smaller than other motorcycles and therefore you can park them in many places and be inconspicuous. Carry a small motorcycle cover to hide it even more.

This is really up to you. Do you want something big and practical for transport in a city (they are certainly cheaper than public transport in most cases). Something sporty and fun? Something Fashionable?

Mini Motorcycles - These are tiny replica's of bigger bikes, they are often not road legal and are just for fun, comparable to go-karts.

Sit Up/Scooter - These are usually the cheapest design (with the exception of Vespa - see below) and have space to put shopping on. The are strictly kept to town running.

Vespa - Vespa are Italian and made the original scooter, they are seen more as fashion accessories and are quite expensive but very distinctive on the road, a big following means there is plenty of spare parts.

125cc Sportsbike - These can be very fast and there are some dedicated race series to this class to start out in motorcycle racing. Usually the most expensive and bought by people who view motorbikes as a hobby but are just starting out.

Straddle style - These are the most rounded 125cc motorbikes and are much better at speed than a sit on scooter style. They are best for commuting compared to the other versions here as they are more comfortable long distances and at speed (motorways).

If you are just getting into motorbikes and want to experience a bigger one, how about trying out some motorbike games? Great way to experience the thrills without any of the danger!

If you are ready to step up to a bigger motorcycle, may I suggest a Harley Davidson Night Train? These things are awesome looking in black and a great introduction into the iconic motorcycle brand.