Choosing Your First 125cc Motorbike

Susan Difford - Clean Green Compare Personal Lines Insurance Expert
Written by Susan Difford
Updated 26 April 2025
2 min read

If you’re planning to buy your first 125cc motorbike, whether you’re moving up from a 50cc moped or simply taking the plunge immediately, you should know the most important things to take into account. We’ll be covering them in detail in this guide, including getting the right 125cc bike insurance.

Key points

Main Things To Consider When Choosing Your First 125cc Motorbike

  • Usage: You should think about what you’ll mostly be using your motorbike for and choose the style and features accordingly. If you’re going to be using it for commuting, then things like storage will be more important to you that looks for example.
  • Tyres: The tyres are another important consideration. You can choose from a lot of different types of tyres with a 125cc bike and which is best for you will depend largely on what you’re using it for.
  • Ergonomics: Comfort is a very important thing with a motorbike, so check things like seat height, handlebar reach and riding position comfort before committing to anything.
  • Your budget: You should always take your budget into account, not just for the bike itself but also things like the safety gear you’ll need as well as tax and insurance.
  • New vs used: You need to think about whether you’ll buy used or new too. It’s not hard to find used 125ccs but buying used does come with some risks even if you save money upfront.

125cc motorbike

What are the eligibility requirements for riding a 125cc motorbike?

You must:

What is the best type of insurance to get for a 125cc motorbike?

You can choose from the following types of cover:

  • Third party only: Third party only insurance is the minimum level of cover you’ll need to make a 125cc motorbike road legal.
  • Third party, fire and theft: Includes cover for fire and theft as well.
  • Comprehensive: Comprehensive insurance will cover your bike for damage or write offs from collisions, even those where you’re liable. It usually costs more than TPO and TPFT.

In Summary

  • Usage, tyres, ergonomics and your budget are all key considerations when choosing your first 125cc motorbike.
  • You should also think about whether you want to buy used or new.
  • You’ll need to get third party only insurance at minimum to make a 125cc motorbike legal to ride.

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