Cheap at one fifth of the price
OUR DEALER INSIDER ENSURES YOU DON’T GET RIPPED-OFF
You can buy all manner of roadworthy cars for under £500, but it’s not as easy to find a 125 with an MoT for that sort of money. Ignoring a load of ropey old scooters, you’re looking at Chinese bikes with Britishsounding names like Herald, AJS, Keeway, or fake Japanese names (Yamasaki is my personal favourite) and so on. Perennial Japanese favourites such as the robust, everlasting Honda CG125 are mostly out of reach because everyone knows how indestructible they are; so everyone wants one. But you might get lucky. And if you dare to probe into the world of lesserknown Japanese bikes, you can strike gold.
Take Yamaha’s YBR125. Sure, it has deeply unfashionable styling but it’s also air-cooled and simple to keep running and fix, and I’m looking at an ad for one with a long MoT, 36,000 miles and a price tag of £485, plus another with 10,000 fewer miles at £470. In fact, there are quite a few up for grabs at £500 or less.
The alternatives are ancient 1980s and 1970s-era learner bikes and these are best left to the enthusiast. But get a Yamaha YBR125 and you won’t go wrong.