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Cheap motorbike insurance UK 2026

Cheap motorbike insurance in the UK starts from around £90 a year for a well-secured 125cc commuter, with the median 125cc policy costing about £586 in 2026. Premiums scale with engine size — a 50–125cc scooter averages roughly £290, a 650cc middleweight about £520 and a 1000cc-plus sportsbike £950 or more. Passing your full A1/A2 test, keeping the bike in a locked garage and fitting Thatcham-approved security are the three biggest levers on price. Full cost table, cheapest bikes and money-saving tips below.

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from ~£90/yr
cheapest 125cc cover
~£586
median 125cc premium 2026
1.5–2×
street vs locked garage
Direct Answer

How much is cheap motorbike insurance in the UK?

The cheapest motorbike insurance in 2026 is for small, low-value commuter bikes: a well-secured 125cc such as a Honda CB125F or Yamaha YBR125 can be insured from around £90 a year for an older, experienced rider on third-party cover, while comprehensive cover on a 125cc scooter like the Honda PCX averages about £405. The median 125cc policy across all ages sits at roughly £586. Cost climbs steadily with engine size and power — larger sportsbikes and adventure tourers cost two to three times as much because they reach higher speeds and are involved in more severe claims.

“Cheap” is really about matching a low-risk bike to a low-risk rider profile. The single biggest driver of a motorbike premium is engine size and bike category, followed by your age and licence type, then where the bike is kept overnight. This page focuses purely on getting cover as cheaply as possible; for the full market picture and premiums by rider age, see our pillar guide on motorbike insurance cost in the UK 2026, and our UK insurance cost index for wider motor benchmarks.

Motorbike insurance cost by engine size — UK 2026
Typical annual comprehensive premium for an experienced rider — a 1000cc sportsbike costs more than 3× a small scooter.
1000cc+ sport£950 1200cc adventure£713 900cc tourer£590 650cc middleweight£520 300–500cc£430 125cc commuter£405 50–125cc scooter£290

Source: NimbleFins average motorcycle insurance data, ABI 2026 motorcycle premium figures and Car Insurance Expert composite sampling for experienced-rider comprehensive policies.

Engine size / bike typeTypical comprehensive premiumExample bikesBest for
50–125cc scooter£290Honda PCX, Honda Vision, Yamaha NMAXCheapest overall / CBT commuters
125cc commuter£405Honda CB125F, Yamaha YBR125, LexmotoLearners & new riders
300–500cc£430Honda CB500X, Kawasaki Ninja 400A2 licence step-up
650cc middleweight£520Yamaha MT-07, Kawasaki Z650All-round full-licence riders
900cc tourer/adventure£590Yamaha Tracer 900, Triumph TigerTouring & commuting
1200cc adventure£713BMW R1200GS, Ducati MultistradaLong-distance touring
1000cc+ sportsbike£950Honda CBR1000RR, Yamaha R1Experienced riders only

Sources: NimbleFins average motorcycle insurance data, ABI 2026 motorcycle premium figures and Car Insurance Expert composite sampling for experienced-rider comprehensive policies. Premiums are indicative for a low-risk rider aged 30+ with a full licence and no claims; younger and CBT-only riders pay substantially more. Refresh: 2026-10-14.

Cheapest Bikes

The cheapest motorbikes to insure in 2026

As a rule, the less sporty and less valuable the bike, the cheaper it is to insure. The cheapest quotes go to small-engine commuter bikes and scooters from mainstream and budget brands. The lowest-cost bikes to insure in 2026 are:

  1. Honda Vision 110 / PCX 125 — low-value scooters, cheapest overall, from ~£90 (TPO) / ~£290 (comp)
  2. Honda CB125F — simple air-cooled commuter, one of the cheapest 125cc bikes to insure
  3. Yamaha YBR125 / NMAX 125 — reliable, low theft appeal, cheap parts
  4. Lexmoto, Sinnis and Keeway 125s — budget Chinese-brand commuters, low replacement value keeps premiums down
  5. Honda CB500X / Kawasaki Ninja 400 — cheapest way onto an A2-legal bigger bike

What pushes a bike into the expensive brackets: supersport 600s and litre-bikes (Yamaha R1, Honda Fireblade), hyper-nakeds (Kawasaki Z H2), and anything with high theft appeal or a high list price. A sportsbike can cost three to four times what an equivalent-engine commuter costs, because insurers price for higher speeds, more severe claims and greater theft risk.

How to Cut the Cost

Seven ways to get cheaper motorbike insurance

  1. Keep it in a locked garage — the biggest single lever. NimbleFins found street-parked bikes cost 1.5 to 2 times as much to insure as garage-kept ones. A shed with a ground anchor is the next best thing.
  2. Pass your full test — holding a full A1/A2/A licence rather than riding on a CBT alone reduces your premium, because CBT-only riders have no formal test and a worse claims record.
  3. Fit Thatcham-approved security — a Thatcham-approved alarm/immobiliser, plus a disc lock, chain and ground anchor, all signal lower theft risk and cut the premium, especially in urban postcodes.
  4. Choose a low-value commuter bike — a cheap-to-replace 125 in a low insurance group will always beat a sportsbike; the bike choice matters more than almost anything else.
  5. Consider third-party vs comprehensive carefully — on a very cheap bike, third-party only (TPO) or third-party fire & theft (TPFT) can be cheaper, but comprehensive is often surprisingly close and covers your own bike, so always compare all three.
  6. Limit your mileage and give an accurate address — genuine low annual mileage and a secure home postcode lower the risk score. Never under-declare mileage, though — it can void a claim.
  7. Build and protect a no-claims discount — each claim-free year cuts the premium; several years of NCD is worth more than any single discount, so avoid small claims where possible.

A quick note on cover tiers: comprehensive is not automatically the most expensive option on motorbikes, so get quotes for all three levels. On low-value commuters the price gap is often small, and comprehensive protects your own bike after an at-fault accident.

Common Questions

Cheap motorbike insurance FAQs

Small, low-value commuter bikes and scooters are cheapest. The Honda Vision 110, Honda PCX 125 and Honda CB125F are consistently among the cheapest 125cc bikes to insure, along with budget-brand 125s from Lexmoto, Sinnis and Keeway. Their low replacement value, modest performance and low theft appeal keep premiums down — comprehensive cover can start from around £90–£290 a year for an experienced, garage-keeping rider.
The median 125cc motorbike policy costs about £586 a year in 2026, but the range is enormous. Comprehensive cover on a 125cc scooter for an experienced rider averages around £405, and the very cheapest well-secured bikes start from around £90 on third-party cover. A 17-year-old on a 125cc, by contrast, typically pays £1,400–£1,800 because of age-related risk. Location, security and licence type move the figure significantly.
Yes — engine size is one of the strongest price factors. Larger, more powerful bikes reach higher speeds and are involved in more severe collisions, so they cost more to insure. A 50–125cc scooter averages around £290 comprehensive, a 650cc middleweight about £520, and a 1000cc-plus sportsbike £950 or more. Stepping down an engine bracket is one of the easiest ways to cut your premium.
A full licence is cheaper. Riding a 125cc on a CBT certificate alone means you have passed no formal riding test, and CBT-only riders statistically have more claims — so insurers charge more. Passing your full A1 (or A2/A) test lowers the premium and removes the L-plate and pillion/motorway restrictions. If you plan to keep riding, the full test usually pays for itself in insurance savings.
Significantly. NimbleFins found that street-parked bikes cost 1.5 to 2 times as much to insure as garage-kept bikes, because overnight theft is the single biggest motorcycle claim risk. A locked garage is best; a shed or driveway with a Thatcham-approved ground anchor and chain is the next best thing. Always declare the true overnight location — a wrong answer can invalidate a theft claim.
Not always what you would expect. On motorbikes, third-party only (TPO) is sometimes actually more expensive than comprehensive, because insurers associate TPO with higher-risk riders. The sensible approach is to get quotes for all three levels — TPO, third-party fire & theft, and comprehensive — and compare. On a cheap bike the comprehensive premium is often only slightly higher and covers your own machine after an at-fault crash.
Young and new riders have the highest claim frequency of any group, so a 17-year-old on a 125cc typically pays £1,400–£1,800 even though the bike itself is cheap. The premium reflects inexperience and the higher accident rate in the first year on the road, not the bike's value. Passing the full test, choosing the lowest-value 125, keeping it garaged and building a no-claims discount all bring the cost down over the following years.
Yes. A Thatcham-approved alarm or immobiliser, plus a disc lock, chain and ground anchor, all reduce theft risk and can lower the premium — the effect is largest in high-theft urban postcodes. Some insurers require approved security before they will cover higher-value bikes at all. Keep receipts and note the security when you quote, and always park securely: most theft claims happen at the home address overnight.

Our sources

  • NimbleFins average cost of motorcycle insurance — comprehensive premiums by engine size and the garage-vs-street 1.5–2× finding
  • ABI 2026 motorcycle premium figures — market averages and rider-risk data
  • Confused.com & Compare the Market motorbike price data — median 125cc premium and young-rider ranges
  • Thatcham Research — approved security standards and theft-risk ratings
  • gov.uk — ride a motorcycle or moped — CBT, A1/A2/A licence categories and rules
  • Car Insurance Expert composite quote data — 2026 sampling across major UK bike insurers by engine bracket

Reviewed by the Car Insurance Expert editorial team

Figures are compiled from NimbleFins, ABI and comparison-site published data plus our own multi-insurer quote sampling, benchmarked to a typical comprehensive policy and refreshed quarterly. Premiums are indicative ranges, not guaranteed quotes — your own price depends on bike, age, licence, postcode and security.

Last updated: 2026-07-14

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