The BEST 125cc Motorcycles You Can Buy In 2023! Great for Beginners

It's time to take a look at some of the most exciting 125cc motorcycles that should be on your radar for 2023. First up, LexMoto. Now, LexMoto produced some of the cheapest bikes on this list and they've been selling in huge numbers here in the UK. The LXR125. Surprisingly, the LXR125 was 2020's biggest selling sport bike, thanks to its excellent design and large proportions. The ridiculous three grand price tag doesn't hurt either. Now, the engine is their latest liquid cooled single cylinder. It puts out 12.5 horsepower. So it's a respectable number, even if it's not, you know, at the maximum of the CBT allowance, but the downside is the 167 kilos wet weight. So that means this is the heaviest bike on the list and the acceleration is going to be slightly slower than some of the premium models here. Still, it can reach 69 miles per hour and at this price, it has become a serious contender. There's also a SE model that adds a TFT display, upside down forks and a cooled 40 paint job for an extra 400 quid. But base version LXR125 starts at £3,099. The LSN marks a notable step up in spec for LexMoto, which is pretty intriguing. It's got a new liquid cooled 13.7 horsepower engine. It's got a steel trellis frame. It's packing in upside down forks. It's got built in Bluetooth speakers with smartphone connectivity. So you can get your tunes on the go. I'm not sure how useful that is, but it's there. It's got four pot color for brakes. It's got full ABS this time as well. Most of the Chinese bikes are using combined braking systems. So it's definitely kind of improved across the board in terms of spec. The result, though, is an increase in price as well. It's going to cost £3,799. But be fair, that still does land it in the budget side of this category. So it's still good value for money. Could be worth checking out. Now, Cines are another surprisingly good Chinese manufacturer. In fact, you can check out our full road test reviews for some of these bikes. Start with the GPX125. It's actually one of the more authentic super sports in the category. It's got an aggressive ride position. It's got high revving character, stunning big bike looks, very respectable top speed thanks to its liquid cooled 12.7 brake horsepower engine. Now it weighs in at 158 kilos with a full tank. So again, it can't quite match the acceleration of the premium sport bikes out there, but it's still a ton of fun to ride. Excellent introduction to the super sport category. Price is £3,699. Cines' super motard styled SMR was probably the most impressive bike during our testing. Not only does it look fabulous and extremely high quality, but it puts out an impressive 14.8 horsepower. It also managed to get the weight down to 141 kilos. So this is a bike that can perform similarly to the premium models, which is rare in a Chinese offering. Now, if you want the more enduro vibe, you can get the SMXE. It takes the same basic setup, but adds knobbly tires. And the bargain price is the exact same for both models. It's £3,399. I will say it's quite tall. I mean, you get that with these kind of super motor style bikes anyway. So if you're a shorter rider, you might struggle, but either way, this is one of the best options out there when it comes to Chinese models. Zonte is looking remarkably good right now with the latest liquid cooled engines, putting out 14.4 brake horsepower. So that's only 0.4 of the maximum allowance for a CBT holder, which is pretty respectable. Now, they're all packing two channel Bosch ABS upside down forks and even a slipper clutch, which really surprised me. The spec and look of these bikes are pretty incredible for the price ranges. First up, we've got the ZT125 G1. It's a beautiful neo-retro style street bike with a whopping 20 litre fuel tank, which is huge for a 125. Now the trade off is going to be this thing weighs 160 kilos. So it's going to be extremely economical bike. You can put many miles on it with that fuel tank, and it's going to cost 3,499 pounds. So trade off is going to be not the greatest acceleration. The ZT125U is if you prefer a more aggressive design. It's like a futuristic street bike. It comes with a more competitive power to rate ratio as well, which is nice. You can pick it up for 3,299 pounds. It reduces the fuel tank, but it's still a respectable 12.5 litres, which is fairly normal, but it means it comes in 20 kilos lighter than the G1. Finally, we've got the ZT125U1 and I know these names are also similar sounding, can be quite confusing, but the U1 takes the same setup as the U, but completely changes its visual design. It's got a slick motard aesthetic, and with all these Zontes, it looks absolutely amazing and the value is very impressive. This one is 3,299 pounds, brand new. Time to move over to Europe and we're going to take a look at KTM first up, who happen to have an excellent pair of 125 motorcycles with a high spec and cutting edge design. Now both of them have a unique flavour, but they utilize the same basic 14.8 brake horsepower single cylinder engine. The Duke 125 has been around for a while and its current version is a real head turner. KTM call this thing the spawn of the beast, and it really looks like a mini Super Duke in 125 form. It's got WP Apex forks, it's got mono shock from WP Apex as well, it's got Bibury brakes, which is a subsidiary of Brembo, it's got dual circuit Bosch ABS, and despite all this spec and excellent performance, it has a surprisingly reasonable price tag, £4,499. So even though it's been around for a while, I definitely think it's worth considering in 2023. KTM's newest 125 offering is a thing of beauty. It's the RC 125. It's a futuristic, super sport styled motorcycle with excellent ergonomics and aerodynamic fairings. Makes it a whole different kettle of fish from its brother, the Duke, even though it utilizes the same engine spec. Features revised engine mapping, so it has improved torque for even more performance. It's got clip-on bars, and interestingly, they can actually be raised by 10 millimeters. So if you want a more comfortable riding position for riding around town, going to shops, et cetera, you can do that. And despite its performance focus, it still offers decent fuel economy. Price is £5,049. Next up, the Husqvarna Svartpilen 125. Now, this bike takes the tried and tested engine used in the KTM Duke and reforges it with a cutting edge neo-retro visual design. And it's not the only thing it borrows either. It has pretty much the same spec as the KTMs. It's got the same steel trellis frame, it's got the bribery brakes, it's got the W-Apex suspension, it's got two channel Bosch ABS. And with such a great baseline, we know it's going to perform well. And what makes it completely unique though is the way that it looks. For me, this bike looks almost like a work of art. It's kind of like future in the past combining into something altogether new. Anyway, the price is £4,549. And it's yet another 125 that looks pretty hot for 2023. I just want to do a quick shout out to Lexham Insurance, who power bike matters. They make it possible for us to make our videos. And if you're based in the UK and you're on two wheels, maybe you're looking for some insurance on your 125. Why not check them out? If you click the link, you get a discount on your insurance. So you get to save some money. We get to keep making videos. Everyone's a winner. Now let's move on to Aprilia. They are one of the most respected and venerable names in the 125 category. The legendary RS125 has been the stuff of teenage dreams for 30 years now. And despite losing its ferocious two-stroke power, the modern four-stroke version is still a great choice. If you're not into supersport motorcycles, its excellent DNA now comes in street bike and motard form as well. So they do have something for everyone. Now the RS125 received an update last year and might just be the best looking 125cc motorcycle in the category. That's my opinion, of course. You can judge that for yourself. But it perfectly copies the design of the RSV4. And it's going to fool a lot of people into thinking you're riding a much larger machine than it really is, especially if you can ride it without L plates. It does still have great big bike proportions. It's got a nice 140 rear tire. Add to that Brembo brakes, two channel Bosch ABS, the 14.8 horsepower performance, and you've got a serious bit of kit on your hands. And the price is £4,850. The Tuono takes the same Euro 5 single cylinder four-stroke engine as the RS along with its high spec components and represents them in a street bike design. Now this model takes its visual cues from the new Tuono 660. And for me, it looks phenomenal. Weighing in at 144 kilos, it isn't the lightest naked on the list, but it's probably got the best aerodynamics of all the nakeds too because it still has this small front cowling like you'd expect from a Tuono and it should be able to compete with the absolute best of them. The price, £4,600. Finally, Aprilia's last entry is the SX125. And once again, it takes the base RS engine, puts it into a slick motard design. As I keep saying with Aprilia, they make extremely good looking bikes. And this one is no different. Visuals are outstanding, looks really high quality for what is essentially their budget option. The price of just £3,850. This could be quite a bargain for anyone who loves the super motard style. All these bikes, well worth a look. We know they perform well and you've got that pretty name to go with them. Now we've seen Europe's best and most stylish, let's finish up with good old Japan who have long produced some of the best and most reliable models on the market. And we're going to start with Kawasaki. They returned to the 125cc category in 2019 with a pair of excellent offerings in the form of the Z125 and the Ninja 125. There's no mechanical updates, but both of these bikes are getting tasty new colour schemes and there's still very strong offerings in this category. They've got the same Euro 5 liquid cooled single cylinder engine. It's got a maximum output of 14.8 horsepower, which is 11 kilowatts. Both of these bikes are sitting right at the top of CBT allowance. The Z125 is Kawasaki's mean looking street naked alongside the classic black and green colours. It's getting this gorgeous pearl storm grey colourway for 2023. It's got this awesome bright green frame and detailing, and for me, it's an absolute head turner. In terms of tech features, aside from ABS, Kawasaki have kept things pretty minimal, but the result is a very attractive 4,299 price tag. So you need to pay an extra 100 quid if you want that new storm grey colour scheme, but either way, it's a really competitive price for a great 125 bike. The Ninja takes the same basic setup as the Z and adds fairings and a sporty ride position. The Ninja's two kilos heavier than the Z, normally it's got fairings, but the improved aerodynamics should mean some excellent performance and handling regardless. Now, despite sharing the same engine, the Ninja has been tuned to deliver its peak power at 10,000 RPM, so it's a little bit higher up in the rev ranges than the Z. That means it's going to feel a little bit more of an authentic high revving super sport. Once again, light on features, but with an accessible 4,699 price tag. Suzuki have taken a similar route to Kawasaki with their 125 options, providing both the faired GSX-R125 and the street naked GSX-S125 as relatively minimalistic motorcycles with more accessible prices. The legendary GSX-R1000 may have been discontinued in European markets from 2023, but you can at least get this little 125 super sport with all the classic styling arrangers famous for. Fully faired and light as a feather, it's only 137 kilos for a fully faired bike. It's still got the maximum allowed 14.8 horsepower and remains a formidable option. Despite its clear sport focus, Suzuki reckon you can do 117 mpg on this thing as well. So it could be surprisingly economical. The price is 4,799 pounds. The GSX-S125 takes the same high revving liquid cooled single cylinder engine as the Gixxer and repackages it into an attractive street bike. The addition of a belly pan adds as a substantial big bike look and feel while still remaining one of the lightest motorcycles in this list at just 135 kilos. Great performance, great power to weight ratios and great value for money. The price is 4,499 pounds. The next of our Japanese titans is Honda's impressive CB125R. It's getting four new colorways for 2023 on top of its already excellent visuals and performance and once again comes in with a maximum 14.8 horsepower. But this bike only weighs 130 kilos with a full tank. So the power to weight ratio here is outstanding. It comes with Showa 41 millimeter upside down forks. It's got a large 296 millimeter front disc with a radial mount Nissan four piston caliper and an extra fat 150 rear tire which I love on these 125 bikes because it really gives it a more kind of planted and stable feeling like a big bike. Now this 125 really captures that big bike feeling better than ever for an excellent price. It's 4,599 pounds. This is one of my top picks for 2023. Now to round things out, we're gonna take a look at Yamaha and they've been producing some of the best 125cc motorcycles in the world for quite some time now and I don't expect anything to change in 2023. The first thing to talk about is Yamaha's excellent 124cc engine. It's a fully Euro 5 compliant liquid cooled single cylinder with 14.8 horsepower. So it's again right at the top of CBT allowance and combined with some of the best power to weight ratios in the category, all of these bikes are top performers. The MT125 is Yamaha's aggressive 125 street bike. It's got beautiful Neo Japanese visuals backed up with excellent big bike feeling thanks to the full size frame and the fat 140 rear tire. You can expect slick gear changes, light levers, agile handling, as well as smooth 70 mile an hour plus performance. The price though is 4,900 pounds. So a little bit more on the expensive side, but perhaps you get what you pay for. The XSR125 Legacy on paper seems to be the same overall spec as the initial model I tested back in 2021. And that's no bad thing as it was probably the best 125 I rode that year. The 2023 edition comes with some lovely new black and gold visuals which match its largest siblings in the range even more closely than before. And this is going to be absolutely one of the best 125s you can get, but you're going to have to pay for it. 5,200 pounds. The R125 has been a huge seller in UK for over a decade now and it's been freshly redesigned for 2023 and it marks its fourth generation. Immediately the most striking change is a new aerodynamic bodywork and it perfectly imitates the R7. We saw these at Motorcycle Live and it was set up just behind the R7. You could barely tell them apart. Now, despite the race style bodywork, the new R125 is only four kilos heavier than its naked brethren. So combined with the improved airflow, this thing is going to be an absolute blast to ride. It comes with a bunch of features including a five inch TFT dash with smartphone connectivity. It's got traction control. It's got R1 inspired high quality switchgear and Michelin tires. The price is 5,300 pounds, but this is going to be one of the all-round best 125s on the market for 2023. All right, guys, if you made it this far, big high five. Thanks for watching the video. If you found it at all helpful or informative, do me a favor and hit that thumbs up button for me. We've got plenty more videos on the channel, so feel free to subscribe. It's always great to hear you guys' input, so let me know in the comment section. And as always, I'll see you in the next one.