new motorcycles

WHAT would you guess were the UK's two top-selling supersports bikes? Kawasaki's ZX-6R and Honda's CBR600RR perhaps?

• According to industry figures, which include litre superbikes, 125s and all other capacities, it's the Honda CBR125R and Yamaha YZF-R125.

• And despite being £850 more expensive, the Yamaha is giving the Honda a convincing pummeling, with 1,419 YZF-R125s registered between January and October this year compared 782 CBR125Rs.

• But they're exactly the same capacity, almost exactly the same weight and make about the same power - so can the Yamaha justify the extra expense? Or have 637 people got it wrong this year? Don't decide before reading this.  

Reasons to buy Yamaha YZF-R125              


You won’t find a better-looking 125.
 But that’s obvious. You’ve got eyes.


It doesn’t just look like a proper sports bike.
 It stops and handles like one too.



It’s right on the power limit for learners
 and A1 licence holders, at 15hp.



If you’ve a mind to, you can tune them for
 more power (after gaining the appropriate licence, naturally)
. There’s a Malossi 182cc big-bore kit.



Every 17-year-old wants a better bike
 than their mates' and this is basically the daddy.
If price were no object, which would you have?

Price: £4,349 OTR
Capacity: 124.7cc
Power: 15hp
Wet weight: 138kg
Seat height: 818mm

Reasons to buy CBR125R


It’s £850 cheaper than the Yamaha.
 That’s nearly a whole of your thousand pounds.


It’s more learner-friendly,

 with a lower seat-height than the Yamaha and a useful steering lock.



It’s great fun to throw around,

with sharp handling, good brakes and suspension.



It makes the most of its 13.1hp,

 with super-linear power delivery.



It’s sharper looking since a 2007 restyling.

 Earlier models looked a bit weedy

Price: £3,499 OTR
Capacity: 124.7cc
Power: 13.1hp
Wet weight: 136.9kg
Seat height: 793mm

Our choice: YZF-R125

• Save your money and buy a bigger bike after getting a full licence blah blah blah. We don’t go for that old argument. With all new riders aged 17-19 now restricted to a 125, we think many will simply want the best one they can get, and why shouldn’t they?

• The R125 is pricey. It’s also one of the sharpest looking and handling 125s you can get. Possibly not as novice-friendly as the CBR, with a higher seat and lower bars, but you’ve got two mandated years with it – how much of a novice will you be by the end of that?

The CBR’s a lot of fun and might have won if it made the full 15hp permissible under licence terms. Surely the law is restrictive enough without Honda holding back more?

click to see video : video