10 Best 125cc Scooters: The Ultimate UK Commuter Guide

Welcome to the glamorous world of the 125cc scooter. A realm where dreams of open-road freedom go to die. OK, that’s a bit harsh, but certainly it's true that 125cc scooters are more often than not subjected to some of the least sexy conditions a two-wheeler can face.

Everyday, all-the-time grinds across urban landscapes, through rain, distracted traffic, even more distracted pedestrians, potholes, and whatever else the city throws at you. It’s not the sort of riding that dreams are built on.

But, for many people, a scooter is either a good way to earn a living (as a delivery rider) or the lesser of two evils when it comes to commuting - the alternative being the cost, cramping, and unreliability of public transport.

There are A LOT of options when it comes to scooters of the 125cc variety, with all kinds of things to consider and balance. Do you want sofa-level comfort, or value-meal-level price? Or something in between?

This, then, is my somewhat subjective list of the best 125cc scooters you can buy new.

1. Lexmoto OCR 125

Lexmoto has long been champion of Chinese imports in His Majesty’s United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The OCR arrived as the spiritual successor to the company’s wildly popular Titan 125, bringing Euro5+ compliance, fuel injection, and a combined braking system to the budget masses.

It costs less than a decent mid-tier laptop, making it one of the most affordable scoots you can buy. Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, the OCR is basic and plastic, but fit for purpose. It’s not going to melt your face with its 8.6bhp, but it will reliably hold 55mph and carry your groceries without fuss.

Arguably, the OCR is an exercise in pragmatism: a refusal to pay London bus fares while accepting that your resale value will be on par with a KFC Bargain Bucket.

2. Suzuki Burgman Street 125 EX

The Burgman name carries serious weight in the scooter world. Introduced in 1998, Suzuki’s "maxi" line became (in)famous for land yachts ranging from 125cc all the way up to a colossal 650cc twin. The 125 EX, revived in 2023, attempts to distil that touring pedigree into an A1-friendly, air-cooled package.

The plus side here is that you get the imposing front fascia, the plush seating, and the long floorboards of a proper touring scooter, paired with a modern SEP-α engine that claims a ludicrous 148 mpg. It’s smooth, remarkably comfortable, and unthreatening to ride.

The downside is that the Burgman is quite popular amongst London scofflaws and ne'er-do-wells. Ride a Burgman and some may mistake you for a criminal. Or, a criminal might see you as an ideal target of scooter theft. 

You might also want to read: Suzuki Burgman 125 Review: Commuting On The Burgman

3. Piaggio Liberty 125

First unveiled way back in 1997, the Piaggio Liberty is a cornerstone of the European scooter establishment. It has undergone countless updates over the decades, surviving trends and emissions regulations to remain a staple of the Italian giant’s lineup.

With a 16-inch tyre up front and a 14-inch at the rear, the Liberty offers a degree of gyroscopic stability that smaller-wheeled competitors simply cannot match. It smooths out terrible road surfaces and delivers a ride quality that feels much closer to a proper motorcycle.

4. Honda PCX125

Since its debut in 2010, the PCX125 has been a sales juggernaut. It is consistently the best-selling powered two-wheeler in the United Kingdom. It received a major Euro5 overhaul in 2021 and minor tweaks since, continuously refining its formula of accessible performance and bulletproof reliability.

Without question, the PCX is the gold standard of urban commuting. It offers idle-stop technology, keyless ignition, cavernous under-seat storage, and a liquid-cooled motor that is capable of sitting at dual-carriageway speeds without feeling like it’s going to detonate.

For all the praise one can heap on the PCX, it is a bit sensible from an aesthetic point of view. No one has a poster of a PCX on their bedroom wall. If you buy a PCX, it’s because you have given up on the romantic side of scootering and simply want a machine that starts every single time.

5. Yamaha NMAX 125

Yamaha introduced the NMAX to go head to head against Honda's PCX. Updated for 2021 and refined again for 2025, it was designed to bring the aggressive, sporty DNA of Yamaha's MAX family down to the CBT-compliant category. It seems to have worked; it is one of the most popular scooters in Europe.

The NMAX features a Variable Valve Actuation (VVA) engine, giving it decent acceleration and top-end performance for a 125. It’s got traction control, ABS as standard, and a slightly sharper, more engaging chassis than its Honda rival, all wrapped in better (in my opinion, at least) styling.

You may also like: Yamaha NMAX 125 Review: UK’s Best-Seller Gets Better (and Cheaper!)

6. Kymco X-Town 125

Taiwanese powerhouse Kymco has been quietly building good-quality, dependable scooters for decades, frequently supplying engines for the likes of BMW. The X-Town series is its answer to the premium maxi-scooter segment.

You get the armchair comfort, substantial wind protection, and massive under-seat storage of the kind one might expect from a high-end 300cc touring scooter. It's incredibly plush, while costing so much less than a comparable Yamaha or Honda.

It’s big and chunky, which means cars are more likely to notice you, but size means weight - the X-Town isn’t really a featherweight - and a reduction in ability to filter through really tight gaps in traffic.

7. Yamaha Tricity 125

First appearing in 2014, the Tricity 125 was/is Yamaha’s offering in the not-terribly-popular leaning multi-wheel segment. While Piaggio’s MP3 pioneered the tech for larger capacities, Yamaha scaled things down to suit a 125cc footprint.

Two front wheels mean twice the front-end grip, of course. That’s the KSP of the Tricity, which still leans and steers like a conventional two-wheeler. It offers more stability over wet manhole covers, tram lines, off-camber corners, and so on.

The drawback of two wheels up front is that it affects weight and width; the Tricity is a little heavier and wider than many comparably powered scooters. 

You might also like: Yamaha Tricity First Ride Review

8. Zero LS1

I’ve added this one to the list solely out of personal bias. I attended the LS1’s UK press launch and found that although it wasn’t perfect it was a hell of a lot of fun.

The LS1 represents something of a pivot for Zero Motorcycles. After spending the last decade or so leaning toward premium-priced motorcycles, it is going after the commuter and delivery set with its electric scooter.

Featuring an 8.4kW mid-mounted motor and a carbon drive belt, it tops out at 62 mph and delivers 177 lb-ft of torque at the rear wheel. No, that is not a typo. That is the insane benefit of electric: none of the petrol-powered scooters on this list can offer anything close to that amount of shove.

Twin swappable batteries live low in the floorboards for excellent handling, with an option for a third under the seat to push claimed range past 100 miles.

I’d encourage you to read my full review of the Zero LS1, but the TLDR version is that it is hilariously fun.

9. Yamaha XMAX 125

It’s hard to imagine that there’s a huge market for a luxury 125 scooter that costs more than a 554cc QJMotor SRT 600 S. But clearly there’s enough of one that Yamaha makes the XMAX 125 - and has done for 20 years! The baby of the XMAX family has been prowling European streets since 2006, continuously evolving.

It is arguably the most dynamic, capable, and well-equipped scooter in the class. You get motorcycle-style front forks, cavernous storage for two full-face helmets, traction control, keyless ignition, and genuine long-distance touring capability. It handles well and has real presence on the road.

It’s big, it’s aggressive, and it tells everyone in the office car park that you take commuting very, very seriously.

10. Vespa GTS 125

The Vespa is not just a scooter; it’s a way of being. Tracing its lineage straight back to 1946, the GTS is Piaggio’s modern, large-frame iteration of an industrial design icon. It retains the signature pressed-steel monocoque body and trailing-link front suspension that have defined the brand since before the NHS was established.

Unmatched style and brand cachet tie with a modern, Euro5+ compliant, 14 bhp i-GET engine and decent modern tech. Nothing else looks like it, and nothing else holds its value quite as fiercely.

Obviously, only the very wealthy or very foolish would choose a Vespa GTS as a day-in-day-out commuter. It is too beautiful and too expensive to be subjected to Monday morning pothole-dodging duty. This is a scooter that you want to be seen riding - on a nice day, in a fancy neighbourhood.

Honourable Mention: Italjet Dragster 125

Here’s another scooter that’s made the list because of favoritism from me. Not so long ago, I got a chance to (briefly) test ride the 68bhp Dragster 700 Twin and was so utterly delighted and flummoxed by its not-scooterness that I kind of fell in love with it.

The Dragster 125 has the same lunatic styling and lack of practicality (no underseat storage) at a slightly more tolerable price. Slightly. Italjet lives up to the Italian stereotype of being a two-wheeler company that’s pretty damned proud of itself, and it prices its vehicles accordingly.

The Dragster features an exposed chrome-molybdenum trellis frame and a patented Independent Steering System single-arm front end that separates steering from suspension action. It corners better than any scooter should, features Brembo brakes, and is guaranteed to turn heads.

It also has all the everyday practicality of a chocolate teapot. It is not a commuter; you buy this to look like a cyberpunk villain.

Pick Your Poison

Whether you want to embrace anonymity on a bulletproof Honda, project executive junior-manager energy on a giant Yamaha, or go full “My name starts with the letter X” weird on an Italian trellis frame, there is a twist-and-go tailored to your specific brand of commuter madness.

There is a certain romanticism to scootering, especially if you’re astride an authentic Vespa, but there is, too, their reality. In the UK, at least, they are generally tools: a means of cutting through soul-destroying queues of traffic, then parking up on the pavement.

To that end, in an urban environment, they are often better than a motorcycle - more nimble in tight spaces, easier to park, more practical (underseat storage), easier to weatherproof (you can’t really get one of those massive Tucano Urbano blankets for a motorbike), and more fuel-efficient.

As mentioned above, which one is best comes down to the individual: what suits your budget, your sense of style, and your expectations in terms of comfort and practicality? Whatever you choose, at least you won’t be stuck in a car.

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