Best Bikes Up to 125cc in India 2026

What 125cc and below gets you

Enough performance for city commuting, and very little beyond that. These bikes cruise comfortably at 50 to 60 kmph, filter through traffic easily and cost the least of anything to run. What they do not do well is sustained highway speed, carrying a heavy pillion up gradients, or overtaking quickly at 70 kmph.

For a solo rider covering under 25 km a day in a city, that trade is almost always worth making. The purchase price, fuel bill, insurance and servicing are all at the bottom of the market.

Motorcycles

The Hero HF Deluxe at Rs.58,646 is the cheapest motorcycle listed anywhere on this site. The TVS Sport at Rs.63,501 claims 80 kmpl, the highest ARAI figure in the entire catalogue, and the Honda Shine 100 at Rs.65,717 and Bajaj Platina 100 at Rs.69,217 round out the entry tier.

Stepping to a 125cc motorcycle buys noticeably better pull with a pillion for a few thousand rupees more, which is the single most worthwhile upgrade in this part of the market.

Scooters

The TVS Zest 110 at Rs.69,999, Hero Pleasure Plus at Rs.70,277 and Honda Dio at Rs.74,298 are the accessible automatics. They trade some mileage for step-through convenience and underseat storage, which is a fair exchange for short urban trips.

The premium outliers

The top of this category is not what you would expect. Aprilia's sport scooters and the KTM RC 125 at Rs.1.90 lakh are all 125cc or under, but they are priced two to three times a commuter because you are paying for chassis, brakes and styling rather than displacement.

They make sense for riders who want handling and looks on a small engine, often because of licensing or insurance considerations. As pure transport they are poor value against a Splendor.

Mileage

Seventeen models here carry a published ARAI figure, averaging about 59 kmpl. The TVS Sport at 80 kmpl leads the whole catalogue. Expect roughly 10 to 15 percent less in real traffic, and compare motorcycles against motorcycles — scooters return less because a CVT is less efficient than a matched gearbox.

Who this category suits

First-time buyers, high-mileage city commuters and households wanting a reliable second vehicle. Parts are cheap and stocked everywhere, almost any local mechanic can work on these engines, and resale demand is deep in every part of the country.

It suits you less if you regularly ride highways, carry a pillion over distance, or live somewhere with long gradients. In those cases the 126cc to 200cc band is worth the extra outlay, because a 125cc worked hard will return worse real-world mileage than a larger engine ridden gently.