If you thought Chinese bike manufacturers still restricted themselves to cheap ‘n cheerful scooters and 125s, think again. There’s now a whole raft of Chinese-made mid-range machines, and one of them – the Voge DS800X Rally – was the top selling adventure bike in October 2025, even out-numbering BMW’s evergreen R1300 GS. Of course, October is a quieter time of year for bike sales, but there’s no denying the upward swing of Voge sales in particular. In a market down 14.7% in the year to October, sales of the Chinese brand were up by 165% (from a low base). The DS800X also topped the 750-1000cc segment overall. Alongside Voge, CF Moto (one of the first Chinese mid-size bikes to come to Britain)

Electric motorcycles will be exempt from eVED (extended Vehicle Excise Duty) the new electric vehicle mileage charge, which is due to come into force in April 2028. You might have missed it in the small print of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget, but battery bikes will not be expected to pay the 3p/mile charge when it comes in. The reason given is that, along with electric vans, buses and HGVs, the market for e-motorcycles is deemed to be at an earlier stage than that for electric cars and needs more encouragement. Electric bikes will start paying conventional VED from April 2026, albeit at the lowest rate of £26 for a year. There was more good news for petrol bikers in the Budget

If your thoughts are already turning next year’s summer holiday, then Rome could be a good choice, with a new museum dedicated to Hondas opening there soon. The Honda Classic Museum will showcase the legendary oval-piston NR750 as well as a whole collection of historic Honda road and race bikes. Not only that, but the collection will be rotated on a regular basis, to keep it fresh. The museum is owned by Honda Moto Roma, said to be the largest Honda dealer in Europe, and judging by the collection of Honda bigwigs who turned up for the official opening on 26th November 2025, it’s seen as a significant moment for the company. Mr Okuda, President of Honda Motor Europe and Mr

Mental Health Motorbike (MHMB) Advocates for the mental health benefits of motorcycling at historic Men's Health Strategy unveiling with Prime Minister and Health Secretary 10 DOWNING STREET, LONDON, UK – November 20, 2025 Mental Health Motorbike (MHMB) is the country's first dedicated national free mental health support service for the motorcycling community. They are proud to announce their participation in the official unveiling of the government’s first-ever national Men's Health Strategy. Founder Paul Oxborough and MP Natalie Fleet (Bolsover) met with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting at 10 Downing Street on November 19, 2025, to discuss the critical role MHMB plays in addressing mental health challenges within the UK's 1.5+ million

Suzuki GB has announced an ‘up to ten-year warranty’ cover on all of its new bikes. Not only that, but the cover will be transferrable to subsequent owners, so effectively it will apply to 2026-on used machines as well. When the standard three-year/unlimited mileage warranty is over, the bike will be covered for an extra seven years or 70,000 miles, whichever comes up first. The only stipulation is that it must be serviced at a Suzuki dealer every year, but even that has a loophole – if a used bike has a gap of more than 250 miles or 14 days in its service history, the warranty may be reinstated, if the machine is then serviced and gets a health check