Smaller, cheaper sub-500cc bikes are soaring up the sales charts, according to the latest detailed sales figures from DfT and DVLA. For the first six months of 2024, sub-500s took five of the top ten seller spots for over 125cc machines.

Triumph’s 400cc single was the star performer, with the Speed 400 grabbing second place (1135 sales in January-June 2024) and its Scrambler 400X cousin in fourth (1000 sales). The Speed 400 actually outsold BMW’s new R1300GS, though the evergreen R1250GS remained best seller overall, at 1324. Other smaller bikes in the top ten were the Royal Enfield Meteor 350 in seventh place, the Honda ADV 350 in ninth and Enfield’s Himalayan 452 in tenth.

That was backed up by MCIA sales figures for the entire year, showing falling numbers for the 751-1000cc and 1000cc+ classes – by contrast, 125-500cc sales were up by 26.1%.

What we don’t know is exactly what is driving this resurgence of smaller motorcycles. Is it down to bikers looking to save money in hard times? Or is it older riders looking to downsize to a smaller, more manageable machine, or younger ones upgrading with an A2 licence? One thing is clear, these smaller, cheaper bikes have thinner profit margins than the big ones, which may have been a factor in the spate of motorcycle dealership closures last year.

At the BMF, Chair Jim Freeman said: “The temptation to say ‘all of the above’ is strong. I’d say also that it’s the return of ‘sensible’ bikes, always the mainstay of the bike market from the start of motorcycling. For a relatively short couple of decades the focus was on expensive, high end leisure toys, frequently with their ‘born again’ owners. Has that market shifted? Maybe the people who could afford, or more to the point, could finance such things are deciding that in a shrinking economy, at a certain age point, a ‘zxgscbr 1000 whizzbang’ isn’t something there’s much point to, especially in the ‘20’s plenty’ environment. A 400 single can be just as much fun, at a wallet friendly price, without endangering one’s licence at every twist of the wrist. Obviously if your business model is built on high margin whizzbangs, that’s not going to be good news, hullo Ducati, BMW, KTM, Harley. Good to see that Triumph have kept up with the times… ”

Written by Peter Henshaw

Top image courtesy of Triumph Motorcycles