GILERA RUNNER 125 (2009 - 2016) Review

The Gilera Runner 125 is a long-term favourite in the scooter market, and for 2009 the original design was finally updated.

Now four-stroke, the Runner is a sporty-looking and practical machine. It's suitable to ride on a provisional UK car licence as long as you've completed a CBT. That makes it ideal for new riders on their way to passing your full UK A motorbike licence.

The Gilera Runner 125 went off sale in 2016. It wasn't replaced. There's a thriving online community for this bike over at the Gilera Runner Owners Group on Facebook.

The Gilera Runner 125 is one of the better handling engine-on-swingarm scooters, handling town scenarios with ease.

On the open road it’s stable unless you try to change direction quickly, which upsets it. Ride quality is OK until you hit a larger bump or hole, when the over-sprung/under-damped suspension qualities that seem to afflict all Piaggio group scooters jolts you in the seat.

Being honest, 125cc four-strokes are bland at the best of times – adding a CVT transmission makes them truly featureless. The Gilera Runner 125 gets up to speed smoothly, efficiently but without excitement or a sense of urgency. It’s more than capable of keeping up with traffic though, and it’ll indicate over 70mph on a motorway, though that’s likely to be around 65mph in reality – enough for a safe journey, though revving it’s nuts off will become tiring.

Fit and finish of the enveloping panels is good generally, though the unpainted footboard panels are a touch flimsy. The Gilera Runner needs a dedicated approach to cleaning, otherwise the metal parts will suffer with corrosion – exhausts are nearly impossible to keep rust free, as with most scooters. A wire-brush and a lick of high-temperature paint once in a while solve it though.

Our Gilera Runner owner's review shows an above average score. It doesn't mention any drawbacks, however.

The Gilera Runner 125 ST is a practical but enjoyable scooter to ride, and the looks are credible too, making it a perfect runabout for the young and stylish, though scooterists just looking for a runabout might be best of looking at something simpler and cheaper.

These days, the best 125 scooter is generally agreed to be the Honda PCX125 and this is backed up by its astonishing sales figures. The Yamaha NMax 125 is also popular and electric alternatives like the Silence S01 are also becoming more mainstream. 125 and 50cc machines will be the first to disappear from showrooms as the ban on new petrol and diesel vehicles comes into effect.

The Gilera Runner 125 specs aren't crammed with toys but it's enough to get by. The obligatory underseat storage area takes a medium sized lid or enough kit for a day in the office, plus a small rack is fitted to take a topbox or strap items too. The dash is equipped with a clock and fuel gauge, the seat is big enough for two (though it’ll be slow going with a passenger). Two vents in the leg shields open to allow hot air from the radiator to pass over your legs, but the effect is barely noticeable.