Used motorbike buying guides from the experts at MCN

Our expert guides to the best used bikes are your ultimate shopping companion. We pick the sector and pricepoint, then guide you through the models you need to know about, and what to consider when buying one on the second hand motorcycle market. Don't forget, the best place to start shopping is with MCN Bikes for Sale.

Year: ALL

Call of the wild! Five great adventure choices beyond the usual suspects

27 August 2025 by Jon Urry

Adventure bikes are the current hot-product, but making a dent in this competitive class is far from easy. Related: Riding gear for adventure bike riders Every manufacturer hopes to replicate...

Summer scorchers! Five used bikes that will get your season really moving, for under £3k

26 August 2025 by Jon Urry

Now is, fairly obviously, the best time for riding a motorcycle. Aside from the need to continually remove the exploded corpses of insects from your visor, nothing beats a warm day, the open road and...

Miniature missiles! Five great A2-legal sportsbikes that are small in capacity but big on fun

20 August 2025 by Jon Urry

The UK has an ingrained love of sportsbikes and just because you are restricted to an A2 licence doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the fun. Related: Sportsbike riding gear guide There is a...

Roaring roadsters! I think these are five great sporty naked motorcycles don’t overstep the mark

19 August 2025 by Jon Urry

While super-nakeds tend to grab the headlines, for many riders they are simply too much of a good thing. With mind-bending performance, much like sportbikes, they are on the verge of becoming unusable...

If you want a standard-setting, great-value used bike, I think you need one with a tuning fork logo

15 August 2025 by Mike Armitage

Yamaha are innovators. They were first with ride-by-wire, played with hub-centre steering, brought us variable timing with YPVS and even stick two wheels on the front of some bikes. Yet this boldness...

High-mile heroes! Don't let big miles put you off... I think these beauties are built to last

11 August 2025 by Jon Urry

Buyers often get caught up worrying about what mileage is showing on the clocks rather than looking at the bigger picture. Anyone viewing a machine that’s covered over 40,000 miles will instantly...

I think these retro beauties blend classic style with modern motorcycling. What's not to like?

08 August 2025 by Phil West

For those looking to relive their biking youth, retro motorcycles tick a lot of boxes. Modern reliability, handling and performance bring peace of mind, but iconic curves, names, styling and even...

Keep your motor stunning! The engine is the heart and soul of any bike, so get one with a real cracker

31 July 2025 by Phil West

If you’re after a charismatic motorcycle, get one with a charismatic motor. Bikes like Yamaha’s monster cruiser V-twin MT-01, which is joyously more lumpy and grunty than any other, or, at the other...

Looking for an affordable naked? I think you should check out these middleweights for just £3500

30 July 2025 by Jon Urry

Naked middleweights make perfect sense. As well as being ideal for newer riders, they make brilliant commuters, fun back-road blasters and reliable second bikes for when the weather makes taking your...

Time to downsize? Cheap to buy but big on fun, I think these cut-down versions are well worth a punt

24 July 2025 by Jon Urry

Downsizing can have many benefits and in the motorcycle world they include cheaper running costs, reduced insurance and a lower price. That’s why this week we have searched out the best smaller...

Top-rate £5k tourers: Five great used continent-shrinkers for the price of a new 125…

22 July 2025 by Jon Urry

There is nothing better than getting away for a proper escape to a foreign country for a few days or even several weeks. Taking in new cultures, seeing new sights and eating new foods are all...

I say it's time you rediscovered the joy of supersport bikes! Grab your knee sliders and get onboard

15 July 2025 by Jon Urry

In the early 2000s the two-wheeled world was going supersport crazy as a whole new generation of inline fours emerged from Japan. With screaming motors and race-bred chassis, these pocket rockets were...

These £2k bargains prove you don't need to spend a lot to put some sparkle into every day

14 July 2025 by Mike Armitage

Bored of wasting hours in stationary traffic and paying huge car park costs? Tired of waiting for the bus, or being elbowed on that crowded train? It’s time to put a bike back into your daily...

These bikes traded on their looks when they were new, but I don't think they're style over substance

11 July 2025 by Jon Urry

Being a bike designer is a challenging job – get it right and you are the toast of the town, miss the mark and your creation may bomb. The history of two wheels is littered with bikes that have proved...

I reckon you only need £4k to get on a sizzling sporty naked. Here are five you should consider

08 July 2025 by Jon Urry

Sporty naked bikes make a lot of sense; arguably more so than pure sportsbikes. Not only is our road network frustratingly busy, making letting a sportsbike off its leash tricky, but there are an...

Don't just meet your heroes, buy one! MCN's guide to legendary bikes at bargain prices

04 July 2025 by Mike Armitage

Fancy owning Ducati’s revolutionary 916, an original standard-setting Honda CBR900RR FireBlade or a mint example of the era-defining Yamaha RD350LC? You’ll need deep pockets – prices for these...

My expert guide to used oddball nakeds proves being normal is highly overrated

01 July 2025 by Jon Urry

As Oscar Wilde once wrote: “There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” So if you are the kind of rider who likes to pull up at a meet...

R-Series stunners: Our pick of top used bikes from Yamaha's iconic sportsbike line-up

27 June 2025 by Jon Urry

Yamaha produce their R-Series of sportsbikes to fit any shape, size and licence category of motorcyclist. From the range-topping R1 to the A1-legal R125, A2-legal R3 or R7 (with a restriction kit) and...

A used Royal Enfield retro is a shrewd buy if you want great value and yesteryear style

24 June 2025 by Mike Armitage

Fire up your DeLorean, pop back a decade or so and tell everyone Royal Enfield will top UK sales. They’ll think you’re potty. Yet here in 2025 their charming, laid-back bikes outsell… well, quite...

Funky 50s! I reckon there's nothing more fun in motorcycling than wobbling around at 29mph...

19 June 2025 by Mike Armitage

We live in a world that’s obsessed with sharing. But instead of boring your social media ‘friends’ with pictures of your dinner, get out on a 50cc motorbike with a group of like-minded mates and share...

These used do-it-all adventure bikes prove you don't need to buy new to buy right

17 June 2025 by Mike Armitage

What does ‘adventure bike’ mean to you? For some it’s getting wedged in ruts in a deserted sandy canyon, for others it’s comfortably exploring foreign landscapes with a pillion. Fortunately the...

Fabulous and frugal: Why I love these cheap but cheerful used bikes

16 June 2025 by Mike Armitage

First it was petrol heading towards two quid a litre. Then came inflated food prices, and now it’s the cost of energy for the home that’s got bums twitching. And let’s not mention the price of beer…...

Here's a selection of vintage '80s and '90s 400cc sportsbikes you'll be lusting after all week...

10 June 2025 by Mike Armitage

Today’s small-capacity sportsbikes are capable, affordable, reliable and lots of other things ending in ‘able’. But as impressive as they are, they simply don’t grab you inside like 400s of the late...

MCN's expert buying guide to finding a used Honda Hornet without getting stung!

06 June 2025 by Jon Urry

Honda introduced the world to the Hornet name in 1996. A Japanese market bike, the CB250F Hornet never made it to the UK so we had to wait until the 1998 CB600F Hornet to see what the fuss was...

Do it all sports-tourers for £6K! One motorbike really can do it all

28 May 2025 by Mike Armitage

It’s easy to think sport-tourers are a compromise: bikes that try to do too much and end up being a bit… meh. But modern engineering and design mean it’s possible to have a bike that’s fast and...

These used supersport 600s are a great way to get onto a race-rep with some real pedigree

27 May 2025 by Jon Urry

In 1997 the World Supersport series kicked off as a support class to the World Superbike championship. Designed to offer racing that highlighted the abilities of road-going supersport bikes and with...

My pick of the best used Suzukis proves you can find a stunner for not a lot of dosh

20 May 2025 by Mike Armitage

Triumph are famous for triples. Honda are known for their quality, Harley build cruisers and KTM like making bikes for getting dirty. And Suzuki? They don’t have a signature style or engine. But the...

Stand out from the crowd with one of these left-field alternative motorcycles

09 May 2025 by Mike Armitage

Daring to be different isn’t something we conservative bikers usually favour. But look past obvious, popular machinery and there are capable, desirable bargains to be had. These often overlooked...

Make every ride a special event with one of these exotic used bikes - starting from £5k

09 May 2025 by Mike Armitage

When your garage door swings open and you stand with a cuppa ogling your bike, it’s not the riding modes or heated seats causing those butterflies. No, it’s from the fact that motorcycles affect you...

Amazing bikes at sensible prices! Just how far does £2500 get you in today's used bike market?

06 May 2025 by Mike Armitage

Let’s be honest, these days two-and-a-half grand doesn’t go as far as it used to. But it also happens to be the natural cut-off point for an awful lot of desirable, capable, fabulous bikes built in...

I think these cruisers are classically styled, laid-back legends. After reading this, you will too!

23 April 2025 by Mike Armitage

Cruiser. It’s not a word you’re likely to spot in any brand’s current model line-up. The idea of feet-forward riding positions, chrome sissy-bars and lace-up leather strides doesn’t cut it in 2020.

Get some HP sauce! With High Performance comes a high price – but I think you’ll be well rewarded

18 April 2025 by Jon Urry

In late 2005, BMW revealed a new range of HP models. The HP bikes (High Performance) were to be a limited-run that were a cut above the rest. The first was the HP2 Enduro (with the two signifying twin...

I think these secondhand 400cc screamers are as exciting as they are iconic

14 April 2025 by Mike Armitage

Compared to the latest bikes, a 400cc sportsbike no longer appears revvy, light or high-tech. Time and technology have moved on. But find a good example of the diminutive four-cylinder 400 and the...

Expert guide to £1500 brilliance! Astounding bikes and ownership pride for not much money at all

11 April 2025 by Mike Armitage

What can you get for £1500? You could buy a pointlessly-large TV, a flash watch or an iPhone Xs Max (yes, folk really pay £1500 for a phone). Or you could buy an amazing motorbike. There’s not really...

These are my favourite adventure bikes from the 'Big Four' Japanese manufacturers

08 April 2025 by Phil West

It’s common to associate the leading European bike brands with adventure bikes. After all, BMW’s GS is a perennial best-seller, KTM’s V-twin Adventures are the benchmark for off-roading and Ducati’s...

Extra-special Ks! BMW’s division of distance destroyers has something for everybody

04 April 2025 by Jon Urry

BMW’s K-series (the K stands for Kraftrad, or wheel power) were Germany’s response to the ever-increasing performance offered by Japanese touring rivals. The first Ks, the K100 and faired K100RS,...