Best 50cc motorcycle (2023)

Best Top Ten 10 50cc Mopeds Bikes Motorcycles_04

 

There’s been a long tradition of starting out in motorcycling at 16 and the same is still true today. And although many choose to wait until the age of 17 for the larger, more exciting choice of 125cc machines you’re then eligible for, there’s still a decent choice available of 50cc/30mph restricted machines 16-year-olds, under the current AM licence restriction, are eligible for.

So, whether you’re after a sexy sportster, a saucy supermoto, a fashionable hipster-style retro or simply a straightforward and affordable roadster as a start to your life on two wheels, now’s the time to put away the PS5, switch off Netflix, ignore Instachat and do something far cooler and more exciting instead. 

To help you here’s our latest, updated choice of the 10 best 50cc machines currently available, chosen for their specification, style and value and summarised in ascending price order:

No

Bike

Price

1

Yamasaki F60

£1749 +otr

2

Yamasaki F50

£1749 +otr

3

WK Colt 50

£1899 +otr

4

Bluroc Heritage 50

£1899 +otr

5

WK Scrambler 50

£2049 +otr

6

Yamasaki YM50

£2299 +otr

7

Mash Fifty 50

£2399+ otr

8

Mash X-Ride 50

£2899 +otr

9

Rieju MRT 50

From £2899 +otr

10

Fantic XM50 Motard

£4099

 

Best Top Ten 10 50cc Mopeds Bikes Motorcycles_01

 

1. Yamasaki F60: £1749+otr

A full-size 50cc motorcycle from upcoming Chinese/British brand Yamasaki that uses a simple 50cc, fuel-injected, air-cooled engine with a four-speed manual transmission held in a straightforward and novice-friendly, upright roadster, twin shock chassis. There’s trendy, retro café racer-cum-scrambler styling in the form of black-rimmed wire spoked wheels, two-tone paint, fork gaiters, mini-indicators, headlight guard etc but plenty of modern touches too, in the form of disc brakes front and rear and an LCD digital dash. It’s available in matt black only – but is stupendous value.

 

Best Top Ten 10 50cc Mopeds Bikes Motorcycles_02

 

2. Yamasaki F50: £1749+otr

New for 2022, the F80 is basically a naked, roadster style version of the YM50 sportster (see below), so features all the tech and most of the style of the faired version but in a more novice-friendly, upright package and, as there’s no fairing etc, an even cheaper price. It has the same, fuel-injected, four-speed single cylinder engine and smart trellis-style tubular steel chassis complete with monoshock rear suspension, plus ‘wavy’ single front disc, LCD dash, LED lights and is available in two colours.

 

Best Top Ten 10 50cc Mopeds Bikes Motorcycles_03

 

3. WK Colt 50: £1899+otr

New in 2017 is this Colt 50 from Chinese manufacturer WK Bikes – and if it looks familiar, we’re not at all surprised. Clearly inspired by Honda’s hugely popular Grom/MSX125 monkey bike, the Colt is an ultra-cute, easy to ride minibike powered by an air-cooled four-stroke engine and with a tubular lattice-style frame and an LCD dash. Not much good, admittedly, over any sort of distance and without the Honda’s quality and detail but it is temptingly cheap.

 

Best Top Ten 10 50cc Mopeds Bikes Motorcycles_04

 

4. Bluroc Heritage 50: £1899+otr

Another mini or ‘monkey’ bike style 50 with small 10inch wheels, so it’s great as an around town fun bike and, with folding handlebars, can even be fitted in a car boot – but restricted over longer distance. It’s from Belgian/Chinese brand Bluroc (formerly Bullitt) and is styled akin to the original 1970s Honda Dax but with a more modern fuel-injected, air-cooled, four-stroke, single-cylinder engine with four gears, LCD digital dash and comes in three different colours.

 

Best Top Ten 10 50cc Mopeds Bikes Motorcycles_05

 

5. WK Scrambler 50: £2049+otr

Another new, retro scrambler style full size 50cc roadster – this time from establish budget British/Chinese brand WK Bikes. It’s called, rather unimaginatively, the Scrambler 50, comes in grey or black, is powered by a familiar, air-cooled, 50cc four-stroke, single-cylinder engine, has a conventional, ‘low tech’ tubular steel, twin shock chassis but also has a low 780mm seat height, making it unintimidating for novices. There’s also LED lights, LCD digital instruments, steel braided brake lines and a two-year warranty.

 

Best Top Ten 10 50cc Mopeds Bikes Motorcycles_06

 

6. Yamasaki YM50: £2299+otr

Currently the only true sports style geared 50cc motorcycle available in the UK, the YM50 is a great-looking, full-size sportster with a racy full fairing, twin front discs, digital dash and more, enough to make you the envy of all your school friends. The 50cc single-cylinder engine has fuel injection and a four-speed gearbox, there’s LED lights all round, disc brakes front and rear, a stainless-steel twin outlet exhaust and a 12-months parts warranty.

 

Best Top Ten 10 50cc Mopeds Bikes Motorcycles_07

 

7. Mash Fifty 50: £2399+otr

French firm Mash is one of the leading examples of a new wave of fashionable European brands that import affordable, Chinese-built lightweights but with currently trendy, retro British styling. The Fifty 50 is its cheapest 50 and features a basic, air-cooled, single cylinder four-stroke engine, four-speed manual gearbox and big 18” wheels that give it some big bike presence. Not particularly dynamic or cutting edge in any way it’s at least cute and affordable.

 

Best Top Ten 10 50cc Mopeds Bikes Motorcycles_08

 

8. Mash X-Ride 50: £2899+otr

If you want your first 50 to be a full-sized bike but don’t fancy a sportster or roadster this trail/scrambler style machine also from Mash should be on your wish list. It’s powered by a fuel-injected four-stroke single but this time in a full-size, trail-cum-supermoto style retro chassis with upright bars, long travel suspension, 17-inch wire Supermoto wheels and retro styling borrowed from Mash’s larger X-Ride 650 – so it looks great, is easy to ride and has plenty of nice details – even if it’s not quite as cheap as some.

 

Best Top Ten 10 50cc Mopeds Bikes Motorcycles_09

 

9. Rieju MRT 50: from £2899+otr

Spanish brand Rieju are specialists in lightweight 50s and 125s and its MRT trail bike-cum Supermoto remains among the most stylish and modern of 50cc machines available. In contrast to the fairly ‘old-tech’ Chinese offerings, it’s powered by a liquid-cooled Minarelli two-stroke engine with six-speed gearbox, has decent quality, adjustable suspension and twin spar frame. The range starts with the trail style MRT with 21in/18in wire wheels but there’s also the Supermoto-style MRT 50 SM with 17in road wheels at £3199, the upspecced SM Pro with inverted front forks and the top of the range MRT 50 Pro at £3699.

 

Best Top Ten 10 50cc Mopeds Bikes Motorcycles_10

 

10. Fantic XM50 Motard: £4099+ otr

Another saucy new Supermoto 50 for 2023 from an established European brand, this time Italy’s revived Fantic. Like the Rieju, the XM50 is powered by the Minarelli two stroke engine with six-speed gearbox yet is fully Euro5 compliant and boasts a steel perimeter frame, 17inch wire Supermoto wheels, stylish inverted front forks, a monoshock rear and bags of style. There’s even an upspecced Performance version, too. It’s not the cheapest or, possibly, the easiest to learn on – but it’s the one that will be the envy of all your mates!