YAMAHA BWS 125 (2010 - on) Review

The BW’s 125 is an off-road inspired scoot that goes nicely and looks even nicer - rugged styling marks it out as a small scoot aimed at blokes. At £2,499 it’s not the cheapest 125 scooter on the market, but nice detailing and decent performance help to justify the price.

The ‘BW’ in this scooter’s name stands for Big Wheel - which makes sense when you see that it’s fitted with chunky-treaded off-road style tyres. Yamaha claim this helps it find grip over potholes and on cobbled streets. We think it mostly just looks cool - which is no bad thing – and in fairness the BW’s 125 does have very stable and reassuring handling. The brakes are adequate if lacking bite – for the price it would be nice to see a disc on the back rather than a drum.

The BW’s 125cc 4v 4-stroke single makes a claimed 8.9bhp. Like most 4-stroke 125cc scooters it tops out at around 65mph, which is just a bit too slow for the open road. But twist the chunky throttle grip and you’ll be rewarded with enough go to keep ahead of traffic around town. 

The BW’s 125 is satisfyingly sturdy and rugged, with some funky styling touches, such as: big stacked headlights, shotgun tail-lights, an exposed tubular frame, red brake caliper, red stitching on the seat and motorcycle-style bars and clocks.

The BW's 125's £2,499 price tag is about the going rate for a scooter from a big-name manufacturer like Yamaha. The Honda PS125i is £2,570, the Suzuki Sixteen is £2,549 and neither are as stylish as the BW. The BW’s 125 does come with a choice of either 3 years 0% finance or free TPFT insurance, but if you’re on a tight budget there are cheaper options out there. Find a scooter for sale.

A storage bay big enough for a full-face lid and a decent grab rail add practicality, but the BW’s 125 is styled to be minimalist, so you don’t get any cubby-holes or power sockets and it’s physically quite small. At 5’9” I was very comfortable, but taller riders may struggle. The fuel tank is only 6 litres too. Compare and buy parts for the BW's 125 in the MCN Shop.