Have new motorcycles become so expensive that used bikes have stopped depreciating?
Walk into any showroom in 2026 and you’ll see it instantly: new bikes look sharper, smarter, and more tech-loaded than ever. Then you check the price tag and suddenly that 2015 model on the used forecourt doesn’t seem “old” at all. It seems… sensible.
What you’ve noticed is real, and it’s one of the most important (and least talked-about) shifts in modern motorcycling economics: used bikes haven’t dramatically risen in price, but they also haven’t depreciated like they historically did. In many cases, the same used bike is advertised today for roughly what it was selling for in 2015.
That’s not normal depreciation behaviour. That’s a market telling us something.
And the message is clear: the widening cost gap between new and used is now so large that it often doesn’t justify the change.
New bikes have moved into a different financial universe
It’s tempting to blame “inflation” and move on, but the real story is more structural than that.
New motorcycles have become more expensive because the baseline cost to build and sell them has risen. Emissions and regulatory compliance alone has created huge development costs, and the industry has steadily added electronics, rider aids, displays, sensors, and software that would have sounded like science fiction in 2010. The result is a showroom product that’s technically impressive, but also financially heavier.
At the same time, the UK market has been choppy. MCIA’s 2025 totals show 93,922 new L-category registrations, down 19.3% on 2024, with the organisation noting distortions around the Euro 5 to Euro 5+ changeover at the end of 2024.
When new sales wobble, manufacturers have two options: cut costs (hard in a regulated world), or push value and finance harder to keep bikes moving. Most choose the second.
Why used bikes aren’t depreciating like they used to
This is the key: used values haven’t “gone up” so much as depreciation has stalled. That happens when several forces lock together.
Supply has tightened, even if it doesn’t look dramatic
Depreciation is powered by turnover. When people regularly trade in and upgrade, used stock flows steadily and sellers must price competitively. But if riders hold onto bikes longer, the supply of desirable used machines slows down. Less pressure to discount equals flatter pricing.
And riders are holding onto bikes longer because replacing them costs more than it used to. That’s the domino effect: new bike price inflation reduces replacement pressure, and used depreciation slows.
The 2010–2016 sweet spot is still “modern enough”
A lot of bikes from 2010–2016 sit in a perfect middle ground: fuel injection is mature, reliability is strong, performance is plentiful, and the bikes don’t feel like museum pieces. Many riders also view that era as “enough tech, not too much tech”.
So the old logic of “it’s 10 years old, it must be cheap” doesn’t land anymore. If a bike still looks right, rides right, and starts every time, buyers don’t demand the same discount they once did.
Buyers are pricing value, not age
Used-bike shoppers have changed. Instead of asking, “How old is it?” they’re asking, “What do I gain if I spend £6k more on new?”
And that’s where the market jams up.
The price gap that doesn’t justify the change
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: for many riders, the difference between a tidy used bike and a new equivalent has grown so wide that the upgrade feels irrational.
Not because new bikes aren’t good. They’re brilliant. But because the benefit-to-cost ratio is increasingly questionable for everyday riders.
If your current bike:
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does the commute
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does the weekend blast
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does the tour with soft luggage and a grin
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and won’t bankrupt you if it gets knocked over in a Tesco car park
…then paying thousands more for new can feel like paying premium money for marginal gain.
This is where the market becomes “sticky”. Used bikes stop depreciating because they become the default rational choice. That doesn’t mean used bikes are suddenly a bargain. It means new bikes are increasingly positioned as discretionary luxury.
Are manufacturers doing enough to encourage sales?
This is where I’ll be blunt. Some are trying. Many are not trying hard enough, or they’re using incentive tactics that look good on a banner but don’t close the gap in the real world.
We’re seeing offers that reduce monthly payments and soften the initial punch. For example, Indian Motorcycle UK’s Q1 2026 “Iconic Advantage” campaigns include purchase contributions (such as £1,000 on Scout/Scout Sixty, and a choice of contribution options on Chief models) and 9.9% APR representative finance, with the contribution usable toward trade-in allowance or parts/garments/accessories when ordered with the bike.
BMW is also pushing finance-led incentives on key models. Their UK offer pages show representative 4.9% APR deals for bikes like the F 900 R and R 12 within specific order/registration windows.
Those offers help. But here’s the issue: they often change the monthly number without changing the core perception of value.
Riders aren’t only asking, “Can I afford it?” They’re asking, “Is it worth it?”
And incentives don’t always answer that.
Where incentives could go further
If manufacturers genuinely want to pull riders back into new bikes (and restart healthy depreciation in the used market), they may need to be bolder and more rider-centric:
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Stronger trade-in guarantees that recognise the “value floor” riders currently believe in
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Service, warranty and consumables bundles that reduce ownership fear, not just purchase price
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More aggressive deposit contributions and genuinely competitive APR on mainstream models, not just halo machines
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Accessories included as standard on the variants people actually buy (screens, luggage, heated grips), rather than upselling at the till
Because right now, many deals feel like a finance trick to make new bikes seem palatable, rather than a proper rebalancing of what riders get for the money.
What this means for riders and the industry in 2026
For riders, the upside is obvious: if you bought a good used bike years ago, you’ve likely enjoyed remarkably stable value. That’s rare in motorcycling.
But for the industry, stalled depreciation is a warning light. It suggests the ladder has pulled up behind the average buyer. When new bikes become an aspirational purchase rather than a plausible one, the market risks shrinking into two extremes: high-end new bikes on finance at the top, and stubbornly valued used bikes in the middle with fewer people moving between the two.
That’s not a healthy ecosystem. Motorcycling thrives on progression: first bike, next bike, dream bike. If the “next bike” step stops making sense, the whole culture slowly loses momentum.
The bigger question we should be asking
Maybe the real issue isn’t whether used bikes are overpriced. Maybe it’s whether new bikes are still being priced and packaged for the riders who keep this scene alive.
Because if a 2015 bike feels like the smartest buy in 2026, it’s not because riders are stuck in the past.
It’s because the market has stopped giving them a future that feels worth paying for.