The UK motorcycle market is moving higher in 2026, with motorcycle registrations up 14.8% against the same period in 2025. The wider two-wheeler market is also growing: registrations across the L-Category, which includes mopeds, scooters, motorcycles and other vehicles, have risen 14.4% year to date. That amounts to 87,685 L-Category vehicles, compared with 76,649 at the equivalent point in 2025.

September brought a further 6.8% year-on-year increase for the overall market. Adventure motorcycles lead the year-to-date category figures, with growth of 23.4%, while competition motorcycles are up 22.5%. Competition machines produced the strongest monthly result, too: their September registrations rose 27.1%, the biggest increase among the motorcycle categories.

Honda tops the September registrations

Honda ranked first among manufacturers in September with 2,159 UK registrations. BMW followed on 1,256, while Triumph recorded 1,001. The category breakdown suggests that growth is not confined to one type of motorcycle, with adventure and competition machines both standing out in the year-to-date and monthly figures.

Tony Campbell, chief executive of the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA), described September as an important month for the full-year result and said the market was continuing to recover from 2025. He also renewed the organisation’s request for a positive government response to the review of rider licensing and training.

The MCIA argues that mopeds, motorcycles and other L-Category vehicles should have a more central place in an integrated transport system. Campbell also points to the sector’s contribution beyond personal travel, including manufacturing, innovation, skilled employment and social mobility. The stronger registration figures therefore arrive alongside a renewed policy argument about how two-wheelers should be treated in transport planning.