Buy safe! My Car Check reveals the motorbikes and scooters most likely to be written-off, stolen and on finance

Analysis of My Car Check data for the 12 months to end of May 2016 shows that 38% of used motorcycles, scooters and mopeds in the UK have at least one warning against them. 23% have a serious warning, such as being previously written-off (17.76%), having finance debt (4.98%) or being listed as stolen (0.63%).

Table 1: Mostlikelytobewrite-off

Table 2: Mostlikelytohavefinance debt

Table 3: Mostlikelytobestolen

Source: My Car Check (models with minimum 20 checks between June 2015 and May 2016)

Head of My Car Check, Roger Powell, said:"The average value of motorcycles, scooters and mopeds we checked in the last year was £3,853 for private sales and £4,379 for retail. For that money you can pick up a fantastic machine, but there are pitfalls to be avoided. For the price of a few litres of fuel we can reveal a bike's full history, things which the seller might not know or might not want to tell you.

"Even leaving the safety aspect aside, a previously written-off bike should cost a lot less than a like-for-like non-accident-damaged one. The popular Triumph Sprint ST 1050 sports tourer motorbike was most likely to have been previously written-off (47.83% of those checked), followed by the commuter favourite Honda CBF 125 M-D (45.45% of those checked).

"Bikes with high end aftermarket parts can be a bargain as the cost of these add-ons is often not reflected in the sale price. However, it is vital to establish if they are honest upgrades or whether they've been fitted to conceal crash damage. MyCarCheck.com can help you make a more informed decision.

"Today, the same as with cars, outstanding finance is another thing for bikers to worry about. The fact thatYamaha models such as theWR 125 XandYZF R1 09are more likely to have debt secured against them is a backhanded compliment to their hugely successful finance packages. The crux for used buyers is this:If youbuy a bike with outstanding financeit could be repossessed by the legal owner, the loan provider, leaving you out of pocket.

"Scooters are targeted by thieves due to the ease with which they can be picked up and shoved into the back of a van. This is certainly reflected in our findings with the stylishYamaha NXC 125 Cygnus scooter by far the most likely two-wheeled model to be stolen (8.57% of those checked), followed byanother scooter, theHonda WW 125-D, also known as the PCX125."

With information from the police, DVLA, insurers and finance houses, My Car Check holds up to 77 fields of data for every vehicle on UK roads - all points that buyers should be aware of before making an offer.

CDL Vehicle Information Services, which owns My Car Check, performs over a million look-ups a day for companies including AutoExpress, CompareTheMarket, Go-Compare, Moneysupermarket, Swiftcover, Tesco and WhatCar?.