The question comes up before every purchase: what does a motorcycle cost per year once the purchase price is paid? The honest answer has two parts. Some items are set by law and can be calculated exactly, such as the vehicle tax. Others depend on your age, where you live and your bike, and there is no serious flat rate for them. This article therefore works out the motorcycle running costs per year in three examples and marks every figure that is only an assumption. The rules and prices here are German; you can replace the assumptions with your own values.
In short
- Fixed and documented: vehicle tax (€1.84 per 25 cm³ or part thereof) and the two-year interval of the roadworthiness test.
- Highly individual: insurance. In 2026, example premiums from one direct insurer for liability plus partial cover were about €73 to €92, but only under very favourable conditions.
- Our own assumptions in the examples: servicing, tyres, chain, consumption and depreciation. Get quotes from your workshop.
- Biggest items: in the three examples it is depreciation or fuel, not tax.
The fixed items
Vehicle tax: how to calculate it
For motorcycles with a piston engine, the annual tax under the German Motor Vehicle Tax Act (§ 9) is €1.84 per 25 cm³ of displacement or part thereof. Divide the displacement by 25, round up and multiply by 1.84. Under § 11 the tax is paid a year in advance.
| Displacement | Calculation | Tax per year |
|---|---|---|
| 125 cm³ | 125 : 25 = 5 steps, 5 × 1.84 | €9.20 |
| 650 cm³ | 650 : 25 = 26 steps, 26 × 1.84 | €47.84 |
| 1,100 cm³ | 1,100 : 25 = 44 steps, 44 × 1.84 | €80.96 |
You find the displacement in the registration certificate. Tax is the smallest part of the running costs.
Roadworthiness test (HU)
For motorcycles the test interval is 24 months under Annex VIII of the German road vehicle licensing rules (StVZO). The ADAC puts the HU including the emissions test at roughly €75 to €100 depending on the testing body and federal state. If you need a re-test, the ADAC says to expect up to about €40 extra. Everything about the procedure and typical defects is in our article on the motorcycle TÜV inspection in Germany.
Insurance: ranges only, no flat price
Liability cover is compulsory; partial and fully comprehensive cover are optional. According to CosmosDirekt, the price depends on age and riding experience (under 23 usually costs more), the regional class of your home, where the bike is parked, annual mileage, occupation, the riders and engine power. Your no-claims class also matters.
As a reference point, CosmosDirekt gives examples starting April 2026, with 3,000 km a year, a garage and a special tariff for certain professions. A Honda Rebel 500 (35 kW, no-claims class SF 7) cost €56.33 liability plus €35.27 partial cover with a €150 excess, €91.60 together. A BMW 700 GS (55 kW, SF 10) came to €39.23 plus €33.83, €73.06 together. These are best cases from a single provider. Going by the factors above, a young rider in a city who parks on the street pays clearly more, but I could not document a specific figure for that. Get a quote for your own profile. Typical mistakes when taking out cover are covered in Motorcycle insurance: avoid the biggest mistakes.
The variable items
Fuel
According to the ADAC, a litre of Super E10 cost €2.114 on average nationwide in October 2026. That price is uncertain: it includes a fuel tax discount of roughly 17 cents per litre, which the ADAC says runs until the end of the year. How much your bike uses is covered in the article on average motorcycle fuel consumption. The formula is simple: kilometres : 100 × consumption × price per litre.
Servicing, tyres and chain
There is no official or neutral price list here, and ranges are wide. The examples below therefore use our own round assumptions. Replace them with the prices from your quote. For lifespan and choice, read Motorcycle tyres: choice, pressure, rules and Motorcycle chain maintenance. For tyres and chain it is easiest to calculate per kilometre: price : lifespan in km × your annual kilometres.
Depreciation
Many people forget this item because it never leaves your bank account. It is the difference between purchase price and later selling price, divided by the years you keep the bike. There are no documented percentages for it, so I use example prices as assumptions. How to find real market prices is explained in Used motorcycle: judging a fair price.
Three worked examples
All amounts in euros per year. Documented are only the tax (law), the HU price (ADAC, here €90 for two years, so €45 a year) and the fuel price of €2.11 per litre (ADAC, rounded). Assumptions are all other lines. Not included: clothing, garage or parking space, registration and repairs beyond servicing.
Assumptions at a glance
| Assumption | 125 | A2 bike (650 cm³) | Big bike (1,100 cm³) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mileage per year | 3,000 km | 5,000 km | 7,000 km |
| Consumption | 3.0 l/100 km | 4.8 l/100 km | 6.0 l/100 km |
| Insurance (liability + partial cover) | 150 | 220 | 180 |
| Servicing and wear parts at the workshop | 120 | 250 | 400 |
| Tyre set incl. fitting, lifespan | 150, 9,000 km | 300, 10,000 km | 400, 10,000 km |
| Chain kit, lifespan | 100, 15,000 km | 150, 20,000 km | 220, 25,000 km |
| Purchase, sale after 4 years | 3,000, 2,200 | 6,000, 4,400 | 10,000, 7,000 |
The insurance assumptions are deliberately above the documented best cases of €73 to €92, because not everyone has a special tariff and a garage.
Calculation and result
| Item | 125 | A2 bike | Big bike |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle tax | 9.20 | 47.84 | 80.96 |
| Insurance | 150.00 | 220.00 | 180.00 |
| HU (90 : 2) | 45.00 | 45.00 | 45.00 |
| Servicing and wear | 120.00 | 250.00 | 400.00 |
| Tyres (set × km : lifespan) | 50.00 (150 × 3,000 : 9,000) | 150.00 (300 × 5,000 : 10,000) | 280.00 (400 × 7,000 : 10,000) |
| Chain (kit × km : lifespan) | 20.00 (100 × 3,000 : 15,000) | 37.50 (150 × 5,000 : 20,000) | 61.60 (220 × 7,000 : 25,000) |
| Fuel (km : 100 × l × 2.11) | 189.90 (30 × 3.0 × 2.11 = 90 l) | 506.40 (50 × 4.8 = 240 l) | 886.20 (70 × 6.0 = 420 l) |
| Subtotal running costs | 584.10 | 1,256.74 | 1,933.76 |
| Depreciation ((purchase − sale) : 4) | 200.00 | 400.00 | 750.00 |
| Total per year | 784.10 | 1,656.74 | 2,683.76 |
| per kilometre (rounded) | 0.26 | 0.33 | 0.38 |
To check the 125 total: 9.20 + 150 + 45 + 120 + 50 + 20 + 189.90 = 584.10, plus 200 depreciation gives 784.10. A2 bike: 47.84 + 220 + 45 + 250 + 150 + 37.50 + 506.40 = 1,256.74, plus 400 gives 1,656.74. Big bike: 80.96 + 180 + 45 + 400 + 280 + 61.60 + 886.20 = 1,933.76, plus 750 gives 2,683.76. These are example values, not market statistics. If you ride more or less, fuel, tyres and chain shift accordingly.
Saving with a seasonal plate
Under the German vehicle registration rules (§ 10), a seasonal plate covers whole months, at least two and at most eleven. The tax is then calculated by the day under the Motor Vehicle Tax Act (§ 11), at 1/365 of the annual tax per day. Outside the season, the GDV says there is a premium-free dormant cover for liability and partial cover, provided the vehicle is not on a public road.
Example for the A2 bike with a season from April to October (seven months, 214 days):
- Tax: 47.84 × 214 : 365 = €28.05, saving €19.79 (documented calculation rule).
- Insurance: assuming the premium falls proportionally to 7/12: 220 × 7 : 12 = €128.33, saving €91.67. How much your insurer really reduces it, you must check in the quote.
- Total: 19.79 + 91.67 = €111.46 less, so the total falls from €1,656.74 to €1,545.28.
Against that you need a parking space off the street during the off-season. Duties and fines are covered in Seasonal plate or deregister.
What easily gets overlooked
- Protective clothing and a helmet are a purchase, but they need replacing eventually.
- A rider safety course costs money but lowers the risk of expensive crashes.
- An overdue HU gets more expensive: after more than two months the testing body may charge about 20 percent more, says the ADAC.
- Licence costs are not included. For an overview see Motorcycling for beginners: fears, costs, solutions.
Frequently asked questions
How high is the vehicle tax for a motorcycle?
It is €1.84 per 25 cm³ of displacement or part thereof, per year. A 650 therefore costs €47.84, a 125 costs €9.20.
What does the HU cost for a motorcycle?
The ADAC gives roughly €75 to €100 for the HU including the emissions test. It is due every 24 months.
How much does motorcycle insurance cost?
It depends on age, home, no-claims class, parking, mileage and engine power. In 2026, examples from a direct insurer were about €73 to €92 for liability plus partial cover under favourable conditions. For your profile you need your own quote.
Does a seasonal plate really save money?
On tax, yes, because it is calculated by the day. On insurance, premium-free dormant cover applies outside the season. You do need a parking space off the street.
What is the biggest cost block?
In the three worked examples it is depreciation and fuel. That rests on the assumptions given here and may look different for you.
Sources
- § 9 Tax rate, Motor Vehicle Tax Act (Gesetze im Internet, in German)
- § 11 Payment periods, Motor Vehicle Tax Act (Gesetze im Internet, in German)
- § 10 Special plates, Vehicle Registration Ordinance (Gesetze im Internet, in German)
- Annex VIII Vehicle inspection, StVZO (Gesetze im Internet, in German)
- Motorcycle roadworthiness test: costs and preparation (ADAC, in German)
- Fuel prices October 2026 (ADAC press, in German)
- Seasonal plates and premium-free dormant cover (GDV, in German)
- Motorcycle insurance costs, examples and factors (CosmosDirekt, in German)
As of November 2026. Tax rates, prices and premiums can change.
