Hari
•12wI’ve been using a 125 cc Bajaj Discover 125 ST since 2012. However, its braking and narrow tyres make me nervous when riding on the highway. In 2018, I bought an Apache RTR 200 4V. Though I liked its crisp performance and strong brakes, it felt too heavy for me. A couple of near accidents made me sell it the next year, and since then I’ve been using only the Discover 125 ST. Now I want to upgrade to another 125 cc bike with better braking, slightly wider tyres, similar kerb weight, and a kick starter.

Autocar India
If you want wider tyres in the 125cc sporty commuter space, you'll have to go for one of the sporty-looking, feature-loaded options like the TVS Raider, Hero Xtreme 125R and Honda CB125 Hornet. All have at least single-channel ABS on the higher variants and tyres that are grippy enough to handle all sorts of road conditions you might encounter, both of which should help you stop in a controlled manner.
You've mentioned that having a kick starter is a priority for you, and of the bikes listed above, only the Hero has it as standard. However, these bikes are thoroughly modern, and their electric starters will work in just about every situation you find yourself in. So we'd advise you not to restrict yourself and potentially miss out on a high-quality product because of an antiquated notion like that.
TVS Raider
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Ashiv Gupta
•4wBajaj Pulsar 125 is one of the better pick in such category.
Bhavesh
•4wApache rtr 200 is really a good choice u can also look for tvs raider
pooja
•4wvery great information.
Ashiv Gupta
•4wBajaj Pulsar 125 is one of the better pick in such category.
Ashutosh Senger
•4wInformative article. kudos to the team
Sahil
•4wGreat answer, really appreciate it
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Posted on: 10 Feb 2026
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