Most Popular Bikes in India: What Buyers Are Choosing in 2026
Overview
India’s best-selling motorcycles are still 100-125cc commuters. This guide ranks the most popular bikes in India using FY26 totals and the festive-season 2026 numbers, then adds rupee figures: ex-showroom prices from about ₹76,000, monthly fuel bills at ₹102 a litre, and three-year EMIs. It is written for first-time buyers choosing between the Splendor+, Shine 125 and Classic 350.
The most popular bikes in India are not the ones in the glossy launch videos. Hero’s Splendor+ starts around ₹76,000 (ex-showroom, Delhi) and sold 37.28 lakh units in FY26, nearly double the 19.87 lakh of the runner-up, Honda Shine 125. Festive demand is keeping showrooms busy: September 2026 retail registrations hit 17.9 lakh two-wheelers, up 33 percent on last year. Here is who is winning, and what each one costs to live with.
Most Popular Bikes in India: The 2026 Sales Picture
The top of the table has barely moved. FY26 closed with the Splendor at 37,27,739 units, the Shine 125 at 19,87,466, the Bajaj Pulsar at 13,99,491 and the Hero HF Deluxe at 10,12,191. Nothing else comes close. In August 2026 the Splendor alone moved 3,53,842 bikes and the Shine 1,80,626, and those two made up 57.6 percent of the top-ten pile.
Read that again. More than half of what India’s best-selling motorcycles sell is two commuter nameplates, each priced under ₹1 lakh on the road in most cities.
Where the growth is hiding
Underneath the leaders, the mood is shifting. The Pulsar is slipping, with June 2026 sales down 12 percent year on year. TVS is the beneficiary: the Apache grew 34 percent that month, and it was the fastest-growing motorcycle in the August list. The Raider, at 4,26,877 units in FY26, keeps the 125cc fight alive for TVS.
Then there is Royal Enfield. The Classic 350 sold 4,10,347 units in FY26, and three Royal Enfield models made July’s top ten. A ₹2 lakh motorcycle sitting among ₹80,000 commuters says finance is doing a lot of the lifting, which is exactly why the next section matters. If you have read our earlier Classic 350 and TVS Raider coverage, you already know the spec sheets. The running costs are what separate the winners.
Best Mileage Bike in India? The Monthly Running-Cost Test
Spec sheets rarely say what a bike costs per month. So I assumed 1,000 km of riding, Delhi petrol at about ₹102 a litre, and a three-year loan at 11 percent. Down payments are ₹15,000 for the commuters and ₹40,000 for the Classic. Your bank’s rate will differ. Mileage is typical Delhi-traffic reality, well below the ARAI claims.
Add EMI and petrol and the Splendor+ costs about ₹4,200 a month. The Shine lands near ₹4,400. The Classic 350 hits roughly ₹8,800, more than double. That gap, about ₹4,600 every month, is the real price of the Enfield badge, and it never appears on the showroom board.
On-road numbers sharpen it. A Splendor+ in Delhi typically costs ₹87,000-93,000 once RTO and insurance are added, depending on the dealer. The cheapest Classic 350 is around ₹2.1 lakh on the road, and the Chrome variant crosses ₹2.5 lakh.
Splendor+ vs Shine 125: Where the Extra ₹5,000 Goes
Honestly, this is the decision most buyers face. The Shine costs ₹5,000-8,000 more ex-showroom and drinks only about ₹60 more petrol a month. In return you get 10.74 PS against the Splendor+’s 8.02 PS, about 34 percent more power, plus 11 Nm of torque against roughly 8 Nm. On a flyover with a truck behind you, that gap is felt.
The Splendor+ answers with simplicity. It is light, cheap to service, and every mechanic from Patna to Pune knows it blindfolded. Resale is strong for the same reason. If your riding is mostly under 30 km a day at city speeds, the Shine’s extra grunt goes unused.
Rivals matter here too. The TVS Raider is the sportier 125, and the Pulsar still wins on road presence, though its falling sales show that buyers are drifting toward cheaper running costs.
Who Should Buy What
For a first bike, a daily commute and a tight budget, the Splendor+ is the answer, and its sales numbers say so. Buy the Shine 125 if you ride 40 km or more daily or touch highways. Choose the Classic 350 only after checking that ₹8,800 a month fits your salary comfortably, because the bike is lovely but unforgiving on the wallet. Among the most popular bikes in India, the Splendor+ wins on price, running cost and sheer availability, and nothing at its price has dethroned it. Check the on-road price and EMI for the Hero Splendor+ in your city on Drivio.
Hero Splendor+ is the safe buy at roughly ₹4,200 a month, EMI and petrol together. Go for the Shine 125 if your daily ride crosses 40 km and you want a third more power. Pick the Classic 350 only if you can carry about ₹8,800 monthly. The commuter shelf is where most sensible money goes.
