French Revolution

Peugeot Motorcycles has been around since 1898, which actually makes it one of the oldest manufacturers of bikes in the world. That’s quite an achievement – though it hasn’t actually been building ‘proper’ bikes continuously for all that time. It’s much better known for its steady release of scooters; with a rich range of urban commuters, retro-ish rides and longer-legged maxi scooters (and three-wheelers, too). Chris Bailey has been spending time with the PM-01 125cc.

Peugeot does make bikes, though – it’s just that it’s been a while since the last one, with the XR7 released over 10 years ago in 2012. The good news is that the French firm’s decided it’s time to get back in the game with a pair of modern naked bikes for learner riders – the PM-01 125 and 300. We managed to snag the littlest of the pair for a couple of weeks through the summer, putting it through its paces as a daily commuter. 

It’s a good-looking thing – in a sort of futuristic way. Peugeot’s cars have always had a distinctive look to them, and the PM-01 is no different; with a large angular LED headlight protruding from the front in a striking design choice which means there is a gap between the front of the bike and the fuel tank. The rest of the bike’s angular, too, all sharp lines and block colours. The back of the PM-01 is impressive, with the tail lights being made up of 6six LED strips, and the indicators being sequential. The finish is good and the build quality looks pretty spot on, befitting its premium 125cc motorcycle pricing.

Sadly it’s not the most comfortable place to be. It’s compact size and naked styling weren’t ever going to make for the plushest of rides, but the ergonomics of the pegs, seat and bars just didn’t quite make sense. It’s both sporty but not sporty enough, and relaxed but not relaxed enough to ever really be one thing. The top half of your body wants to be bolt upright, while the lower half of your body reaching back a bit towards the pegs – which isn’t an altogether unusual set up – but it’s so compact that it’s a real squeeze even for my sub-6ft frame.

While we’re on the subject, it’s worth mentioning that the kickstand that’s located directly underneath the footpeg is a bit of a pain to get to. I got used to it relatively quickly, but it took a fair bit of awkward fumbling for the first few days until I developed the knack.

The other essentials work well, though. The mirrors come up high and offer a fantastic view of the road behind; the switchgear is clear and easy to use; and the TFT screen offers all information you’d want to see at a glance (including allowing you to see notification of any calls or messages if you hook up your phone).

On the road, it performs well. The 14hbp engine made it easy to get up to the national speed limit and beyond – and even while riding into strong headwinds, the PM-01 reliably reached 62mph. You’ve got to work it hard to make progress, yet it’s surprisingly smooth and reasonably flexible. I’ve not been riding long (and have only ever ridden 125s), but it’s certainly one of the best engine’s I’ve had the chance to put through its paces. It stops well, too, with the ABS-assisted set up working admirably, responding quickly with no surprising bite and plenty of feel.

I’m a fan of the suspension set up. It seems to sit in the golden middle zone between hard and soft; firm and performance-focused to make swift, assured progress, yet with enough give to sail over rough roads without a hard bump.

Handling-wise, everything comes together well. It didn’t matter whether I was throwing the PM-01 round out on the twisties or ambling around town, it felt as if I was working with the bike rather than feeling like I was having to force it round each bend.

I’ve got a bit of a thing for headlights. I do decent miles in the dark, so they need to be good, but I wasn’t totally sure which way the PM-01’s were going to go. I was thrilled to discover that the units fitted are some of the strongest headlights I’ve used to date, with the dipped beam providing great coverage and the full beam had more or less the same level of brightness, just with further reach.

Despite a couple of small gripes, the Peugeot has been a great ride; a real jack-of-all-trades which seemed perfectly confident no matter what road surface I put beneath it.

Ultimately, the £3999 PM-01 carves out a great position for itself in the middle of the marketplace, with its performance putting it above the competition at the cheaper end of the spectrum and its price pitting it below some of the big names in the game (without skimping on features and built quality).

In conclusion, this bike is a cracking bit of kit that’ll hold its own on the wide-open road and dominate traffic during the daily commute.