Quick answer: There are three ways to win a motorbike in the UK: free giveaways from bike brands, insurers and shows, paid prize draws, and the free postal entry route those draws offer when the winner is picked by chance. Check your licence first: an unrestricted bike needs a full category A licence, from age 24 by direct access.
Key takeaways
- Your licence decides what you can ride: A1 covers bikes up to 125cc and 11kW from 17, A2 covers up to 35kW from 19, and category A is unrestricted from 24 (or 21 via progressive access).
- Free bike giveaways do exist. One, checked on 24 September 2026, offers a Honda CB650R plus a year's insurance, closes at 23:59 on 1 January 2027 and is open only to full category A licence holders.
- Budget for running costs: vehicle tax runs from £27 to £125 a year depending on engine size, and insurance is on you unless the prize includes it.
Want to see which bikes are up for grabs right now? Browse our motorbike competitions UK page, or claim free tickets as a new player.
How can I win a free motorcycle?
Enter no-purchase giveaways from motorcycle brands, insurers, dealers and motorcycle shows, or use the free postal entry route of a paid bike prize draw. Both are free apart from a stamp. Everything else, including paid tickets and charity raffles, costs money for every entry you make, even when the entry price is small.
A live free giveaway (checked 24 September 2026)
Bikesure Insurance, Honda UK and the Motorcycle Live show are giving away a new Honda CB650R. Details from the official entry page and terms:
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Prize | A new Honda CB650R plus one year's motorcycle insurance from Bikesure, up to £750 and subject to underwriting |
| Promoter | Bikesure Insurance, a trading name of Adrian Flux Insurance Services |
| How to enter | Online form, or a paper form at Motorcycle Live at the NEC, 21 to 29 November 2026. One entry per person, no purchase necessary |
| Closing date | 23:59 on 1 January 2027 |
| Who can enter | UK residents aged 18+ with a valid full category A licence and no more than six penalty points |
| Small print | No cash alternative if the insurance cannot be arranged; the winner has 3 days to claim after being notified; collection is from a Honda dealership |
To find others, follow the official websites and social accounts of bike brands, dealers, insurers and brokers, motorcycling magazines and the big shows. Search for "win a motorbike" with "no purchase necessary" or "terms and conditions", then enter on the promoter's own page.
How do motorbike competitions work in the UK?
A typical paid UK motorbike competition is a prize draw: you buy entries, the winner is picked at random after the closing date or when the entries sell out, and a free postal route lets you enter without paying. With a random winner, that free route stops the draw being treated as a lottery.
Under Schedule 2 of the Gambling Act 2005, a paid draw is not treated as requiring payment if every eligible person can choose to enter by ordinary first or second class post instead, the choice is publicised, and prizes are allocated the same way for both routes. So a postal entry has the same chance as one paid entry. The difference is effort: one entry per envelope, and it must arrive before the closing date. Our guide to free postal entry competitions walks through it step by step.
Your chance per entry is one divided by the total entries. If a draw has an entry cap, the terms should state it, and that gives you the worst case. Instant win games work differently: each has a fixed number of tickets and a fixed prize list set before it opens, with the odds of each prize tier shown as "1 in X".
On MrRaffle, our motorbike competitions UK page lists the bikes live now, with each prize, its closing time and the free postal route.
What licence do you need to ride the motorbike you win?
It depends on the bike's power. A moped needs category AM from 16, a learner-sized bike up to 125cc needs A1 from 17, bikes up to 35kW need A2 from 19, and anything bigger needs a full category A licence, from 24 by direct access or 21 if you have held A2 for two years.
| Licence category | What you can ride | Minimum age |
|---|---|---|
| AM | Mopeds with a top speed of 25 to 45 km/h | 16 |
| A1 | Light motorcycles up to 125cc and 11kW | 17 |
| A2 | Motorcycles up to 35kW | 19 |
| A | Any motorcycle, unrestricted | 24 (direct) or 21 (progressive access) |
Getting your first licence category means CBT, a theory test and a practical test; the progressive routes to A2 and A add a further practical test after two years on the lower category. While you learn, compulsory basic training (CBT) lets you ride a motorcycle up to 125cc and 11kW from 17 on L plates, and you must pass your full test within 2 years. If you passed your car test on or after 1 February 2001, doing CBT also gives you a full moped licence, for mopeds up to 50cc.
Won a bike you cannot ride yet? Your options are the cash alternative (if there is one), keeping it while you train, or selling it if the terms allow.
What should you check before entering a motorbike competition?
Five things: whether your licence lets you claim and ride the bike, who pays for insurance, whether there is a cash alternative, how and where you collect it, and how long you have to respond. The giveaway above gives the winner only 3 days to claim after being notified, so small print matters.
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Licence rules | Some giveaways require a full category A licence to enter at all |
| Insurance | Third party cover is the legal minimum to ride on UK roads. A prize may include a year's cover, subject to the insurer accepting you |
| Vehicle tax | £27 a year for bikes up to 150cc and zero-emission bikes, £59 for 151 to 400cc, £90 for 401 to 600cc and £125 over 600cc (12-month payment) |
| Cash alternative | Not always offered. MrRaffle's terms allow one for some competitions, stated in the prize description, and the choice is the winner's |
| Collection or delivery | Where the handover happens, who pays to get there, and by when |
| Claim deadline | Miss it and the prize can go to another entrant |
| Tax on the prize | A prize won by a private individual is not normally taxed as income; HMRC notes prizes linked to your work or business can be |
Winning a car instead? See how to win a car for free in the UK.
How do you choose between motorbike prizes?
Pick the bike you can legally ride and afford to insure, then compare the chance per entry and the cash alternative. A superbike you cannot ride on an A2 licence is worth less to you than a middleweight you could ride tomorrow, unless you would take the cash anyway.
Things to weigh up:
- Licence fit. Match the prize to your category, or plan the training and the cost of getting there.
- Insurance cost. Get a rough quote before you enter, especially if you are young or the bike is powerful.
- Running costs. A bike over 600cc pays £125 a year in vehicle tax, against £27 for a 125cc.
- Chance per entry. Compare the maximum entries across draws you are considering.
- Cash alternative. If you would sell the bike anyway, the cash figure is the real prize.
- How you ride. Commuting, touring, track days and green lanes all suit different bikes.
Frequently asked questions
How to get a motorbike for free?
Win one through a free giveaway or a free postal entry into a paid draw. There is no other legitimate way to get a new bike for nothing. Offers of a "free motorbike" that ask for a delivery or release fee are a warning sign: under the Gambling Act 2005, paying to claim a prize counts as paying to enter.
How to win a bike for free?
The same routes work for motorbikes and bicycles: no-purchase giveaways from brands, retailers, insurers and shows, or the free postal route into a paid draw. Check whether "bike" means a motorbike or a bicycle in the prize description, and read the eligibility rules, which may include a licence requirement for motorbikes.
Can I enter a motorbike competition without a motorbike licence?
It depends on the promoter. Some free giveaways require one: the CB650R giveaway above asks for a full category A licence and no more than six penalty points. Even where anyone can enter, you need the right licence, insurance and vehicle tax before you can ride the bike on UK roads.
Do electric motorbikes pay vehicle tax?
Yes. Zero-emission motorcycles pay £27 for a 12-month vehicle tax payment, the same rate as petrol bikes up to 150cc, according to gov.uk's rate tables. That is the lowest motorcycle rate, compared with £125 a year for bikes over 600cc, so an electric bike is cheap to tax.
Is a motorbike I win taxed as income?
Not normally. A prize won by a private individual by chance is not normally treated as income, and gov.uk lists National Lottery wins among things you do not pay tax on. HMRC's manual notes that prizes linked to your work or business can be taxable, so get advice if your win came through work.
Sources
- Riding a motorcycle, moped or motor tricycle: bike categories, ages and licence requirements, gov.uk, accessed 24 September 2026
- CBT motorcycle and moped training, gov.uk, accessed 24 September 2026
- Other vehicle tax rates (motorcycles), gov.uk, accessed 24 September 2026
- Vehicle insurance, gov.uk, accessed 24 September 2026
- Income Tax: what you do not pay tax on, gov.uk, accessed 24 September 2026
- BIM45090: prizes and incentives, tax treatment of recipient, HMRC, accessed 24 September 2026
- Gambling Act 2005, Schedule 2 (Lotteries: definition of payment to enter), legislation.gov.uk, accessed 24 September 2026
- Free draws and prize competitions, Gambling Commission, accessed 24 September 2026
- Win a Honda CB650R with Bikesure and Honda UK, Motorcycle Live, accessed 24 September 2026
- Terms and conditions: Win a Honda CB650R with Bikesure and Honda UK, Motorcycle Live, accessed 24 September 2026
- MrRaffle Competition Terms and Conditions, accessed 24 September 2026
Play responsibly
MrRaffle is for UK residents aged 18 and over. Only play with money you can afford to spend, set a budget before you start, and take a break if it stops being fun.
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