Buell Blast

In a motorcycle market where motorcycles for the street are more specialized than ever, there is one category of motorcycle that is strangely under represented compared to, say, forty years ago. That category is motorcycles best suited to the beginning rider.

When I started riding, there were many new and used street bikes in the 80-125cc and 150-250cc classes well suited to beginning riders. All of the big four Japanese manufacturers (Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki) offered such bikes new, as did several smaller Japanese and Italian makers. Triumph had their 200cc Cub, and even Harley-Davidson, through their Aermacchi subsidiary, offered small displacement motorcycles for the beginning rider.

In the 1960's and 1970's, 50cc to 125cc motorcycles were considered "small," the 150-250cc motorcycles were intermediate, the 350cc to 500cc motorcycles were midsize bikes and 600cc and larger motorcycles were "big" bikes. Today, a 250cc motorcycle is considered small and a 600cc motorcycle mid-size. Even a liter bike (1000cc) is no longer considered "big" in a world of 1250-2000cc heavyweight motorcycles. I have read articles in the motorcycle press about the Yamaha V-Star 1100's, calling them "middleweight" cruisers!

This escalation toward bigger motorcycles has benefited older and more experienced riders, who now make up the largest share of the market, but it has left the beginning rider seeking to purchase his or her first motorcycle with fewer and fewer choices. An illustration of the problem is that the lightest weight and smallest displacement motorcycle Harley-Davidson makes in 2010 is the (approximately) 550 pound, 883cc Sportster. It is purchased by many entry level riders.

When I started riding, the 883cc Sportster was the hottest motorcycle you could buy, the ultimate ride for the experienced rider. This illustrates how skewed the market has become. While there are many faster and more powerful motorcycles today, I assure you that an inexperienced rider can get into big trouble very quickly on an 883 Sportster. Recommending 600cc and larger bikes to beginners is like sending children out to play on the freeway and the results are both predictable and (often) tragic.

There are still motorcycles that are suitable for the beginning rider and I am going to take a look at some of them in this article. Cruisers and standards are usually a better choice for the beginning rider than sport bikes. Modern sport bikes do what they do extremely well (which is go around corners--or a racetrack--at high speed), but they are often not very good for much else. Cruisers and standards are more versatile, at home on city streets, country lanes and the interstate. They are suitable for commuting, weekend rides, the occasional longer trip, are generally easier to maneuver at low speed (where a tip-over is most likely) and are a little less likely to encourage overly aggressive riding.

Low maintenance shaft or belt drives are advantageous on any motorcycle. Cast aluminum wheels, tubeless tires, triple disc brakes and self-adjusting valves are other worthwhile features found on some of the motorcycles discussed below. Self-canceling turn signals and anti-lock braking systems (ABS) are important safety features that should be standard on all street bikes; unfortunately, neither is offered on most entry level motorcycles. I will try to mention the above features where applicable.

My opinion is that small to medium displacement (125-250cc) motorcycles are most appropriate for new riders. They are generally lighter and easier to maneuver, easier to balance, cheaper to repair if damaged in a spill and less likely to get the beginning rider into trouble. It might be worthwhile to pay attention to the seat height figures given for the motorcycles below, as it is reassuring for most inexperienced (and also experienced!) riders to be able to put both feet on the ground when stopped. Light weight is an advantage, as is a low center of gravity, particularly for low speed maneuvering.

Unless otherwise noted, all of the motorcycle specifications used in this article were taken from the Cycle World Buyer's Guide. More detailed specifications on most of the bikes are available on the various Motorcycles and Riding Online "Motorcycle Comparison Charts." The motorcycles specifically mentioned below are examples of suitable motorcycles in various displacement classes. They are not the only possible choices, so if you find a similar machine from a major manufacturer that is not mentioned below, it is also probably a satisfactory first motorcycle.

The bikes listed below should be reasonably available on the used market and your first motorcycle should definitely be a used bike, unless you simply have money to burn. Your first bike is how you learn to ride, it is NOT supposed to be your dream bike or your ultimate ride. Virtually no one, despite their best intensions, keeps their first motorcycle for a long time, so it might as well be purchased used to minimize the cost of later trading it in for something else.