General rules for a good beginner bike:
- One or two cylinder engine
- Up to 70 horsepower
- Not too heavy or tall
- Fuel injected rather than carbureted
- Manufactured in the past 10 years
- Less than $5000 used
- If you plan to DIY your maintenance, choose a model with service data available. Service data is not available for:
- Triumph 2018+
- BMW 2020+
- Some other bikes, especially less popular makes and models
Bad first bikes:
- Inline 3 or 4 cylinder engines
- Excessive horsepower
- 600cc supersports (e.g. Yamaha R6, Suzuki GSX-R600, Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R, Honda CBR600RR)
- Any non-cruiser bike with 1000cc or more displacement
- Any cruiser with over 1300cc displacement
- Full-size touring bikes (e.g. baggers, large adventure bikes)
- Older bikes that require more repairs or maintenance
The bikes listed here aren't the only bikes you can start on, but they are bikes that are beginner-friendly, reliable and generally a good start to a long and successful motorcycling journey.
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