From Motorcycling for Women: Beginner Bikes
Standard Bikes
Dean, Brando. Amelia. Battered brown leather jacket, silk scarf, avaitor glasses. Classic.
Standard motorcycles make great beginner bikes but they’re also really nice all-purpose bikes. Some people start with a standard and move on to a specialty bike, like a cruiser or racer or dual-sport, and end up keeping the standard. They’ve been around so long there are lots of used ones on the market.
The upright riding position makes it easy to look around without having to bend your head into uncomfortable positions. The controls lie exactly where your hands and feet naturally rest, which means it’s easier to deal with emergencies. It’s also very well balanced, with your center of gravity exactly in the middle of the bike.
Standards come “naked” without plastic coverings, fairings, or any kind of bling. This means that when you drop it you won’t be breaking a lot of expensive parts.
Many manufacturers stopped making standard bikes under 250ccs, but there are plenty of older models on the used market that make great starter and around-town bikes.
Examples of standard bikes you might look at:
Suzuki TU250X: One of the rare under-250cc standards being made today,
this is a great keeper bike for city and backroads. Freeways are doable
but not its forte. Under $4000 and gets over 60 mpg.
Honda CB Series: Like many manufacturers, Honda stopped making small standards about a decade ago when specialty bikes became the trend. But chances are you can grab one of these babies for cheap. Bonus: it’s classic enough to win admiring glances!
Download the free ebook: Motorcycling for Women: Beginner Bikes to learn more about great beginner bikes in cruiser, sport, dual-sport, scooter, and dirt-bike categories.
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I recommend that you rent rather then buy a beginner bike. My wife just took the Rider’s Edge class and learned on a 500cc Buell Blast in that class. She then started riding a 2008 Honda Shadow 750cc bike. Not enjoyable at all. Good for around town, but once you got past 50mph, the bike just seemed to wheeze. It was also too small, and my wife is just 5’5 or so.
She purchased a Harley Davidson Dyna Super Glide Custom. That is a bike she will enjoy for years.
Beginner’s bikes are fine for a week or two, but once you really start riding, they turn into costly mistakes. Get what you want and learn on that. In the long run, you’ll be much better off.
Good picks! Too often it seems that new riders (men and women alike) pick out bikes that are far to big & hard to maneuver for their first ride. These smaller motorcycles are basically what new riders can learn on when they take the Basic Rider Course offered through the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF). Everyone who rides, whether in the front or the back of the bike should take this course. How many people do you know still have their first car? Just because you start out with one bike doesn’t mean you have to keep that one – starting out with something you can handle easily then working your way into something bigger will not only help you to be a better driver, but it’s safer for you and everyone else on the road as well.
Dual-sport bikes are also great beginners…and keepers. 🙂 Very similar upright riding position with the bonus of being able to do a little off road adventuring. I have rode many types of bikes over the years and always come back to a bike with a standard riding position. It is just fun!