The Japanese motorcycle manufacturers seem to have realized that if they don’t make it easier, cheaper and more enticing for young people specifically, and new riders in general, to get started in motorcycling, in a generation they’ll be left with a dwindling pool of old riders to buy their goods in the U.S. market. Several new models have been released or are in the works that are perfect for anyone who is light on riding experience or discretionary funds for motorcycle purchases.
It’s a great time to be a beginner motorcyclist. Too bad there aren’t more of them. Maybe these new models will help change that.
The 2013 Kawasaki Ninja 300 gets a little more power and sharper styling.
The Kawasaki Ninja 300 is an update of one of the most popular beginner bikes of all time. Legions of riders learned the basics on the original Ninja 250 and then moved on to other bikes and some very experienced riders decided there really was no need to move on because the 250 was great for everyday riding. The Ninja 250 was often Kawasaki’s best-selling model in the U.S. so the company left it largely unchanged for 20 years until it got a remake for the 2008 model year. Now, Kawasaki has been surprisingly quick to give the Ninjette another upgrade, with sharper styling, a boost to 300cc, fuel injection, and optional anti-lock brakes, making it even more capable of all-around use, not just training purposes. MSRP for the 2013 Ninja is $4,799 without ABS, and $5,499 with.
Of course the reason Kawasaki was moved to upgrade the bike again so soon was no doubt Honda’s decision to bring its CBR250R, a small sportbike designed mainly for Asia, to the U.S. market. While the single-cylinder Honda couldn’t match the power of the Ninja, its torquey performance was preferred by many new riders. Kawasaki no doubt wanted to put some space between their Ninja and the new competitor and did so with the re-style and displacement boost.
The 2013 Honda CB500F is the “naked” version of Honda’s new three-bike, 500 cc lineup.
Now, for 2013, Honda has gone a step further.
There still was a huge gap in performance, price, insurance costs, tire costs, and demands on rider skills between any 250cc bike and the 600cc sportbikes that were the next larger category. Honda is filling that big gap with not one, but three new motorcycles sharing the same 500cc parallel-twin engine. The CBR500R comes in a sportbike package, the CB500F is the naked version, and the CB500X hints at the adventure-touring style, though its components are still aimed squarely at paved roads. Where some riders would feel uncomfortable on their daily commutes on urban freeways on a 250cc machine, Honda’s 500s will undoubtedly be capable of handling any kind of street riding. They create (actually, re-create) a niche in the market and offer a good option for inexperienced riders looking for a second bike or a larger person buying a first bike. Honda has not yet announced prices for the three 500s.
The Star V Star 250 offers quarter-liter lightness in a cruiser-style package. Seat heights don’t get much lower.
Along with the Ninja 250, another quarter-liter bike that helped thousands of people learn to ride was the Honda Rebel 250. Its cruiser styling meant that the seat was really low, which allowed just about anyone to get both feet firmly planted on the ground. Light weight and the ability to have two feet flat on the pavement at a stop are the two elements most likely to inspire confidence in a new rider. So while cruiser styling sometimes leads to awkward handling that is not a new rider’s friend, some just like the look and others, especially women, really need that extra-low seat height. For them, Star Motorcycles (built by Yamaha) continues to pump out the V Star 250, at an asking price of $4,290 for 2013. Though really, considering its mild state of tune and low seat, the larger V Star 650 is also a perfectly good choice for a new rider.
The Suzuki GW250 is powered by a liquid-cooled, 250cc twin.
In addition to the Rebel 250, another small cruiser that was a good choice for first bike (and handled well for a cruiser) was the Suzuki GZ250. While Suzuki no longer builds the GZ, it’s offering the GW250 for 2013, a motorcycle somewhat similar in styling to Honda’s CB500F. The price has not yet been announced.
The Suzuki TU250X combines retro styling, modern fuel injection, and user friendliness.
Suzuki also has something for those who want retro style. The TU250X looks like it was plucked out of the 1960s with its air-cooled, single-cylinder engine, but it provides the modern advantages of fuel injection. And MSRP is just $4,300.
Of course all of these models, while well suited to new riders, are new bikes, and I’ve always advised would-be riders that their first bike should be a used bike, not the motorcycle of their dreams, for two reasons. First, the learning process usually involves dropping the bike at least once, even if only in a stationary parking-lot tip-over, and getting a cheaper, pre-blemished used bike means you’re less likely to cry when it goes horizontal on you. Second, while many non-riders imagining their first ride are certain they know which motorcycle is their dream bike, they may have entirely different opinions after a year of riding experience refines what kind of riding they really enjoy.
That’s why the least expensive and most sensible path is the time-honored route of buying something like a used Ninja 250 or a Honda Rebel, riding it for a year, gaining experience and skills, and then getting the motorcycle you’re dreaming of. Oh, and one more thing: you can then pass on that used 250 to some other aspiring rider. Makes you feel like part of one big happy family.
So while all these great new 250s, 300s and 500s hitting the market in 2013 may or may not be the best choice as a first bike, they ensure that in a few years there will be some great used bikes available for riders ready to buy their first or second machine. Which means it is, and will continue to be, a great time to be a beginner motorcyclist.
