Top 7 Beginner Motorcycles to AVOID

My Recommended Beginner *Sport* Riding Gear:

Best Beginner *Dual Sport/ADV* Gear:

Best Beginner *Retro/Classic* Gear:

FAQ:

What should my first bike be? A Turbo Hayabusa.

Very funny, no seriously. What should I get? A TURBO BUSA.

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CHAPTERS:
0:00 Intro
1:07 Mini Bikes
2:57 Cafe Racer Project
5:51 Old Cruisers
7:06 Amazon Chinese Bikes
8:43 600s
10:11 Touring Bikes
11:10 Too Expensive

[prodigy]

I went from a CBR 600 f4i to a Kawi 636. 18 years later I am still rocking a 636 and never been down.
You can learn on a 600, but it can also kill you. So if you do, the best advice I got was "as soon as you feel comfortable slow down."

[NextNull]

Literally juat had to talk someone out of selling their car for an S1000RR as their first bike. We also live in Colorado where it snows 6 months out of the year. So it was stupid x2

[KaySpde]

Im a beginner, starting on a 600cc.
You are very right about the willpower, but that alone isnt enough of a reason to outright avoid the bikes as a beginner.
A beginner can make the same bad decisions as someone thats been riding for 10 years. At the end of the day, i just have to be a mature adult riding my 120 hp death machine.
Its the person, just like everything else

[peterbrolmann]

Video Idea: put a normal bicycle on the dyno and see how many horses a singular person can output

[Secondaries]

On Saturday I bought a new 2023 Husqvarna Svartpilen 401 for $6150 OTD. I freaking love it, and your channel played no small part of my decision making process. Thanks Yammie!

[DonnGilray]

My "first bike" after 34 years is a 2022 Indian Chief. It's the only reason I even have a bike. After three months of parking lot practice, I grew into it. A few more months and I was comfortable at highway speeds. Just over a year now. I still and will always practice in parking lots. Planning on attending an intermediate level course in Spring of 2024.

[itz_x_salvation]

I started on a cbr650r. I knew if I started on a 400 I'd want to upgrade within a year. 650 was perfect for me, not a ton of power but plenty as a beginner.

[roninlavallee]

I completely understand the part about starting on 600's and why it may not be a good idea. However, it is very doable. I was 18 when I bought my GSXR600 as my first bike and damn it is so much fun. It definitely can be dangerous if you don't respect it or don't have the maturity to ride within your limit, but as someone who just commutes to school, work or hangouts with friends, a 600 is a blast and honestly has been a great bike to learn on for me. It absolutely depends on the individual and the maturity you can show when twisting the throttle.

[Kwikasfuki]

I started (still have it, but due for a new something or other, lot's of choices) on a new 2010 Ninja 650 (Yammie's favourite bike by the way 😂 ). When purchased, I was in my early 40's and still enjoy speed but wise enough to stay relatively close to the speed limits and I was well over 200 lbs at the time. Now at 190 the bike is more fun. It took a little bit to get used to be so "exposed" on the roads more than the power, but I found that keeping within one's comfort zone and building your skills you may be fine to ride whatever you want.

By contrast, the most powerful bike I've ridden since getting my license 13 years ago was a 2023 MT-10 with a flashed ECU putting down about 165 hp at the wheel. C R A Z Y bike but oh so fun. Just a never ending supply of torque! You typically run out of road before you ever run out of power/torque. Unless you're talking 150 mph highway runs, so I've heard. ;-) That bike is NOT for beginners IMO. I'm sure some would be fine, but that's a specific type of person with a disciplined mindset.

My 2 cents if it's of value to someone.

[sweettooth]

So I started on my grandad’s 97 VFR 750. I got a grom just to dork around and yes I agree it’s sketchy around traffic, it’s actually been handy to learn trail braking, rev match downshifting, and other such techniques like uturns while dragging the rear break. Its squishy forgiveness can be dangerous when translating the skills to a bigger bike, but as long as you keep practicing and paying attention to how the bike reacts…when it doesn’t nose dive when downshifting as an example, you can get a good idea of if you’re ready to try it on a bigger bike, granted to still use caution so you won’t yeet yourself over the bars…but for a general rough experiment and practice going through the motions, the grom actually was nice as a secondary bike and learning tool. Would I advise it for an only beginning bike? No. Hard no. It can’t even get out of its own way. But I’m glad to practice on that and not fear possible drops rather than trying to learn immediately on my grand dad’s bike and destroying it.

[peterbrolmann]

I got a Thurxton 900 as my first bike. Hella happy that it was a pre-built Cafe racer and I get to spend loads of time riding her and not wrenching. A little powerful though, I do catch myself going faster than need be at times as a beginner rider 😅

[samanthagregoryurich]

Just got my license and first bike...and broke the 7th rule on price with my brand new RS 660 but I''m so happy I did. It is perfect for me. Maybe it's not the right thing to do for everyone, but I got to try a few different styles in my rider training and also did a day rental at a motocross track...and did tons of research. A special thanks to Yammie for covering the Aprilia in depth and all of the other amusing and inspiring content!

[moonbot]

Just passed my msf class this past weekend (getting my new M mark tomorrow at the dmv) and plan on buying a RE interceptor late winter.

[jorgerodrigogomezflores]

My first bike was a BMW R1200C, and I loved it! It had decent power, was comfortable, it felt light with that amazing low center of gravity, everyone liked it since it wasn’t the average cruiser, the sound of the stock exhaust was nice and not annoying at all, it was reliable as a wood burning stove and the BMW dealer was also great when the time for servicing it came.

[ThisOldGuy]

And if you're me you realize that even at almost 58yrs old you still prefer the riding position of a sport bike over your $20, 000 Limited Edition 25th Anniversary Ducati Monster 1200 and find yourself having way more fun on your R7. 🤘😎🏍

[cyborgsariel]

Got my first bike (Rebel 500) at the beginning of this summer. Lady at the dealership also recommended the Kawasaki Vulcan. Sat on the bike and said NO. Didn't feel good, like the rebel did.

My friends are interested in getting bikes after hearing me gush about how fun it is. I would have (past tense) recommended a Grom for price/ease reasons, but i never thought about the transition. Going to a real big boy bike after something like a Grom or Navi, as you said, would be such a huge step. They'd effectively have to go from Grom>beginner bike rather than beginner>intermediate.

[hnoza]

I havent ridden in over 8 years, got myself a Ducat Diavel 1200 2015 model, what a stressful ride home, but got the hang of her now after a few months of riding. Did a 1000km trip this past weekend too. hehe. Enjoying your videos here form South Africa

[aussiewaz]

I have a ktm duke 390 as my first and a 1980 cb400. I use the cb400 for wrenching and learning on and the ktm for actually riding. Love both and it’s all thanks to you Yam.

[daruthin]

Im a beginner, starting on a 600cc.
It's a z650 to be precise, brand new. I know, it's better to get a second hand, but having a brand new vehicule was a dream. I'm 40 and I'm tired to have second hand vehicules, so I made the mistake. Plus, in my country starting on a 600cc is not that bad because beginner can't drive with more than 47hp for 2 years and brands sells them restrained. In my point of view it may be akward to have only 47hp, but when I'll get the full power, the progression will be easier because I know the bike.

[graysawn]

It also totally depends on you as a person. I got a CBR 650 as a first bike. the weight was a surprise, but the throttle was very relaxed to me, having experienced a dualsport as a teenager. My buddy on the other hand, a cruiser rider, thought the bike was super light, but almost killed himself as soon as he touched the throttle. So it's all about the mindset you have going in to riding as well. Always be aware of your own feelings towards a bike VS the reality of what it is.