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If you have a quick google you’ll find lots of advice about what size engine you should have, the great debate, should you get a 250? a 300? how about a litre bike or a 600?
There’s really no black and white correct answer to this – a lot of people will tell you there is. But it really is a bit more complicated than that.
Here’s some things to think about:
It’s different in the UK
Generally if you have a search on google and youtube, the majority of the advice you’ll get is from Americans. The majority of this advice leads you towards getting something like a 300, often reference the Kawasaki Ninja 300. They advise that you should then progress to a 600 and that only righteous shall progress to a litre bike.
The thing is though, in America it’s a lot easier to get your hands on a motorcycle and put it on the road than it is in the UK or indeed in Europe generally. If you’re living in the UK, you have to jump through all sorts of hoops to get on the road and by the time you pass your full test (assuming you are over 24) you will have worked your way up to a 600 or quite often a 650 by the time you pass your test. This means that it’s perfectly reasonable that the first bike you go on to buy after your test could be a 600 or even higher.
Not all bikes are sport bikes
When you do your research in this area, the majority of info coming back at you is from people talking about sport bikes.
There’s a big difference in the way two bikes with the same size engine can be tuned, case in point: the Yamaha xj6 has the exact same engine as the Yamaha R6 however the xj6 is going to be far more friendly for a brand new rider than the much sportier r6.
And then there’s more off road or dual sport oriented bikes, something like the crf 250, which is intended to be lighter to support it’s off road credentials – someone looking at a bike like this will have a completely different riding goal than someone looking at a sports bike.
Big bikes feel safer than small ones (mostly)
It doesn’t matter what you buy, you’ll want to upgrade it
So I should get a 600 right?
About as basic a bike as you can buy, it cost me £800 and I dropped it a handful of times in the first few months of owning it. That said, it was fantastic fun, the smaller bike handled in a really fun way and it feels great to really wring the neck of your bike, without ever really laying down massive amounts of speed.
After about a year I upgraded to 600, and I love it. The step up in speed was great, the difference between a 500 and 600 is pretty noticeable, and it became very easy to be pretty naughty quite quickly. I’ve very much settled into that bike now, and don’t really feel like I need anything much more in terms of power to enjoy riding. That said, I’ll probably buy something quicker at some point. It’s inevitable.
