One of the most asked questions I see from people wanting to learn to ride is “What size motorcycle should I buy to learn to ride on?” There is no real single answer to this question. This is a personal decision. Listening to some peoples advice can turn you off of riding faster than the desire built up to learn to ride.
The question that most people have about buying their first bike is whether it should be a small bike like a VStar 250, Ninja 250 or whether they should get something bigger like Ninja 600 or Harley Davidson Deluxe. The new rider is often worried about outgrowing the bike in a very short amount of time. They don’t want to spend 6000 on a motorcycle that they have out grown in 6 months.
To me that is completely the wrong thinking for several reasons. I have taught many people to ride over the years. Those that start on a bike size they feel comfortable with are more likely to continue to ride. Than the person that buys the bigger motorcycle and now is paranoid of the power it has. Do you really want to make a mistake in 2nd gear on a Ninja 600. Jerk that throttle a little too hard and have the front wheel come off the road? Yea I didn’t think so! The 250’s are much more forgiving when you make a mistake, and I promise you…you will make mistakes.
My next point on this would be, why are you buying a new or newish bike to learn on? Go online and you will find lots of bikes at very reasonable prices that are smaller bikes. Most people drop their bike a few times while learning to do figure 8’s, pylons, or even just stopping. You can pick up a bike that is a few years old for half the price of a new bike. Ride it for a year until you feel comfortable with your skills then move up in bike size.
You can probably sell the motorcycle for almost exactly what you paid for it. So what’s the big deal if you outgrow it in 6 months? You’re going to sell the motorcycle in the future and not lose much or any money on it at all? You’re more likely to get on your motorcycle and go for a cruise on a bike that you feel you have outgrown than you are on a motorcycle that you are scared of the power it provides.
Another argument I hear about the smaller bike is that you can’t go on long trips with it. Really! Somebody should have told me that when we took my daughter on her Virago 250 on a 5000 mile trip. Now I am not going to say that a bigger bike wouldn’t have been easier for her on the trip. We averaged 70 mph on the freeway and only at one point did she have a difficulty. As we were winding through the Rocky Mountains around Banff I passed a Semi, then my wife passed, but Char found it hard to pass in the short distances that she was getting. Eventually she did get pass and I had slowed down to wait for her. And yes I did make her haul her own luggage, do you have any idea how much stuff a teenage girl wants to put in a T-Bag?
Not everybody needs to start to learn on a 250. My wife for instance after 25 years on the back decided she was going to ride. I had an old Yamaha Maxim 650 that I pulled out of the shed she went up and down the driveway a few times on it. The bike in my opinion wasn’t road worthy. So, we went bike shopping and bought a Virago 750 for her to learn on.
Used one I will add, as why buy a new bike that will likely find itself on its side while practicing skills needed for the skills test. She did just fine on that bike, but when I put my daughter on the bike it was clear within seconds that it was too much bike for her to learn on. Thus we went out and bought Char a 250 Virago. Both bikes were eventually sold for about the same amounts as they were purchased for. Now my wife rides a Harley Davidson Road King (1584 CC), while my daughter rides a Harley Davidson Nightster which is a 1200 CC bike.
You are not buying your kid skates; don’t buy something you think you can grow into. Buy what you are comfortable with right now! If you are learning to ride for the enjoyment of being out on the open road with the wind pushed up against your face, then you will enjoy a day of riding even if you think you have out grown the bike that you are sitting on.