Five Beginner Bikes

If the Price is Right
Cost is a huge factor when buying a first anything, including a motorcycle. Understanding what you plan to do with your bike is a big mitigating factor. Are you just tooling around town? Need an economical alternative to your car? Is it going to be your sole transportation everywhere, including America's freeways? Each of the bikes we chose has unique answers to these questions.

At $3799, the TU250X was not only our smallest machine, it was also the cheapest. The bike gets great gas mileage, it's fun to ride at lower speeds and narrow of profile. The little Suzie is a good choice for trips to the grocery store, local riding around town (or on campus), and a wise choice for anyone who isn't sure if motorcycling is for them. Being small and light has other advantages as well, as it's easier to get in and out of a garage (as well as fit in small spaces), and if your community has an abundance of gravel roads, we're pretty sure this is a better choice than any for a beginning rider.

Although it's a step up in price from the Suzuki, the Vulcan 500 LTD offers good bang for the buck. Our testers liked it across the board. It does everything the TU250X does, but for 30% more cash it adds true cruiser style, forward controls, a fun powerplant, and better brakes. It handles highway riding really well, with plenty of poop on tap to pass slower vehicles. The drawback to all that fun is you'll probably be spending more money on gas than with the TU.

With its touring package, the Star Silverado gives its owner the luxuries of a windshield, bags, and passenger backrest in a displacement platform comparable to the Vulcan. In fact, don't think of it as touring, so much as a convenience package, no more carrying plastic grocery bags on your bars or wrists! The V-Star has comparable torque to the Vulcan, but doesn't wind out as well, it'll get you up to freeway speeds, just not as fast. The Silverado starts at $6490; roughly a grand more than the Vulcan. At that point, all of your extra money is going into style, convenience, and a V-Twin powerplant, not tangible performance.

Our customized Honda Shadow Aero is good for tours (or trips to the store) too. Its base price is $7699 but the paint jacks that up three hundred more bucks. Now add in Honda's touring accessories and our aftermarket parts and presto! You have a 750cc dresser that tips the financial scale $11,000. Most of those changes were light modifications that came about to keep our jaded veterans happy. Most first timers aren't going to go through all of that. Still, if you buy a stock motorcycle, sometimes it's cheaper to tailor it to yourself instead of changing over to an entirely new bike, while other times you should just find the right bike to begin with. The whole reason it's in our fleet is that we thought we could make a cool little touring bike that fits shorter riders well. On that count, mission accomplished.

Our Bonneville tied the basic Honda for highest price. While everyone enjoyed the Triumph, the real question is whether or not the higher displacement, smooth suspension, crisp brakes, and vintage styling justify the price tag. Which would you rather have for the same amount of money: the Triumph Bonneville or a Vulcan 500 LTD and three grand in your pocket? They're both fun to ride but as you skill set grows, you may find yourself outgrowing the Vulcan before you're done making the payments, whereas the Triumph is a lot of fun to ride at many skill levels. Ours blew a fork seal after 1200 miles, so perhaps the added expense doesn't stop at the sticker price, but for the smiles it put on our new riders faces, we'd say its worth it.