Getting a new motorcycle can be intimidating. Not knowing which bike to choose or what capabilities it will offer is scary territory. And one of the questions that might come up in your quest to conquer the open road is, “how big should my first bike be?” Generally, with any motorcycle, you should consider the size of the motorcycle and how well you fit, but you should also consider the kind of riding you’ll be doing and whether you’ll need something that can safely navigate highways and their associated speeds.
Most new 300cc street-oriented motorcycles are heavy enough and substantially powered for riding on American highways. Sure, a big 850-pound cruiser motorcycle like the stout Honda Gold Wing is less likely to get blown around by a stiff breeze but basically every modern 300cc motorcycle can achieve highway speeds and stay stable once they’re up to speed. And with many 300cc bikes, their sub-400-pound weight is an asset on tight city streets, where maneuvering through and around traffic makes for a much quicker commute.
I’ve ridden motorcycles of many different shapes and sizes. This includes bikes like tiny 50cc scooters, 125cc mini bikes, and even a few 125cc and 250cc dirt bikes. I’ve also owned a 250cc Honda CBR250R, which had limited power but it had no problem going 70 mph on the highway. I wouldn’t recommend it for cross-country trips or trying to pass slow-moving traffic on a two-lane highway, but it definitely wasn’t too light.
Plenty of 300cc choices
If you want something small, light, and inexpensive, there are plenty of brand-new options today from several different motorcycle manufacturers that can handle highway travel. Yamaha, for instance, offers multiple motorcycles with 300cc’s including the MT-03 and R3, which share an engine. Technically, the engine they use is a 321cc twin, but for all intents and purposes, they compete with other 300cc bikes. The MT-03 has a top speed of over 100 mph, which is enough for any highway in the United States. At 373 lbs, the MT-03 is certainly stout enough for highway travel.
Honda’s Rebel 300 and CB300R are worth considering, as is the Suzuki GSX250R – a staple amongst many first-time riders. The Rebel 300 weighs about the same as the MT-03 (379 lbs), but its low seat height of 27.2 inches means it’ll be easy for shorter riders to swing a leg over and go for a ride. The Rebel 300 has a lower top speed, somewhere between 86 and 91 mph, but it will have no trouble on most highways. Kawasaki also offers a few 300cc bikes that should be just fine at highway speeds – the KLX 300SM and the Versys-X 300. Bikes as small as 300cc’s are typically less expensive than their larger-displacement brethren, but there are a few other benefits too. Lighter bikes are easy to pick up if you have a small tip-over mishap, and lighter motorcycles offer big increases in fuel economy.
