The Best Sportbikes Made For New Riders

Why We Picked It:

The KTM RC390 makes our list almost every year, mostly because it is simply one of the best bikes to start out with if you want to eventually move to supersports. With a 373cc liquid-cooled single, it puts out a modest 41 HP and 27.3 lb-ft of torque. At about 380 lbs wet, that is ample power. Changes made to the bike in 2022, including to the exhaust and airbox increased torque, while first-in-class lean-angle-sensitive traction control and ABS, plus a revised and lighter chassis, improved WP Apex suspension, and sticky Continental tires all take the RC390 to another level.

Where the RC390 slots in as a perfect beginner bike is for its refinement. Because of KTM’s tagline of “Ready To Race,” and multiple years in motocross, supercross, and now MotoGP and WSBK, they know exactly how to engineer a bike to be both friendly at typical commuter speeds, and a demon on the track when you want to twist the wrist.

The RC390 is extremely agile, something more experienced riders call “flickable,” as you can flick it over from leaning into one corner into leaning into one going the other way. It also helps the new rider learn about how a bike “talks,” the little vibrations, judders, wobbles and such through the frame that lets you know exactly what the bike is doing. It is the quintessential starter that will lead to a longtime enjoyment of sport standards with the ability to get some fun going. As you get better the RC390 will keep giving you more.

Why We Picked It:

Ask any longtime rider to name a great bike for a new rider and there will be an overwhelming recommendation for the SV650. Year after year it has proven to be an incredible motorcycle. Sometimes the manufacturers get it right. Suzuki nailed it with this bike and has done well to never mess up a great thing.

The SV650 features a a 645cc V-twin with 73 HP on tap, with a grunty 47 lbs-ft of torque as well. While that may sound scary on paper, the truth of the matter is that the power comes on in an extremely predictable and linear fashion. Anywhere in the rev range, just crank on a little more wrist and the bike will just go. On top of that, the clutch feel has always been excellent on the SV650, and it is extremely forgiving to the new rider. You can still stall it out if you dump the clutch, but within a day, you'll never stall the bike out again, it is that friendly.

Superb handling has always been one of the SV650′s strengths, combining agility with confidence-inspiring stability. For a new rider, this kind of confident dance partner can really aid with skill development. Great feedback and a high degree of forgiveness for normal riding mistakes.

Why We Picked It:

The 2023 Yamaha YZF-R3 is one of those strange motorcycles that really shouldn’t be a beginner bike. And yet, here it is. A tiny, lightweight beast of a sportbike, it has a parallel-twin, 321cc engine that will produce up to 50 HP, will carve any corner you throw at it, and through it all, it’s surprisingly controllable.

The R3 also has a well-deserved reputation as a no-nonsense, take-no-prisoners motorcycle that will, if you let it, teach you the ins and outs of how supersports handle. It’s raw, carnivorous, the wolf snarling and baring its canines to show dominance. It is immensely agile and loves to devour straights, letting you know exactly what each individual atom of the bike is doing.

You simply cannot beat the R3 as a starter if serious and real interest in progressing to supersports or potentially even joining a racing club is on the cards. Treat it with due respect, let it talk to you, and you will know exactly what a supersport is capable of, in the care of a beginner-friendly sportbike. Once you’re ready to upgrade, there is plenty to choose from in Yahama’s model lineup.

Why We Picked It:

The sportiest of Honda’s 500 Twins, the CBR500R received a few evolutionary improvements in 2022 to keep up its reputation as the best 500cc sportbike going for more than a few years. The CBR500R has always been about delivering about an 8/10 slice of the full-on supersport machines in a bike that is actually affordable to own.

2022's updates included dual front brake rotors with radial-mount Nissin calipers, an inverted Showa SFF-BP fork, as well as lightweight wheels, giving the bike better feel and much better agility. The ergonomics are typical of Honda Motorcycles, very good for most everyone, and this makes it easy to learn what nimble feels like and how to improve technique so when the day comes to move to the next level, you are ready for the jump.

The CBR500R also has a stablemate in the CB500F if going naked is more your thing. The basics are all the same, just a more upright riding position. Still sporty, just not knee down sporty.

Why We Picked It:

The atypical image of the sportbike rider is that of a fit person wrapped in a set of full leathers and an aerodynamically aggressive helmet. The truth of the matter is that sometimes sportbike riders are of the big-and-tall variety, and carry more weight from the size of their frame. A prime example is one of our team members that rides a sportbike (that they say is more of a sport-tourer) being 6’3” and weighing around 210 lbs. And that’s just by the nature of them being a fit individual carrying a lot of human on their skeleton.

This is where the 2023 Kawasaki Z650 comes in. Through some wicked engineering and design, Kawasaki has made a sport naked bike that can accept those big and tall riders without it being detrimental at all to the responsiveness and agility that come with the Z tag adorning the sides of the tank. In fact, it seems to enjoy having more weight placed in the seat, as through that same engineering magic, the seat is directly over the pivot center of the bike.

This allows the big-and-tall rider to feel how the bike moves and responds to how they shift their weight, an essential part of cornering either on the street or on the track. The 67 HP 649cc parallel twin is also gutsy, giving great acceleration away from a stop, and with standard ABS, assist-and-slipper clutch, and a light but oh-so-communicative clutch feel, it is the dream bike of those of us who are the walking giants.

NOTE: The Ninja 650 is a viable sport standard as well, but laid out slightly differently with the rider a little behind the pivot center.