Big bikes are definitely addictive and with new, awesome models emerging every year, you probably change every couple of years. If you are new to biking and would like to know a little about the various styles on the market, you’ve come to the right place, as we outline the major styles that all bike manufacturers list in their catalogs.
Sports Motorcycle
Designed with street racing in mind, the MotoGP seasons result in new specs on the production machines, as all the major manufacturers are competing against each other. This type of bike has sports fairing to help with aerodynamics and the rider is leaning forward, with a low center of gravity; the sports bike has a pillion seat, which puts you a foot above the rider and can make for a windy experience. Truth is, this bike is designed for a solo rider and with fat tyres and 80-150hp on the back wheel, this bike is wickedly fast and not for the faint of heart.
The Street Scooter
The stunningly cool Piaggio MP3 from Wheels Motorcycles is a fantastic bike for the city rider, in both 300cc and 500cc models. Powerful and great to handle in slow traffic, while you have torque all the way! Economical and reliable, the street scooter is really popular with the 18-25 group and booking a test ride is easy via the dealer’s website.
The Touring Bike
The Honda Goldwing is the flagship of the big tourers, while Harley Davidson is another big player in this class – Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki and Ducati, all have touring models, comfortable bikes with lots of grunt that can do 100pkh all day. The latest hybrid is the sports/tourer, which gives you a balance of power and comfort; they start at about £8 grand and go up to 20k, if you have deep pockets and a desire to own the latest cutting-edge tech bike. Click here for reasons why two wheels make more sense than four.
Off Road
Some of us like riding on challenging terrain and a good off-road bike is equally at home on tarmac, gravel or mud; the Yamaha Tenere takes a lot of beating as an enduro bike, 700cc of raw power and all the bike makers have a class of off-road, all terrain machines, all with similar options. Booking test rides is the only way to find out if a bike is for you, and you might have to do that a few times before you find the perfect bike.
Naked City Bikes
This trend started in Japan; a 4-cylinder 750cc engine that has no protective fairing, leaving the muscle exposed; a few crash bars in the right locations protects the engine and these bikes fly! Superb handling and the rider position is more upright than a sports bike. Kawasaki has some great street machines in the 400- 600cc class and for a trendy guy, this is the bike.
The first thing to do is check with the UK government about license requirements, then search online for a good big bike dealership and pick out a few models to test ride.