What Bike Suits You

Everyone has different tastes and circumstances when it comes to choosing a learner bike. It's often a matter of weighing up your needs vs your wants. Here's KickStart's criteria that will help make your decision easier:

What's your budget?

For learner riders especially, how much you are prepared to spend is one of the most important factors. Think about things like safety and how long you aim to keep your bike. The initial purchase cost, regular maintenance costs (which can be very high when buying second-hand), and even fuel consumption (for larger engine capacity bikes) are things to consider.

What riding will you be doing?

If you are looking to narrow down the possibilities ask yourself what kind of riding you will be doing. If you live in a rural area and like trail riding, but also need a motorcycle to get to work, then a road/trail bike may be the answer.

If you live in the suburbs and need to commute, then you may be looking for a bike that's good on fuel, is comfortable, and has some good looks too. So you may be looking for a cruiser.

If you live in the suburbs and will commute to work sometimes, but you are looking for performance and fun on the weekends, then a sports style or cruiser motorcycle is perfect.

Will you be making long trips sometimes? Maybe to the South Coast? If so, make sure your learner motorcycle can handle highway speed limits.

Added extras: Motorcycles can carry luggage accessories, which can be very handy for regular commuting and for university students who need extra storage.

What's your skill level?

What is your skill level (be honest with yourself!)? Will this bike compliment or outweigh your skills and competency? Learner bikes are made for building your skills. Depending on your answer, you may believe you are more likely to drop the bike in the first year, so getting a bike with a full fairing on it and then dropping it can be a very expensive and stressful exercise. Do you want to get one now or wait until your skill improves?

What's your financial involvement?

How much do you want to regularly invest in your bike? Some engine types require more money and attention than others. For example, buying a 2 stroke engine is far more costly to maintain than a 4 stroke on the whole.

Buying second hand is also an issue, as you may be buying something old, with several previous owners and you can never be 100% sure of the mechanical condition of the bike unless you pay money to get it inspected, for example.

250cc, 4 stroke learner motorcycles, are relatively cheap to maintain and service at KickStart, compared to other types of bike.

What about your personal features?

How tall are you? Some types of bike aren't very compatible for those of us who aren't so tall. These bikes include trail bikes and some sports bikes. Do you have any health conditions or previous injuries? For example, injuries can affect the type of seating and foot peg arrangement that suits you.

When time comes to get your P's

You will need to do the MOST test on your motorcycle. But don't worry. You can pay to hire a motorcycle at the Learner Centre but this can be costly. It is harder to do the test on certain bikes where weight, long wheel base, and design can make it hard. KickStart Cruisa's are perfect for the MOST test.