[RideApart] - The Complete Guide to Motorcycle Categories

[Ninjette Newsbot]

The Complete Guide to Motorcycle Categories

Know the difference between a bagger and a touring bike? Just what*is an ADV anyway? We answer these questions and more in this guide to bike types

UPDATE: The original Complete Guide to Motorcycle Categories was written way, way back in September of 2013 by Wes Siler. Well, things have changed in the motorcycle world since then, so we decided to update the story and bring you a bigger, better, faster (debatable) Complete Guide to Motorcycle Categories. The following article is a mix of Wes' old copy, new copy by the slaves RideApart staff down in the word mines editorial office, and some heavy editing by yours truly. So, without further ado, let's dive into the dizzying world of motorcycle classification. -Jason

WE HAVE: The Best Motorcycles For New Riders

For someone just getting into motorcycles—or, hell, even for some of us bitter vets—motorcycle classification can be pretty confusing. What's the difference between a sport tourer and an ADV bike? Is a bagger a touring bike? Is the bike I want a cruiser or is it a standard? Is this all academic? Well, kinda.

SOME OPINIONS: Cheap Thrills - Six Great Bikes for Under $6,000

While motorcycle categories are helpful in grouping bikes with similar features together, there are countless variations within those categories. For example, while the Ninja 400 and the Suzuki Hayabusa are both sport bikes, the gulf between them in terms of performance, use, and riding style is vast indeed.


Cruiser? Standard? Scooter? What does it all mean?ABOUT BIKES: Killer Bikes for Under $3,000

For this article we're going to break bikes down into three super-broad categories—Street Bikes, Off-Road Bikes, and Step Throughs. Each category will have subcategories—Cruiser, Moped, Super Moto, etc.—where we'll lay out the different kinds of bikes. So let's get started, shall we?

Street Bikes

Like it says on the tin, street bikes are motorcycles designed for riding on the street. They run the gamut from dirt-flinging Adventure bikes to laid-back cruisers to long-legged touring machines complete with heated seats and six-speaker stereo systems.

ADV Bikes


KTM 1290 Super Adventure RThe motorcycles formerly known as dual sports, adventure bikes—ADV bikes to the properly initiated—are the Swiss Army Knife of motorcycles. Built for both asphalt and dirt, these machines tend to have tall suspensions, aggressive tires, and protective bars like dirt bikes but have bigger engines and street bike ergonomics. Adventure bikes can typically be fitted out with all sorts of accessories like skid plates, hard luggage, more comfortable seats, hand guard—stuff to improve their on and off-road performance and touring ability. BMW, KTM, and Honda make the most famous ADV bikes, but you can find a decent ADV hiding in just about every company's lineup. Even Harley is promising one soon! Who rides ADV bikes? Street riders who like to play in the dirt and crazy people who do things like sell all their belongings and ride all around the world for fun.

Cruisers


Harley-Davidson Softail Fat BobCruisers are the quintessential American bike and were perfected on America's open roads. Low, slow—except when they're not and those are Power Cruisers—and laid back, cruisers are built to get you where you're going in style rather than in a hurry. They typically have low seats, soft suspension, forward controls, big, powerful V-twin engines, and are mostly at home on short rides through town to bike night rather than on the open road. That said, like most bikes cruisers can be fitted out for long-distance riding and some—like Harley-Davidson's Softail Heritage Classic and Indian's Chief—are remarkably well suited to long stretches in the saddle. Who rides cruisers? Cool dudes, weekend warriors, fans of Easy Rider, and people with a yen for classic, mid-century American iron.

Sportbikes


Kawasaki Ninja 400Want to go real fast? Get a sportbike. Descended from racing motorcycles, sportbikes are high-strung, high-performance machines with loads of style, speed, and agility. They come in all sorts of wild colors and have engines that displace anywhere from the low hundreds to over 1,000 cubic centimeters. Usually fantastic at the track, sportbikes also make respectable commuters and city bikes. They're pretty bad at touring though, so if you plan to see the world you don't want to buy, say, a Hayabusa or a Ninja. Who rides sportbikes? Speed freaks, gixxer bros, amateur and pro racers, and anyone who has an appreciation for speed and style.

Touring Bikes*and Baggers


Yamaha Star VentureAs this category's name suggests, there are two flavors of bike built for eating up the miles—touring bikes and baggers. Touring bikes—the most famous of which is probably Honda's venerable Gold Wing—are massive beasts with huge engines loaded down with luggage, protective fairings, and car-like amenities such as touch screen infotainment systems, heated seats, onboard communication systems, even traction control and ABS. Some are so massive that they even have a reverse gear to help riders park them. They're extremely comfortable and, despite their size, often very easy to ride. Baggers are stripped-down touring bikes like the Indian Springfield, Harley's Road King, or the BMW K 1600 B. They're typically built on touring bike frames and have touring bike suspensions, but are short on the techno-wizardy, fairings, and luggage. Where a touring bike is essentially a car on two wheels, baggers typically make do with a big windshield, and a pair of hard saddlebags. Who rides touring bikes and baggers? Long-distance travelers, bike campers, and people who like to be comfortable in the saddle.

Sport Touring Bikes


BMW R 1200 RTSport tourers are what you get when a touring bike and a sport bike love each other very much. They combine speed, style, comfort, agility, and long legs into very capable packages for those who want to take a long ride but want to go very fast while doing so. They tend to have stiffer, sportier suspensions and their carrying capacity isn't as large as a heavy touring bike, but they can still haul gear, haul a passenger, and haul ass with equal aplomb. Who rides Sport Tourers? Europeans, people who want to tour where the roads are technically challenging, and sportbike riders who want to go on vacation.

Standard and Naked


Ducati Monster 1200It used to be, up until maybe 40 or 50 years ago, that all bikes were both standard and naked. Well, except for Harleys and Indians. Standard and Naked bikes are the cloth from which all other bikes are cut. They're usually very simple, often handsome machines with upright riding positions and pleasant ergonomics. They can be ultra-modern like the Ducati Monster or a throwback to earlier times like the Kawasaki Z900RS or the Triumph Bonneville, and are built with general-purpose fun in mind rather than a specific job. Who rides standard and naked bikes? Rockers, riders who like simplicity or retro styling, old guys who fondly remember the CB750 and the Z1000, and anyone looking for a good, all-around, easy to live with motorcycle.

Off-Road Bikes

Want to get dirty? Want to explore places that are off the beaten path? If that's you, you need an off-road bike. Some of these machines—enduros and supermotos especially—can easily be converted to street-legal use. Most, however, are purpose-built bikes designed for specific uses—climbing up walls, say, or jumping over huge dirt berms.

Enduro Bikes


KTM 690 EnduroEnduros are beefed up dirt bikes designed for riding cross-country over long distances. Designed to race in timed, off-road endurance races, enduros are built to take a pounding. They tend to have big fuel tanks, stout suspensions, sturdy frames, and bulletproof drivetrains, and all manner of protective gear to keep them running while out in the back of beyond. Who rides enduros? Masochists, amateur and professional endurance racers, high-speed low-drag operators, and anyone who wants to take a nice, leisurely ride from, say, Paris to Dakar.

Motocross


Kawasaki KX450FMotocross bikes are probably the most common kind of dirt bike. Chances are you have one in your garage or barn right now, and if you don't you probably will soon enough. Designed to run through arduous, off-road obstacle courses as fast as possible while not shaking themselves into a million pieces, motocrossers are simple and lightweight machines with lots of suspension travel and powerful, well-built drivetrains. Each of the Big Four—Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki—builds motocrossers, and there are still old soldiers from Bultaco, Greeves, and ton of other old-school marques kicking around. There are even electric motocrossers nowadays built by companies like Alta Motors. Who rides Motocross Bikes? Freestylers, stunters, kids, old guys, and anyone who likes to play in the dirt.

Supermoto


Suzuki DR-Z400SMAlong with enduros, supermoto bikes are the off-road bikes most commonly converted to street use. Like most things that are good and beautiful—OG Japanese superbikes, Yamaha's XS-series triples, Saturday Night Live, New Hollywood, Serpico, our Managing Editor Jason—supermotos were born in the 70s. Well, supermoto racing was at any rate. At the time, bikes used in supermoto were simply two-stroke open class motocrossers or enduros converted to race on supermoto's three types of track—tarmac, hard-packed dirt, and motocross tracks. It wasn't until the 90s—with the release of Gilera's Nordwest, the first OEM produced supermoto—that actual dedicated supermoto bikes were built. Modern supermotos are primarily four-stroke machines with smallish wheels, stiff suspensions, and are equally at home on the dirt as on the street. Who rides supermotos? Racers, people who want the capability of an enduro but don't want to tour, and anyone who needs a versatile, go anywhere, do anything kind of bike.

Trail Bikes


Yamaha TT-R230The difference between motocross bikes and trail bikes is academic at best. The look the same and do many of the same things, but have a number of small differences under the hood, as it were. Trail bikes tend to be heavier than motocrossers, with torquier engines, shorter gearing, and softer suspension. Some even have amenities like headlights, kickstands, and skid plates, things you'd never see on a motocrosser. Instead of screaming at redline through a bunch of obstacles, trail bikes are designed to tackle difficult, technically-challenging back country trails full of twists, turns, hills, dips, and natural obstacles like trees, rocks, and bears. Who rides trail bikes? Back country explorers, adventurers, the occasional zombie hunter, and people who want a motocrosser but prefer something a little lower-strung.

Trials Bikes


Beta 300 2tTrials bikes are super lightweight, stripped-down, no frills small-displacement bikes with no seats and short suspensions. They were designed to be ridden—which is a strong word to use here since you "ride" a trials bike standing up which is why they have no seats—in motorcycle trials competitions. Motorcycle trials are competitions in which riders must navigate ridiculously hard obstacle courses without touching the ground with their feet. That kind of thing requires excellent balance, fine throttle control, and a certain amount of oneness with your machine. Who rides trials bikes? Trials competitors mostly, no one else is crazy enough.

Step-Throughs and Minibikes

Step-throughs and minibikes are an odd bunch, a combination of scooters, tiny little pit bikes, bicycle hybrids, and anything else with two wheels and an engine that doesn't fall into another category. These machines are primarily used for commuting, short-range riding, and simple utility work like running errands or moving around campgrounds, racing pits, and bike festivals with ease.

Maxi-Scooters


Suzuki Burgman 650 ExecutiveMaxi-Scooters aren't exactly motorcycles, but they're not exactly Vespas or Lambrettas either. They tend to have bigger, four-stroke engines, comfier ergonomics, and a more motorcycle feel. Automatic or CVT transmissions are standard, and they can be kitted out with all sorts of motorcycle-style accessories. Some are even sold as hopped up "sport" or "sport touring" models for those who want some sensible fun and long-distance capabilities. Who rides maxi-scooters? Mostly people who want the convenience and ease of use of a motorcycle but either don't care for or are intimidated by a bike's ergonomics.

Minibikes


Honda Z50 "Monkey Bike"Minibikes! Nothing says stupid, affordable fun like a minibike. From the venerable Honda Z50 to those sketchy, no-name pocket bikes from China to simple machines that are little more than two wheels and a lawnmower engine in a rudimentary frame, minibikes have probably the best cash-to-fun ratio of anything on this list. While they come in a variety of styles, colors, and levels of sophistication, minibikes all have one thing in common—their size. Minibikes are*very small, it says so right there in their name. They have tiny little engines and tiny little wheels and tiny little seats—they're so small that Randy Newman probably wrote a song about them at some point. They're super-duper fun though, and make an excellent gateway to motorcycling for new riders. Who rides minibikes? Kids, people who are entirely too big for them but love them anyway, and anyone who likes a whole lot of fun in a small package.

Mopeds


Tomos Classic XL 45Half bicycle and half motorcycle, mopeds are a throwback to the earliest days of motorcycling. Cheap, small, lightweight, and easy to care for, mopeds are the go-to for anyone who needs a cheap, reliable form of transportation but doesn't have to ride on fast, heavily trafficked roads. Made primarily in Europe and Asia, mopeds are an excellent choice of transportation for those who live in congested cities. They're primarily two-stroke powered, and if they ever break down they're light enough to get home with just the bicycle pedals they come with. Who rides mopeds? Hipsters, high school kids, and people with peculiar senses of style.

Scooters


Vespa GTVCiao, bella! Scooters are the vehicle that put postwar Europe back on wheels in the mid-20th century. Light, friendly, easy to handle, and very stylish (well, mostly) scooters are perfect for city commuting or buzzing from small town to small town on windy European roads. The most popular scooters are made by Vespa, but ere are a whole lot out there and they run the gamut from disposable plasticky things made in, like, Indonesia to high-class machines built for zipping around Rome with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn. Who rides scooters? Mods, Italians, the French, city kids, and anyone else who wants a small, convenient two-wheeler with loads of style.

Denouement

There you have it, friends. The big list of motorcycle categories. Did we get them all? Probably not. The motorcycle industry is constantly in flux and categories can change or go away entirely as it does so. This should help clear up some confusion though, and we hope this helps you win an argument or buy a new bike.

Original article published September 12, 2013.

More from RideApart:

• FleetBob Gets a Makeover
• Royal Enfield 650 Twin Service Manual Leaked
• No Mixed Signals in Royal Enfield's New Classic 350
• Black and Green and Mesh All Over: The Rev'It Traction Jacket
• Harley-Davidson F-150 Making a Comeback

     Related Stories

• No Mixed Signals in Royal Enfield's New Classic 350
• Leaked Images Suggest New BMW R850GS
• Ask RideApart: What Was the First Motorcycle Ever Built

 


Click here for full story...