The concept of a beginner bike differs vastly for many people. There are tons of variables when it comes to your “ideal” beginner bike. What type of riding do you plan on doing? Who do you plan on riding with? Where in the world are you from? All these and more greatly influence what your ideal beginner bike would be.
For someone in Florida, perhaps the perfect beginner bike is a clapped-out Suzuki Hayabusa with upwards of 150 horsepower and barely working brakes. But for folks in Europe and many other parts of the world, a bike like this isn’t something remotely possible for first-timers.
And this is where the so-called A1 beginner bike segment enters the picture. And tiny pistons aside, there are some seriously cool bikes in this segment—bikes that prove that performance doesn’t always have to mean what we generally think it to be.
Take for example, Aprilia’s new RX and SX machines. One of them is a go-anywhere dual-sport, while the other one is a road-going supermoto. They’re both based on the same platform, which is incredibly simple and affordable. How affordable? Think south of $5,000 USD (it's a shame they're not sold in the US).
