5 Of The Most Affordable 300cc Motorcycles For New Riders

07/05/2024

Yamaha MT-03

Getting your first motorcycle is a big step. Maybe you’ve seen your friends or family riding or taken a ride on the back seat of someone else’s bike. Maybe you’ve even taken the important step of doing a beginner rider safety course and decided that the two-wheeled life is for you. Now, it’s time to pick a bike.

Even for beginners, there are dozens of motorcycles to choose from, with many varying styles, power levels, and prices. But how do you choose? A first bike should be relatively inexpensive and easy to ride — which is where most 300cc motorcycles come in. Generally, motorcycles with between 300 and 399cc of engine displacement also have a relatively low horsepower rating. They’re lightweight, easy to maneuver, and priced low enough to be accessible to new riders.

For this list, we considered motorcycles between 300 and 399cc, with a low starting price and a bit of approachability from a new-rider standpoint. The availability of accessories for customization, seat height, and warranty were also considerations. All are great tools in determining which bike is right for you.

Honda Rebel 300

The Honda Rebel has been a go-to starter bike for years. It’s one of our picks for the 10 best motorcycles for new riders of any size, so it makes sense that the Rebel 300 would land here on our list of affordable 300cc bikes. It has a classic cruiser look, a low price, and is relatively easy to ride for beginners. The Rebel 300’s seat height is just 27.2 inches, a great height for someone with short legs who wants to slide onto their bike with ease and flat-foot it when they’ve come to a stop. It’s also relatively light and easy to control. At just 364 pounds wet (full of fluids and gas), the Rebel 300 is easy to maneuver in slow-speed scenarios.

The 2024 Honda Rebel 300 has a starting price of $5,449 (including destination), which should be accessible for most beginner riders. However, anti-lock brakes (ABS) will cost an extra $300. Thankfully, it comes with a one-year, unlimited-mileage warranty, which is great if you plan to rack up the miles. For riders who want to hone their skills on dirt, there’s also the 2024 Honda CRF300L. It’s a bit pricier, with a starting price of $6,049 (including destination), but it’s an excellent jumping-off point if you’re looking to get into any kind of serious dirt or dual-sport riding.

Yamaha MT-03

The 2024 Yamaha MT-03 is a naked bike with sharp modern styling and an approachable starting price. You may ask, what’s the difference between a naked bike and a sport bike? Essentially, a naked bike is a motorcycle built with a similar design to a sport bike but without the fairings. The riding position tends to be a bit more comfortable (upright), and that’s a great starting point for a beginner bike.

Prices for the MT-03 start at just $5,549 (including destination), and it comes with standard features like an inverted KYB front suspension and a digital LCD instrument cluster. While it isn’t as low-slung as the cruiser-style Honda Rebel, it has a relatively low seat height of 30.7 inches. At that height, most average-height riders should have no problem flat-footing it.

An honorable mention here goes to the Yamaha YZF-R3, which is one of the best Yamaha motorcycles for beginners. It starts at $6,049 (including destination). It’s a great starter bike with sporty looks that are influenced by bigger bikes like the R7 and R1. The R3 uses the same 321cc twin-cylinder engine as the MT-03, and it has the same relatively low 30.7-inch seat height. However, the R3’s riding position is a bit sportier than the MT-03’s, and new riders will likely find a bike with an upright position like the MT-03 a bit easier to maneuver.

Royal Enfield Hunter 350

If you want something with the look and feel of a cafe bike, Royal Enfield has several options to choose from — many of which are in the 300cc range. The Classic 350 and Meteor 350 are the Hunter 350’s sister bikes, but the Hunter 350 is the least expensive of the bunch. The Hunter 350 starts at just $3,999 (plus destination) in the standard Dapper White, Dapper Ash, or Dapper Grey color schemes. Upgraded color schemes like Rebel Blue, Rebel Black, and Rebel Red all up the price, but the increase is modest — only an extra $200.

The Hunter 350 definitely looks the part when it comes to classic cafe racer styling. It has black wheels and exhaust, a single, round headlight, no fairings, and a circular, center-mounted tail light. And while it might seem bare bones, the Hunter 350 comes standard with anti-lock brakes, a USB-charging port, and a digital LCD gauge cluster. It’s also available with accessories like engine guards, bar-end mirrors, custom turn signals, and upgraded seats.

The Hunter 350’s seat, however, is a bit taller than some of the other 300cc motorcycles on our list at 31.7 inches, but that will still be an acceptable seat height for most riders. Whatever the height, it’s an astonishingly affordable bike for new riders.

BMW G 310 R

One of the sportiest looking bikes on the list is the BMW G 310 R. It has sharp angles and aggressive looks, with a colorful, exposed frame and bright wheels to match. The G 310 R’s starting price of $5,590 (including destination) is right in line with bikes like the MT-03 and the Rebel 300, but you get the prestige of a BMW badge and access to a few pretty-cool optional extras. BMW offers accessories like hand guards, rear top cases, and a luggage rack — gear you’d typically need to find on the aftermarket. Getting them from BMW means these pieces will likely have that manufacturer fit and finish, which is a bonus, and other options include heated grips, a 12-volt power outlet, and a USB charging socket.

The G 310 R uses a single-cylinder 313cc engine and has a top speed of 88 miles per hour—a respectably high top speed for a bike its size. Its relatively low seat height of 30.9 inches (31.5 inches with the optional high seat) means it will fit most riders.

Triumph Speed 400

The Triumph Speed 400 is powered by a single-cylinder engine and has a capacity of 398.15cc – just under our requirement for this list of 399cc. And, with an enticing price of just $4,995 (plus destination), we’ve decided to include it on the list, even if it does snuggle right up against the 400cc mark.

Like the Royal Enfield Hunter 350, the Triumph Speed 400 has a classic cafe bike aesthetic and a number of accessories to add a bit of style. The single circular headlight sets things off, along with the gold front forks, which give the Speed 400 a unique look. Triumph offers an available windscreen, luggage racks, top cases, tank bags, LED turn signals, and a comfort seat — all as optional extras. It’s also relatively lightweight at just 375 pounds, a reasonable heft for a 398cc motorcycle. The seat height of 31.1 inches is approachable for most riders, and the Speed 400 comes with a one-year, 10,000-mile warranty.

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