I’m a firm believer that motorcycle engine size doesn’t really matter that much. I don’t get swept up in the displacement wars or the horsepower wars, but I’ll say that despite the engine type, the engine size of your motorcycle can be important depending on how and where you ride.
For example, if you’re just commuting around town and riding only a few miles a day, you could do that with a 50cc scooter or a 125cc motorcycle—something small and easy to control. If you’re tearing it up on the racetrack, you’ll probably want something capable of higher speeds and that means more engine displacement. If you’re taking long tours on your motorcycle, you’ll want to find a bike with a large engine displacement that’s designed to run at high speed for a long time.
There’s no one perfect bike for everyone, and the mere fact that there are motorcycles with different engine sizes proves this. People have different wants and needs.
The bike I ride the most is a relatively small displacement metric cruiser. That bike for other people would be downright impractical. For me it makes sense. My advice to all riders is to think specifically about what they truly need. Think about how fast you normally travel, what kind of fuel economy you’d like, and the physical location of where you ride—are there a lot of hills and changes in the topography? Identifying these things will help you find the perfect bike.
Below I have sorted my best motorcycle lists by engine size starting with the smallest and going to the biggest. I’ll be adding to this list over time. I hope you find it useful.
The Best Motorcycles by Engine Size
- 50cc scooters
- 100cc motorcycles
- 125cc motorcycles
- 150cc motorcycles
- 250cc motorcycles
- 500cc motorcycles
- 650cc motorcycles
- 750cc motorcycles
- 800cc motorcycles
- 900cc motorcycles
- 1200cc motorcycles
Are there bikes that fall outside of these categories? Yes, of course, there are. Hopefully, Wind Burned Eyes will have coverage of those bikes at a later date. The goal here is to compile a list of the best motorcycles by engine size.
Each of them will be linked above as they’re created. In the meantime, you can search for a bike by type of motorcycle, by motorcycle brand, or by price.