New motorcyclists looking at a first bike will see a duality among entry-level motorcycles. The Kawasaki Ninja 500 and Z500, the Yamaha R3 and MT03, the Honda CBR300R and CB300R, the KTM RC390 and 390 Duke — nearly every entry-level engine and frame is available as both a fully-faired sportbike and a naked. This prompts many new riders to ask the question: Should they get a sportbike or a naked for a first motorcycle?
Experienced riders will often caution towards the latter. Sportbikes have more aggressive ergonomics that make riding less comfortable, and are covered in easily-cracked plastics that are costly to replace when new riders inevitably drop them — the naked bike, more upright and less plastic-clad, seems the sensical choice. But I wanted to test this advice, so I got back-to-back rides on Aprilia's entry-level RS 457 sportbike and Tuono 457 naked. My verdict? The sportbike is the way to go.
Full Disclosure: I rode both Aprilia bikes at the Americade Rally in Lake George, NY. Aprilia was providing test rides at the event, but I got to go on a special after-hours ride comparing both bikes. My lodging up in Lake George was paid for by Honda, which also supplied bikes that I rode around the event. Not the brand you expected, was it?
Supersport motorcycles are, generally, wildly uncomfortable. They have thin seats, long tanks that stretch your body forward towards low-mounted clip-on controls, high-mounted rearset foot pegs — they're built to force you into an aerodynamically ideal shape, with no quarter given for your comfort. But beginner-focused sportbikes generally aren't supersports. Their rider triangle — the shape formed between the pegs, seat, and grips — is more aggressive than an upright naked bike, but the RS 457 I rode at Lake George was as comfortable as any beginner bike on the market. So too is an R3, a Ninja 500, or any of the other A2-class bikes. Motorcycle manufacturers don't want to turn beginners off of motorcycling on day one, so they build beginner sportbikes to be accessible. All of the sporty looks, none of the punishment.
Of course, even a beginner sportbike isn't as comfortable as a naked. It still pushes your body into a more leaned-forward position, hanging your weight over the tank rather than over the seat, but this is where I break from beginner-bike-recommendation tradition: I think that's good for new riders. Of the two Aprilias I rode, I took out the RS 457 first, and my big surprise from that bike was how comfortable it was to grip the tank with my knees — and how well the riding position enforced that best practice. Were I a beginner, the bike would already be pushing me into good habits. But when I switched over to the Tuono 457, the big surprise was how light and twitchy the front end felt in comparison. This wasn't due to any structural change with the bike, but simply where it put my body.
The Tuono 457 sits a rider more upright, shifting their weight rearward on the bike. This unloads the front suspension, which gives the front end that nimble, flicky feel. The downside, though, is that a light front end doesn't inspire confidence in new riders that are already struggling with anxiety around riding in general. A sportbike riding position encourages more lean in corners, rather than counterleaning, and a loaded front tire feels stable while turning — plus, a front tire needs load to function under heavy braking rather than just engaging ABS without actually stopping.
For a city rider like me, the nimble flickability of the Tuono 457 makes it the more reasonable of the two twins. But for a beginner, I'd say to go for the sportbike. New riders should learn what a properly weighted front tire feels like, they should learn brake control and cornering that use both wheels — not just rely on rear grip and counterleaning to get through corners. A naked bike is often a better daily rider, but a sportbike will make you a better motorcyclist. For a beginner, the latter is more important.