Buying guide · by the team at All-Terrain Motorsports, Grand Junction & Rifle CO · updated 2026-08-20
We'd rather sell you the right first bike and see you back for the second one than sell you too much bike and never see you again. That philosophy drives everything in this guide.
The golden rule: your first bike is a skills bike, not a forever bike. Light, manageable power, comfortable enough to practice on for hours. You'll outgrow it in a year or two — that's not failure, that's the plan, and good beginner bikes hold their value precisely because the next new rider wants them too.
Modern 300–500cc bikes are quick enough for any Colorado highway and civilized enough to learn on. The Kawasaki Ninja 500 (sporty), Z500 (upright naked), and Eliminator 500 (low-seat cruiser) cover all three styles on one friendly platform. The Husqvarna Svartpilen 401 adds serious style to the same formula, and Suzuki's SV650 is the classic 'big first bike' for taller or more confident starters.
Sportbike crouch, upright naked, or feet-forward cruiser — comfort determines how much you'll actually ride, and how much you ride determines how fast you get good. Sit on all three styles back-to-back on our floor; your spine will vote clearly.
Skip the 600cc supersport as a first bike — modern ones are race instruments with unforgiving power and painful ergonomics, and insurance companies price them accordingly for new riders. Skip anything you can't hold up confidently at a stop. And don't skip gear: helmet, gloves, armored jacket, over-ankle boots, minimum.
Take the MSF course, buy a 300–500 in the style that fits your body, ride it hard for a season, and trade up with most of your money back — we'll take it in trade ourselves. Both stores have beginner-friendly bikes on the floor right now; come sit on everything.
Kawasaki Ninja — 30 in stock from $5,444
Kawasaki Z & Eliminator — 13 in stock from $2,999
Husqvarna Svartpilen & Vitpilen — 11 in stock from $3,999
Suzuki Street — 3 in stock from $3,999
Triumph Motorcycles — 47 in stock from $2,525
CFMOTO Papio — 8 in stock from $3,299
Counts and prices update nightly from our live inventory. Website prices include freight & setup.
Yes — a motorcycle endorsement on your Colorado license, earned via a written + skills test or by completing an approved safety course (the course also often earns an insurance discount and is flat-out the best money a new rider spends).
There's a real case for either: used absorbs the inevitable parking-lot tip-over cheaper, new brings warranty and no mystery history. Small-displacement bikes hold value so well that the price gap is often smaller than you'd expect — check our used inventory on this site.
On a 300–500cc bike, usually surprisingly little — often less than people pay for a phone plan. On a 600 supersport at age 22, often more than the payment. One more reason the small bike wins.