According to Motorcyclist Magazine, the top 5 motorcycles under $6000 for frugal motorcycle riders are:
- Honda XR150L
- Honda CRF300L
- Kawasaki KLX300
- Yamaha TW200
- Yamaha XT250
These motorcycles are nice, but their all small. There is nothing there for larger riders. Every motorcycle in this list has a wheelbase shorter than 60 inches. If your a taller rider you will look like a circus bear riding a tricycle on every single motorcycle. It's like buying a pair a Levi Jeans 3 inches too short. You have to raise the maximum price to account for larger riders, or include used motorcycles in the list. Raising the maximum price to $7000 will include some of the larger dual sport motorcycles like a base model Kawasaki KLR 650 or Suzuki DR650.
Also, every motorcycle in this list will struggle traveling 70 mph on the freeway, so if your looking for a bike for freeway commuting your better off buying a larger motorcycle. I'm not sure the Honda XR150 or Yamaha TW200 will reach 70 mph?
However, after saying all that, larger riders can still get away with riding smaller motorcycles, and traveling on the freeway with each of these models is doable. Adding luggage to make the motorcycle look larger will help with appearance, and changing the final drive gear ratio will help a little with freeway speeds, and you can always travel slower, or even avoid the freeways all together.
The one area where each of these motorcycles will really shine is when off road riding. There is nothing more fun than traveling off road with a smaller motorcycle. Where the larger bikes will make off road riding feel like a workout, a smaller motorcycle can make the ride feel fun by comparison.
