5 Of The Best Honda Motorcycles You Can Buy (That Aren't Sport Bikes)
Aside from maybe Harley-Davidson, Honda is one of, if not the most, popular motorcycle manufacturers around. The lineup offers something for just about anyone, ranging from little scooters like the Honda Metropolitan, to superbikes like the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade. That said, not everyone wants to strap themselves to a 999cc motor and just hope for the best. Sometimes you just want to cruise around and enjoy the scenery, or try out a more fuel efficient form of transportation.
Much like the fact that a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat isn't the best car for a large portion of the population, a sport bike that requires a suit of armor to ride safely maybe isn't the best choice for first-time riders or people for whom speed isn't a necessity. Fortunately, given Honda's very long history of making motorcycles and scooters, there are plenty of options to choose from that are decidedly less scary than a bike proudly named the "Fireblade."
Honda Goldwing
The long reigning king of touring bikes is the Honda Goldwing. The bikes are huge, comfortable, and tailormade for the long haul. The Goldwings of yore had massive fairing and windshields that would make a passenger airliner jealous. Those tourers carry with them a certain amount of retro charm, and many people still ride them today. The current iteration of the Goldwing is much sleeker, pulling more from a video game aesthetic than classic motorcycling.
The 2023 Goldwing comes standard with a 1,833cc six-cylinder engine, which may sound a little too extravagant, but the bike weighs over 800 pounds without a rider and sits on double wishbone suspension. That means all the power translates to a smooth ride and comfort that's also not a missile.
Cadillacs from decades past had giant V8s for unhurried power delivery instead of straight line speed, while simultaneously not falling on its face when faced with a challenge. The Goldwing follows the same concept. Throw in Apple CarPlay, saddle boxes, and a seat for a passenger, and you have bona fide road trip machine.
Honda Shadow
The Honda Shadow and its many variations are about as close as you can get to buying a cruiser bike that looks like an Indian or Harley, without taking out a second mortgage on your house or buying the associated leather jacket and sunglasses. The base model Honda Shadow Aero starts at $7,949, and it looks like you just rolled out of the year 1958 in style with its miles of chrome and one giant headlight in the middle.
All Shadows are powered by a 745cc four-stroke V-twin that Honda reports gets a reasonable 56 miles per gallon. Your color choice is limited to a single paint scheme on the 2024 model: a gold gas tank and seats with black or brown, and chrome everywhere else. The sportier Honda Shadow Phantom is available in a either a pearlescent gray color or a metallic orange. What you may lack in traditional options, you make up for in sheer monetary savings over similarly styled bikes and bulletproof Honda dependability.
Honda Super Cub
No matter how fast, maneuverable, or stylish your bike is, it will always fall short to the Honda Super Cub in one critical category. Across all variations and model years, the Honda Super Cub has sold over 100 million bikes over the past 65 years, and it doesn't look like it's slowing down anytime soon. This Honda excels because it proves that simple, uncomplicated transportation doesn't have to be humdrum and boring. It's much like a Volkswagen Beetle for bikes.
The 2023 Super Cub C125 ABS you can buy today has an MSRP of $3,849, a relative bargain for a new Honda with a warranty and all. For that you get a 124cc single cylinder engine, anti-lock brakes, a four speed semi-automatic transmission and all the classic Honda styling you can handle. Here's a possibly rhetorical question; can a bike like the Super Cub really be called "retro" if it's remained in production with very few aesthetic changes for over six decades? The styling is certainly old school.
Honda Africa Twin
Adventure bikes, at least on the surface, are a little hard to classify. Your average adventure bike has the upright riding position and creature comforts of a touring bike, the tall ride height and aggressive suspension of a dirtbike, and the big motor of a sport bike. The Honda Africa Twin takes all of those characteristics and turns it into a tremendously capable bike that even comes with Apple CarPlay.
Africa Twin derives its name from Honda off-road racers that participated in the Dakar Rally in the late 1980s, and its parallel-twin engine architecture. Adventure bikes seek to be a true Swiss Army knife when it comes to motorcycling, and the Africa Twin delivers. It can serve nobly as a commuter, or carry you confidently anywhere where the terrain is less-than-even. The bike starts at a price of $14,499 for the base model, and raises to $18,099 for the Adventure Sports ES model with a dual-clutch transmission.
Honda XR150L
No talk of Honda is complete without mentioning either affordability, reliability, or dual-sport motorcycles, and the XR150L delivers in all three of those categories. The XR150L is a relatively new addition to Honda's powersports lineup, debuting in March of this year. The main draw of the bike boils down to two innate characteristics: it's essentially a dirt bike with turn signals and a license plate, and it's dirt (pun intended) cheap. Honda intended it for new riders, but it makes a perfect trail bike, too.
The XR150L retails for a total of $2,971. It's equipped with a four-stroke 149cc single cylinder engine, a gas tank, a headlight, and not a ton else. For convenience, you have an electric starter and a seat. For the price of what would be the down payment on a more expensive bike, you have an entire motorcycle that can go off-road without a care, and that deserves merit in and of itself.