12 Cheap Motorcycles That Outperform Honda

Like all things automotive, Honda has a brilliant reputation and a wide range of offerings when it comes to motorcycles. The company offers everything from a minibike making 9 hp to the mind-boggling 215 hp Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, the latter of which is practically a street legal set of wheels with a jet engine strapped on. As of early 2026, Honda was offering no less than 52 models in the U.S., which could make choosing the correct motorcycle that much more difficult — especially for riders who don't know what to look for and the metrics that matter. 

But even with such a broad offering, there are many people for whom the Honda value proposition doesn't make sense. These buyers might have $8,000 to buy a bike, but don't like what Honda is making at that price point; if you're one of them, then this article is for you. By looking at slightly used models, or models from other brands, you can save a lot of money (or get a lot more performance for the same money) as compared to getting an iron stallion from Honda. Some of the bikes on this list downright obliterate the equivalent Honda models' specs at a similar or better price point, while others offer almost the same performance while being significantly cheaper. So, with all that said, here are 12 cheap motorcycles that outperform Honda  — both in terms of price as well as performance.

We begin our list by presenting to you the Kawasaki Vulcan 2000, which was one of the most iconic cruiser motorcycles of all time. It was the perfect competitor to the mid-cycle Honda Gold Wing generation, specifically the GL1500 and also the GL1800 up until the early 2000s. The GL1500 Gold Wing, which ran from 1988 through until 2000, came with a 1,520 cc, six-cylinder engine. Power figures for late-cycle GL1500 Gold Wings stood at 100 hp, along with a respectable (for the time, anyway) 110 lb-ft of torque. 

For its part, the Vulcan 2000 made 96 hp and 119 lb-ft at 3,350 RPMs. This oomph was courtesy of a 2,053 cc engine (hence the name) that spread its displacement across twin cylinders, with an admittedly odd bore and stroke of 103 and 123 mm respectively. While Honda Gold Wings from 1998 to 2000 are currently changing hands for $5,000 on the used market, early Kawasaki Vulcan 2000s can be had around the $4,500 mark. So, while the price for both of these legendary early-2000s bikes are roughly in the same ballpark, the performance for the Kawasaki clearly puts it ahead.

Next up we have the Kawasaki Concours 14, another full-size touring motorcycle that is built for long-distance cruising and the open road. In our eyes, the Concours 14 — which can be seen as the spiritual successor to the legendary Kawasaki Vulcan Vaquero 2000 that we just looked at above — is the perfect alternative for the Honda Gold Wing. 

That's a pretty tall order, given that the Gold Wing was basically a segment-defining motorbike that really put Japan on the map when it came to touring machines. However, let's look at the numbers. Where the Gold Wing in recent years has shipped with a 1,833 cc, six-cylinder engine arranged in an inline configuration, the Concours 14 comes in with a 1,352 cc, quad-cylinder unit. 

Additionally, the Gold Wing and Concours 14 both ship with a six-speed transmission and feature shaft final drive. In terms of power, the Gold Wing makes 125 hp along with 125 lb-ft of torque; the Concours 14 outputs a grand total of 154 hp with 101 lb-ft for its part. The Gold Wing, which is currently sold in two main trims, begins with a base MSRP of $25,500 ($775 destination) in early 2026. A now-discontinued (as of 2023) Kawasaki Concours 14 can be had on the used market for between $5,000 and $8,000, a relative bargain.

KTM really needs to work on their nomenclature scheme. Still, the company's full form is Kraftfahrzeuge Trunkenpolz Mattighofen, so we can't really fault them for having confusing model designations. The bike we're specifically bringing up here is the KTM 1290 Super Adventure S, which is (as the name suggests) an off-road "adventure" motorcycle. It comes with a 1,301 cc, twin-cylinder engine that has a bore of 108 mm and a stroke of 71 mm and ships with a six-speed transmission. 

We like to pit it against the legendary Honda CRF1100L, more popularly known by its moniker, the Africa Twin. Where the Honda makes 100 hp with 76 lb-ft of torque, the KTM blows it out of the water with its power figures of 160 hp and 101 lb-ft of torque. Honda's current Africa Twin CRF1100L has a 1,084 cc, twin-cylinder engine and begins with a base MSRP of $15,199 for the entry-level trim to which a destination fee of $775 is tacked on, bringing the total out-the-door price to $15,874. 

Also, that's before any options and dealer markup is accounted for, making the Africa Twin quite an expensive proposition for what amounts to a specialty bike. However, units of the KTM 1290 Super Adventure S in really good condition are currently swapping hands for between $9,000 and $12,000 on the used market, making this bike a very tempting deal.

The Suzuki M109R Boulevard is a cruiser that also delivers in the looks department. Introduced in 2005, it has remained Suzuki's flagship cruiser motorcycle since it was introduced, with a number of incremental upgrades having been added to it along the way. Tare truth is that the M109R will absolutely obliterate the Honda Rebel 1100 — which is essentially just a chopped-wheelbase cruiser — in terms of performance metrics. 

First off, the Honda Rebel has a 1,083 cc, dual-cylinder engine that sends power to the rear wheel via chain final drive and through a six-speed transmission. The Suzuki, on the other hand, rolls up with a 1,783 cc, V-Twin behemoth of a powerplant paired to a five-speed gearbox, turning the wheel via shaft final drive. In terms of horsepower, the Suzuki comes out ahead, making 128 hp while the Honda sits at 81 hp. In terms of torque, it's also not a close call, with the M109R making 118 lb-ft to the Rebel 1100's 68 lb-ft. But the weight of these two bikes should also be considered, as the Rebel comes in with a wet weight of 509 pounds, to the Suzuki's much higher wet weight of 764 pounds. 

The Japanese cruiser is on the heavier end by more than 250 pounds. However, it does have the power to match, meaning it comes out ahead of the Honda in all other aspects. On the used market, the Suzuki M109R can currently be had for around $8,000 for 2016 models and newer.

Next up, we have our first true sportbike of this article in the form of the BMW S1000R, a race-bred track machine that happens to be street legal. It's essentially two wheels and a light chassis with what feels like a Wile. E. Coyote-style rocket engine strapped to the side, and we think it stacks up perfectly against the Honda's CB/R line of bikes, specifically the 1000R. For starters, the Honda CB1000R comes with a 998 cc, four-cylinder engine that makes 143 hp and 77 lb-ft of torque, routing power to the wheel via a six-speed transmission. The Beemer, for its part, comes with a similarly-sized 999 cc, four-cylinder engine, arranged in an inline layout, though it makes more power at 155 hp and 80 lb-ft of torque. 

In terms of weight, the Beemer pulls out ahead, surprisingly, as it has a running order weight of 442 pounds to the Honda's 467. Also, while this would depend a lot on rider profile, riding position, and road conditions, the BMW S1000R has a claimed top speed of more than 124 mph. While a CB1000R would cost you $8,500 or more to buy secondhand in the current market, a slightly used BMW S1000R from around 2020 or newer would come in from around the $7,000 price point. That's about 10% more horsepower along with a savings of about 20%, which is a win-win.

In a similar vein to the BMW S1000R that we just covered above, we have the now-discontinued R6 from Yamaha, a mid-tier, medium-displacement sportbike also from Japan. It pairs up perfectly against the Honda CBR650R, which is in the same weight and performance class. To start with, the engine in the Yamaha is a 599 cc unit that spreads this displacement across four cylinders and has a six-speed gearbox. The Honda ships with a 649 cc, quad-cylinder unit that has a six-speed transmission, and a relatively tame (for a sportbike) bore of 67 mm, coupled with a stroke of 46 mm. 

As far as power figures go, the R6 absolutely dominates the Honda, as it comes in with 109 hp and 45-ish lb-ft of torque, versus the Honda's 86 hp with 46 lb-ft of torque. Now, to be clear, this isn't an apples-to-apples comparison, since the Honda is technically a tier above when it comes to displacement; the point is to get maximum bike-per-dollar, which the R6 delivers once it's a few years old. A new Honda CBR650R would run buyers the cool sum of $9,199 as base MSRP, and that's in addition to a criminal $600 destination fee, while a used Yamaha R6 from around 2016 would come in around the $6,500 price point — another no-brainer.

Royal Enfield is one of those brands that, if someone brings up, you just know they are a true motorbike enthusiast. The company is most famous — and we use that word sparingly — for making cruiser and commuter motorcycles, which actually happen to be very popular in India. However, it also makes the Royal Enfield Himalayan 450, which is a half-liter adventure motorbike with a surprisingly affordable price tag. It squares up almost perfectly against the Honda CB500X, which is also a half-liter twin-cylinder "adventure touring" bike, at least according to its manufacturer. It comes with a 471 cc, twin-cylinder engine that makes 43 hp with 29 lb-ft of torque, and weighs in at 439 pounds in running order. 

The Royal Enfield is a little smaller, with its 452 cc, solo-cylinder engine making 37 hp and 27 lb-ft of torque, with a weight of 441 pounds with all fluids. In other words, the Enfield matches the Honda in every single metric that matters to bike riders and beats it on cost. Coming to the affordable price tag that we'd mentioned earlier, the 2025 450 comes in with a base MSRP of just $5,799 (dealer-specific destination fees extra), and that's for a brand new model. Used units are currently selling for between $3,500 and $4,000 on the secondary market, which is a far cry from the $5,000 range that good-condition CB500X's are being listed for in early 2026.

We've come a long way from the days when everyone hated CFMoto motorcycles, as the brand has genuinely improved itself a lot. Once panned as Chinese-made, substandard garbage bikes, the company now makes some of the most affordable new motorcycles that are available for purchase stateside. One of these bikes is the CFMoto 650MT, which is a direct competitor to the Honda CB500X that we just took a look at above. The 650MT ships with a twin-cylinder engine that displaces 659 cc and makes 60 hp with 46 lb-ft of torque. 

As we mentioned above, that cleanly beats out the Honda CB500X's 43 hp and 29 lb-ft of torque. Also, the 650MT, despite having a roughly 30% bigger engine than the Honda isn't that much heavier, clocking in at 481 pounds wet versus the Honda's 430 pounds. In terms of price, the Chinese have the Japanese beat, because the larger, more performant CFMoto comes in at around $4,000 for used models with low mileage. Parts availability for CFMoto models is improving with time as well; the company now has more than 600 dealers across all U.S. states, and aftermarket support will only grow as the models get more popular.

And now, we move into what we feel is the most exciting category of motorcycles: The entry-level small-displacement segment. Here, we'd like to present the KTM Duke 390, which is basically a mini-me version of the legendary, full-size KTM Super Duke 1290 R. It comes with a 399 cc, mono-cylinder engine that packs quite a punch, and the only version of the bike that you should be buying is the one in the iconic white, black, and orange livery. 

The Honda bike that it competes with is the CB300R, which has a 286 cc engine that goes about spreading its displacement across the same solo cylinder. As far as performance goes, the KTM comes out on top, with its figures of 44 hp and 29 lb-ft of torque; the Honda trails behind at 31 hp and 20 lb-ft respectively. Both bikes come with a six-speed transmission and feature chain final drive. Even the weights are quite similar, with the KTM tipping the scales at 364 pounds and the Honda following up at 357, both topped off with all their fluids. 

The Duke 390 is currently selling in the range of $3,000 to $3,800 on the used market for models in extremely good condition from around 2018. On the other hand, a new Honda CB300R would run buyers the comparatively eye-watering price of $4,499 as base MSRP, with $600 tacked on as legal fees on top of that.

Next up we hit the opposite end of the spectrum, with the smallest new bike that Honda makes in the form of the legendary Honda Grom, itself already an alternative to the Honda Monkey minibike. It makes just under 10 hp and 7.7 lb-ft of torque from its 125 cc, one-banger engine, and features a five-speed transmission with chain final drive. While it can seat two people, even a single rider would find that the bike is underpowered — but that's missing the point entirely. It's not meant to be performant but a fun city or suburban runabout that people of all ages can enjoy. 

However, not everyone can afford to spend the $3,599 base MSRP and $300 destination fee on a bike that would practically be a really expensive toy, so we present the SSR Razkull 125. It comes with a 125 cc, one-cylinder engine making 8.3 hp at 7,500 RPM. At $1,999 as base MSRP with dealer-specific destination fees, it is about 40% cheaper than the Honda Grom with which it competes, and that's for a brand-spanking-new unit. Used ones, while still relatively rare (because the model is not very popular), would be cheaper to buy. However, buyers should factor in the limited parts availability that might cause issues down the line because of it being an under-the-radar model.

For those who are willing to spend a little bit more money on a Honda Grom alternative, we present the CFMoto Papio. On sale in 2026 in two main versions, the CFMoto Papio SS comes with a 126 cc, solo-cylinder engine that outputs a not-at-all-blistering 9.4 hp, along with 6.8 lb-ft of torque. The transmission is a six-speed unit with a multiplate clutch, as is industry standard now. 

With a length of just 68.9 inches and a seat height of just 29.9 inches above the ground, the Papio is an amazing little package that is also suitable for younger riders. The entire bike with all fluids weighs in at just 251 pounds — as a reminder, the Honda Grom itself clocks in at 224 pounds wet — but neither bike markets itself as being powerful. The Papio's biggest selling point has got to be its price; it comes in with a base MSRP of $3,299, along with a destination freight charge of $350 on top of that as of early 2026.

The first and only scooter on our list is the Kymco X-Town 300, which comes from a brand that not many people would have heard of. We'd like to pit it against the fairly-slow Honda PCX 160, which is a fantastic little city runabout that is actually fairly popular in several parts of the world. The Honda scooter features, as the name suggests, a 157 cc engine that has one cylinder and comes with an automatic gearbox. 

On its end, the Kymco X-Town 300 comes with a much larger 276 cc, lone-cylinder engine and a tubular steel chassis. Power wise, the Honda makes 16 hp, which isn't a bad figure per se; it is quite all right for a scooter of this displacement. However, the Kymco, as expected, makes 24 hp, completely obliterating the Honda thanks to its larger engine. A used Kymco X-Town 300 can be had for $3,500 on the lower end for 2020 models and newer.

First, we identified the Honda models that didn't quite deliver in terms of their price to performance, or in other words, motorcycle-per-dollar ratio. Once we'd done that, we used official manufacturer pages (or trusted third-party editorial sites like Cycleworld and Motorcycle, among others) to source the official specifications for each motorcycle. 

Then, we did the same for the alternative bikes that we suggested. We factored a number of things, including horsepower, torque, torque delivery, peak power RPMs, fuel capacity, and weight. We could have looked at many more metrics, but in our experience these are the ones that are most important to bike riders, whether that be novices or veterans of the game.

Where possible, we included the most up-to-date MSRP data from the manufacturer's official sales page, while the used-market pricing was aggregated across listing sites like Cycletrader. When talking about used prices, we tried to use a middle-ground value instead of going with the lowest (or highest) possible listed prices to give a fair market idea.