Types of Motorcycles

There are three major types of motorcycles: street, off-road, and dual purpose. Within these types, there are many different sub-types of motorcycles for many different purposes.

Street Bikes

Choppers

Highly customized motorcycles based on a cruiser-style frame with long rake (longer front forks) and wild paint jobs. Many are created more for show than comfort.

Cruisers

A range of small to large motorcycles designed for comfort and looks with a relaxed upright or reclined seating position. They often use lots of chrome and may be highly customized.

Electric Motorcycles

Nearly silent, zero-emission electric motor-driven vehicles. Operating range and top speed suffer because of limitations of battery technology. Fuel cells and petroleum-electric hybrids are also under development to extend the range and improve performance of the electric motors.

Mini bikes

Very small bikes designed to be simple runaround fun for both children and adults. Generally they have no hand-operated clutch or gearbox to simplify operation. Also known as Pocket bikes. Not street-legal in most countries and jurisdictions. May be used for closed course racing by all age levels.

Mopeds

Small, light, inexpensive, efficient rides for getting around town. Usually started by pedaling (motor + pedals = moped).

Naked bikes/Standard/Street bikes

Naked bikes have a riding position midway between the forward position of a sports bike and the reclined position of a cruiser. Unlike touring bikes, naked bikes often have little or no fairing (hence the title). Luggage capabilities are often an optional extra. Naked bikes are popular for commuting and other city riding as the upright riding position gives greater visibility in heavy traffic (both for the rider and to other road users) and are more comfortable than the hunched over sport bikes. Note that naked bike and standard are not fully interchangeable terms. Naked refers to the lack of bodywork and standard refers to the upright riding position.

Scooters

Motorbikes with a step-through frame and generally smaller wheels than those of a traditional motorcycle. Can be ridden without straddling any part of the bike. Available in sport, commuter, and touring models.

Sport bikes

Fast, light, sleek motorcycles designed for maximum performance, for racing or spirited road riding. They are distinguishable by their full fairings and the rider's tipped-forward seating position.

Racing bikes

Motorcycles designed for circuit or road racing, including mass-production motorcycles modified for motorcycle racing or sport riding.

Street customs

Highly customized motorcycles with wild paint jobs also built for show, but constructed from a sport bike frame instead of a cruiser-style frame.

Touring motorcycles

Touring bikes are designed for rider and passenger comfort, luggage carrying capacity, and reliability. Cruisers, sport bikes and some dual-sports can also be used as touring bikes with the addition of aftermarket luggage and sometimes seats. Common throughout the touring market are usually large-displacement fairings and windshields (for weather and wind protection), large-capacity fuel tanks (for long-range travel), engines optimised for progressive torque rather than highest possible power, and a more relaxed, basically upright seating position.

Sport touring motorcycles

A sport touring bikes combine attributes of a sport bike and a touring motorcycle. They are built for comfortable long-distance travel while maintaining a forward-leaning riding position, good handling, and high performance.

Off-road

Motocross bikes

Motorcycles designed for racing over closed circuits, often with jumps, over varied terrain of gravel/mud/sand. Sometimes simply called "dirt bikes" when not being raced, they can also be used for informal off-road recreation, or "mudding."

Supermotos

Beginning in the mid-1990s, motocross machines fitted with street wheels and tires similar to those used on Sport bikes began to appear. These are known as "Super-motards", and riders of these machines compete in specially organized rallies and races.

Trials motorcycles

Motorcycles made as light as possible, with no seat (as they are designed to be ridden standing up), in order to provide maximum freedom of body positioning and stunt capability for use in observed trials competition.

Dual-purpose

Dual-sports

Road-legal machines offering a compromise in highway and off-road performance, durability and comfort. Since the requirements are often conflicting, the manufacturer has to choose one or the other, resulting in a great variety of bikes in this category.

Enduros

Road-legal versions of a motocross machine, i.e., featuring high ground clearance and copious suspension with minimal creature comforts. Highly unsuitable for long distance road travel. The features that differ from the motocross versions are the silencers, the flywheel weights and the presence of features necessary for highway use.

Adventure Touring

Closely related to dual-sports, an adventure tourer is a motorcycle that is lighter weight than just about any other bike considered a tourer, but heavier than any traditional dual-sport. An Adventure Tourer can handle with aplomb rough dirt paths such as fire roads however, for their weight they are generally not suited for anything more strenuous than that. The advantage is their increased number of luxury features and larger engines which make on-road riding much more enjoyable.