Opinion: Why More Riders Are Ditching Big Bikes For Smaller Motorcycles?

I used to own a middleweight adventure bike that has seen far fewer mountain trails than I’d like to admit. Sound familiar?

A decade ago, I was bitten by the ADV bug. Having cut my teeth touring – with friends or solo – across India, when the concept of motorcycle touring in India was still in infancy, I wanted a motorcycle that would be versatile. I wanted a motorcycle to cover long distances in comfort, handle the twisties with sportbike confidence, and take on the rough with equal ease when the need arose.

Several factors – luck, opportunity and the right bike – fell into place and I acquired a middleweight adventure bike, something I thought was the perfect package for my requirements at the time.

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The Case for Downsizing

My personal experience with my capable, but demanding Triumph Tiger 800 XC revealed several advantages – smooth inline-three engine which sounded like a sportbike, effortless highway cruising capability, adventure bike hardware, including long-travel suspension, high ground clearance and a comfortable riding position that made long hours in the saddle easier than any smaller bike.

But an off-road excursion on a hot summer day through some gnarly trails left me with no doubt about the big heavy ADV’s limitations. For a day enjoying the trails, a lighter bike has more advantages – and is more enjoyable as well. Drop it as many times, pick it up and go about your business. On a heavier bike, drop it twice, or thrice, and you’d be exhausted, maybe even consider heading back home.

Over the years though, the Tiger saw far fewer mountain trails than I’d originally dreamed of. A busy schedule, the weight, the responsibility of it all – the big ADV dream is harder to live than it sounds.

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When smaller, simpler and more importantly – lighter adventure bikes hit the market in recent years, and I had the pleasure of sampling them all, I genuinely started appreciating the advantages of a mid-size motorcycle over a heavier, more powerful and more expensive tool. So, does it make more sense to downsize? The answer depends on a lot of things – your motorcycling aspirations, your experience, and your use case.

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What Riders Say

Actor Satyadeep Mishra started riding motorcycles rather late in the day, when he was almost 40. But there’s been no looking back since he was bitten by the motorcycling bug. From off-road days, multiple-day tours across the high Himalayas to off-road excursions, Satyadeep lives the motorcycle life today – owning several different models across genres and engine displacements to suit his personal riding requirements.

“Having owned bigger bikes in the 900cc segment, I still feel that the 450cc segment hits the sweet spot, even though they won’t be as nimble or capable off-road as, say, a Hero XPulse, or a Kawasaki KLX 230,” said Satyadeep Mishra.

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“I was in Upper Mustang in Nepal once - I was riding an XPulse and there were guys on bigger bikes, but on the gnarly stuff, I knew that something goes wrong I can just jump off the bike without thinking twice, and worrying about damaging the bike too much,” added Mishra.

Shahwar Hussain has been conducting adventure motorcycle tours and classic Jeep drives across the isolated and interior regions of North-East India for nearly two decades. His tours chart out routes through interiors - through villages, unpaved roads and gravel trails, and he has used a number of different motorcycles in the region.

“A 400-450cc bike is absolutely right. A bike like the KTM 390 Adventure is a mile muncher and can cover long distances comfortably. A big bike has more power, sure, but where will you use all that power on our roads? We have very limited stretches where you can use possibly just 50 per cent of the bike's potential. The 400-450cc bikes are light, with decent power and practical,” said Shahwar.

Akram has been riding motorcycles across India for decades. From 350cc Royal Enfields to a twin-cylinder Ducati, he has owned and ridden all kinds of motorcycles – touring across the length and breadth of India.

“I feel the mid-size segment is the sweet spot. Bikes are lighter, more accessible and not just affordable to purchase, but also easier on the pocket to maintain. For some of us, maintaining a bigger, more powerful and more expensive bike comes with its own set of issues – tyres are more expensive, service costs are higher, spares are many times more expensive,” said Akram.

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Former automotive journalist turned traveller and motorcycle expedition leader Vir Nakai spends a lot of time on the road, leading motorcycle expeditions to the high Himalayas – Spiti, Ladakh and to the Upper Mustang region in Nepal.

“For people like me, who have ridden small motorcycles all my life, this is the first option to upsize. If you head out to the mountains for multiple days, the smaller bikes are still tiring to ride – when there are long days in the saddle, covering long distances. Having said that, using a 1,200cc motorcycle is too much. For me, the 900cc space is ideal. I think the 900-950cc space is the largest we need really,” said Nakai.

“As we get older, if we continue to carry on, leading this adventurous life, riding across the mountains, I feel downsizing is definitely a thing. And for most riders, a 450cc motorcycle will be just perfect,” added Nakai.

“This downsizing is something which you can’t expect from somebody who hasn’t had their taste of a big bike – because that’s the bike that they want. They will get that big, expensive bike, they will ride it for a few years and then get over it – after having spent Rs. 20,000 replacing one panel or confronting the limitations of all that performance. People who call me and ask me about this, I say – just go, buy your 1,000cc or litre-class motorcycle, ride it for a few years, and then we will have that conversation,” said Mishra.

The Sweet Spot

Can a smaller bike really offer the same excitement, fun and entertainment that a bigger, more tech-laden and far more expensive motorcycle can? Let’s be honest – most of us don’t fully utilise the performance or capability of a 1,200cc monster anyway.

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A smaller bike can be cheaper to own and maintain, but there’s more to it than just that. A motorcycle with 40-odd bhp, a sub-200 kg kerb weight, and genuine versatility is what many riders are gravitating towards increasingly – and it’s reflecting in the products manufacturers are bringing to market with greater frequency than bigger, heavier, and more expensive offerings.

Part of the charm of smaller bikes is that they are more forgiving and accessible to newer riders. Then there are riders who tried bigger bikes but found they liked the feel of something smaller – lighter, more fun and easier to handle on a daily basis. That shift is reflecting in a growing market trend, with more and more manufacturers responding to the demand for mid-size motorcycles. Today, there’s an explosion of 450cc options across price points catering to different use cases – road, trail, adventure and off-road.

Sometimes, less really is more. And the best bike isn’t always the biggest, the most powerful or the most expensive – it’s simply the one that puts the biggest smile on your face. After all, isn’t that why we ride?

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