The Most Affordable Bike You Can Buy In 2025

Imagine a motorcycle that is a good urban runabout and a capable trail companion that costs just a hair over $3,000. Hard to picture a full-sized road-legal motorcycle of that sort, right? Yet, in 2025, the most affordable motorcycle you can buy is one such humble yet impactful bike that mostly goes unnoticed. Despite packing a puny 149cc air-cooled single, this dual-sport bike produces commendable torque figures.

And despite its life away from the spotlight, this entry-level motorcycle has been so well received that it has been selling like hotcakes since its launch in the US. It is compact, efficient, highly reliable, and the equivalent of a budget Swiss knife. Here's us delving deeper into how the cheapest Honda motorcycle today does it all and more.

Red Honda CRF300L coming down a trail in the woods

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The Honda XR150L Is The Most Affordable Motorcycle Today

Price: $3,099

2025 Honda XR150L dual-sport motorcycle side profile view

While we were scouting for the "cheapest 2025 motorcycle", the names that came instantly to mind were Chinese automakers like CFMoto and QJMotor. The city-friendly Royal Enfield Hunter 350 was also one of the suspects. All of these are priced between $4,000 and $5,000. But then we were surprised to find, stacked at the bottom of Honda's motorcycle list, a humble street-legal 150cc dual-sport. Not many might know this, but the XR150L is a relatively new US offering launched in 2023. However, it has been a part of Honda's global lineup since 2014 and is very famous in Asian markets, where the bike's small size and off-roading capabilities make it a go-to trail companion.

Powered By A Simple And Reliable Engine

Peak Power: ~12 HP

Honda

A major reason for the XR150L's insanely accessible price tag is its bare-bone construction, with the engine contributing to it majorly. Powering this entry-level dual-sport is a humble 149cc air-cooled single with an undersquare construction, barely (as its stroke is just 0.020-inch more than the bore). It has an OHC valve train construction with two valves per cylinder and has a carburetor setup for fueling. Power is sent to the rear wheel via a 5-speed manual. All that simplicity gives the XR150L a reliable, cheap-to-own, and easy-to-maintain character.

Despite being a small air-cooled single, this engine produces commendable torque at 9.2 pound-feet (for its size). This helps strengthen its off-roading and trail-going abilities, as meaty torque is required to overcome steep slopes in these scenarios. Over 70 percent of peak torque is available from just over 2,000 RPM, and the power curve steadily increases for a linear outcome. For reference, peak power and torque come in at 7,750 RPM and 6,000 RPM, respectively.

Engine And Gearbox Specs

504241_25YM_Honda_CRF300_Rally

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How Fast Can The Honda XR150L Actually Go?

Runs Out Of Steam Around 60 MPH

Honda

This motorcycle is not designed to be fast. It is peppy on urban streets but runs out of steam before 60 MPH. This number might sound boring, but when you factor in its compact form factor and a curb weight under 300 pounds, the XR150L starts to get interesting and 'affordably' fun. This is the type of motorcycle that will tread the speedo needle further if you go downhill with a tailwind. One of the most significant downsides of the Honda XR150L, however, is that it's not highway-friendly. But hey, isn't that too much to ask for from an under $3,100 dual-sport?

Here's What Makes The Beginner-Friendly Honda XR150L Popular

A Bare-Bone Construction That Even Experienced Riders Will Enjoy

Honda XR150L dual-sport motorcycle is a great off-roader

As we mentioned earlier, the main reason for the Honda XR150L's popularity is its bare-bone construction. There's nothing complex about this bike, its engine, or the underpinnings and hardware. It has a steel split downtube chassis that cradles the engine and is also the mounting point for its accessory skid plate. Suspension duties are taken care of by long-travel telescopic forks up front and a preload-adjustable monoshock at the rear. The rear is Honda's Pro-Link setup with soft initial and stiffer end rates.

This allows for a modular spring action with a "soft" reaction to light bumps and "stiffer" reactions that resist bottoming out over more challenging surfaces. Braking duties are handled by a single disc up-front and a drum at the rear. Being a motorcycle that weighs just 282 pounds, this setup should provide ample bite on and off the roads. All this while, the XR rolls on 19-inch front and 17-inch rear wheels wrapped with CST tires. These are rather slim and try to bring about a balance of on-road and off-roading grip.

Honda

Features like an electric starter, folding footpegs for the passenger, a narrow seat, and a standard rear carrier are impressive for a motorcycle that is this affordable. Honda even goes further with a slew of accessories to make the XR150L more practical and user-friendly. These include a skid plate, hand guards, a 12V accessory socket, a tank bag, and even saddlebags. Its back-to-basics construction not only makes for an impressive beginner's bike, but it will fancy experienced riders who want to go back to enjoying the simple things in life.

Reasons Why The Honda XR150L Is Popular

• Barebone electronics paves the way for a back-to-basics riding experience.
• Dual character—Nimble urban runabout and a joyful off-roader
• Trusty Honda-grade reliability and simple to maintain
• Gets a rear rack as standard feature
• Tall yet compact form factor
• Very affordable

Hardware Specs And Dimensions

2023 Honda XR150L riding off-road

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Top 3 Most Affordable Motorcycles In 2025

A Dual-Sport, A Retro-Vibing Roadster, And A Naked Sport!

Honda

Making affordable yet wholesome motorcycles is not everyone's cup of tea. But there are a few offerings that impress us with well-rounded packages for impressive prices. The Honda XR150L tops this list. But if you are not so keen on the dual-sport and want something more "grounded" and road-only, there are two slightly more expensive but still insane-value motorcycles.

Punya Sharma / TopSpeed

The Royal Enfield Hunter 350 at $3,999 is the next on the most affordable list. For an additional $900, you are treated to a cute-looking neo-retro roadster high on styling and urban-grade practicality. It produces 8 horsepower and an impressive 10.7 pound-feet of torque, both more than the Honda. But then again, it is also heavier, with a curb weight of 399 pounds.

CFMoto

For a considerable bump of $1,100 over the Honda XR150L, you get the CFMoto 300NK. This naked sports bike does justice to its price with a powerful 29-horsepower high-revving liquid-cooled single. This is also the cheapest motorcycle of 2025 with a six-speed gearbox. With a curb weight of 333 pounds, the power-to-weight ratio is also impressive for the price. In short, there's no shortage of variety in the budget price segment. That means if you don't want the cheapest motorcycle today, you can go and take home one of these other two for roughly $1,000 more.