Getting your motorcycle licence and wondering what to ride? Enter your size and how you plan to ride, and every learner-legal (LAMS) bike gets ranked by how well your feet reach the ground — the thing that matters most on a first bike. All 126 are checked against the official NSW approved list (licence steps below ↓).
Ground reach. Whether your feet reach the road is set by your inseam against the seat height — not your overall height, and not the engine size. That’s exactly what the ranking above uses, per bike. Tap any bike to see your full riding position on it. (Don’t know your inseam? Here’s how to measure it in a minute.)
An upright riding position. Naked and standard bikes keep your back tall and the weight off your wrists, which is the easiest posture to learn in. Faired sport bikes tip you forward onto your hands — fine to aspire to, harder to spend a nervous first year on. Every bike page here draws your actual posture, so you can see the difference rather than guess it.
Light and forgiving beats fast. LAMS already caps power-to-weight, so nothing on this page will scare you by throttle alone. Within the list, a physically lighter bike is easier to paddle, push and pick up — and you will, at least once, pick it up.
Shortlisted two or three? Compare them side by side with your size entered once — or browse the full LAMS list with brand and type filters.
Every state and territory runs its own graduated rider licensing, but the shape is the same across Australia:
The exact courses, tests, minimum ages and durations are set by your state regulator — start there (the same official sites that publish the LAMS lists):
It helps more than anything else on the spec sheet. Stops, slow U-turns, cambered roads and paddling out of parking are where new riders drop bikes, and confident ground reach fixes all four. You don’t strictly need both feet flat — the balls of both feet is workable — but the more of the ground you own, the faster everything else comes. That’s why this page ranks by your reach instead of a generic “best learner bikes” list.
In most states and territories, no — a rider licence is issued on its own. Queensland is the main exception: you must already hold a car licence before you can get a motorcycle learner licence. Minimum ages and steps differ by state, so check your regulator.
Through your learner and provisional (restricted) stages — for most riders that adds up to roughly three years from the learner permit before an unrestricted licence, though the stages and durations differ by state. Buy a LAMS bike you actually fit and you’ll enjoy those years instead of enduring them.
LAMS criteria are national — up to 660 cc and up to 150 kW per tonne — and every state publishes a near-identical approved list. Our LAMS flags are checked against the official Transport for NSW list. Before you buy, confirm the exact model and year on your own state’s list.
Bottom line: seat height & wheelbase are hard data; handlebar/footpeg geometry and ground reach are calibrated estimates (see each bike’s data-confidence badge). Always sit on the real bike before you buy.