Hi everyone,

What is the BEST EVER midsize motorbike for Cambodia (daily use, all roads)? What are your thoughts? What bike would you add to the list?

We can answer these questions based on your experience and build a fun and interesting list together.
It is a good way to share our knowledge and love of motorbikes. It also can help some of us choosing their next daily ride.

To do so we can start this way:

1) Let's list all available midsize popular motorcycles in Cambodia (what do you own? What is available on the local market?). A list of up to 20 models seems like a good solid base.
2) Let's decide on their pros and cons (on a total SCORE of 10)*.
2) Let's find out which is the Best Midsize Motorcycle in Cambodia out of that list.

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* SCORE can be determined as below:
1) Reliability (ease of maintenance and part sourcing). On a scale of 0 to 2.
2) Comfort (luggage, pillion, seat size and shape, riding position). On a scale of 0 to 2.
3) Performance (Torque, power, top speed). On a scale of 0 to 2.
4) Economy (mpg, price, maintenance cost. Popularity/ease buy and sale). On a scale of 0 to 2.
​5) Dual terrain capability (a bike able to do both road and dirt is prone to a higher score). On a scale of 0 to 2.

Result: 0 for a bad result. 1 for average/decent result. 2 for best in its class.
eg. A KTM 390 can get a 2 out of 2 for performance and 0/2 for comfort (in a daily use situation, for the pillion, etc.)

Meaning that all the 5 different categories can give the highest score of 10/10.
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Motorbikes that are easy to buy and sell in Cambodia can be the core of the list. We can focus on the second-hand market rather than on new motorcycles which is a niche, a very narrow market (Not enough dealerships, high tax system, price range above what most of the people can afford).

What are the popular midsize motorcycles in Cambodia then?

There are plenty of 250cc in the street but they don't really qualify as midsize motorcycles mainly due to a displacement that is not designed for comfortable touring but rather for daily commuting and city use (low cruising speed, limited seat space or comfort, etc.). Yes, a KTM 250 is fast and yes the Estrella w250 or the CB223ss are comfy. But if we start adding panniers, passenger, and other weights/equipment for more serious trips, we end up with a pretty uncomfortable and unsafe motorcycle. We also need to limit the category in order to keep the list under 20 different models. Does everyone know what a Kawasaki TR250 or a Suzuki SW-1 is? Do they really count as pretenders to our midsize championship? Not really but we can keep them for later. For a 'best lightweight dual-sport A2 license motorbike' category maybe?

So let's assume a midsize bike is over 300cc (eg. CBF300, KTM 390, Suzuki DRZ400, CB400ss, XR400, Dominar 400, etc.). The 300cc-400cc family becomes a trend in India and SEA and can be considered as the entry-level to the 'real bigger bike' status here in Cambodia.

In the other hand midsize means: nimble, lighter bike, able to bring you to a local market or cope with the Cambodian traffic jam. Something that you can lift off the ground yourself in the middle of a rice field. Weight and power numbers shouldn't be too high then. There are many easy dual sport bikes under the 200kgs gap for instance. So let's limit the list to the under 200kgs 750cc contenders.

Which leads us picking up the winner from a list of 300cc-750cc and under 200kgs motorcycles. The age indeed doesn't matter as long as the model is available locally.
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Here below is a suggested list that I can upgrade with you (through our Facebook posts on Mototom, CMRF, Motorcycle forum Cambodia, Phnom Penh riders, etc.).

LET'S START MAKING THE LIST for the MIDSIZE motorbike category:

Bajaj Dominar 400
Royal Enfield 350 series (Meteor, Classic, Bullet...)
Royal Enfield Himalayan 411
Royal Enfield Scram 411
Royal Enfield Himalayan 452
Honda XR400
Suzuki DRZ400
CB400SS
SR400
Ninja 400
​Z400NK
GB400
CX400-500
CBF300
CB400 SF
CB500X
XR600-650
Dominator NX600
XT600
DR600-800
KLR650

(please help me build up this listing. We can delete some and add others)


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So let me know what bike should be in the listing.

Have fun!