The A2 Licence Explained: What You Can Actually Ride in 2026
35 kW, 0.2 kW per kg, and one restriction trap that catches buyers out. The A2 motorcycle licence rules in plain language, plus the bikes that use them best.
Compare motorcycles. The numbers decide.
I score every bike out of 100 from its published specs, and I show the working. No sponsors, no press trips, no home-crowd calls.
- 35
- bikes in the database
- 98
- head to head comparisons
- 100
- points, six categories
- 0
- sponsored scores
Build a head to head
Pick any bike, then one of its real rivals. Same class, same scoring, one winner.
Featured matchup
KTM 390 SMC R vs Suzuki DR-Z4SM
The A2 supermoto fight of the decade: KTM's spec-sheet bully against the return of an icon. I scored both from the published specs; the bars on the right are the whole argument.
Read the full comparisonEngine and performance
out of 25390 SMC R
18.8
DR-Z4SM
6.3
Handling and chassis
out of 20390 SMC R
10.3
DR-Z4SM
14.0
Value
out of 20390 SMC R
15.0
DR-Z4SM
5.0
Practicality
out of 15390 SMC R
9.8
DR-Z4SM
4.1
Technology
out of 10390 SMC R
8.3
DR-Z4SM
4.9
Reliability and ownership
out of 10390 SMC R
6.1
DR-Z4SM
7.9
Head to head
Popular comparisons
KTM
390 SMC R
45 hp / 161 kg
€6,999
68.3
wins on points
Suzuki
DR-Z4SM
38 hp / 154 kg
€9,699
42.2
/ 100
Honda
XL750 Transalp
91.8 hp / 208 kg
€11,040
60.3
wins on points
Yamaha
Tenere 700
73 hp / 208 kg
€11,199
52.1
/ 100
Honda
CB750 Hornet
91.8 hp / 190 kg
€7,990
67.0
wins on points
Yamaha
MT-07
73.4 hp / 184 kg
€8,199
54.8
/ 100
KTM
890 Adventure R
105 hp / 215 kg
€15,499
65.4
wins on points
Yamaha
Tenere 700
73 hp / 208 kg
€11,199
52.1
/ 100
Aprilia
RS 457
47.6 hp / 175 kg
€7,050
51.3
wins on points
KTM
RC 390
44 hp / 172 kg
€6,899
47.0
/ 100
Ducati
Hypermotard 698 Mono
77.5 hp / 161 kg
€12,990
55.0
/ 100
KTM
690 SMC R
75 hp / 156 kg
€12,449
65.5
wins on points
Rankings
Best of 2026
Best a1 bikes
3 ranked- 1Fantic XMF 125 Performance52.1
- 2KTM 125 SMC R45.9
Wins by 6.2 points
Best a2 bikes
14 ranked- 1KTM 390 SMC R68.3
- 2CFMOTO 450MT64.9
Wins by 3.4 points
Best supermotos
8 ranked- 1KTM 390 SMC R68.3
- 2KTM 690 SMC R65.5
Wins by 2.8 points
Best naked bikes
14 ranked- 1Honda CB750 Hornet67.0
- 2KTM 390 Duke63.8
Wins by 3.2 points
Best supersports
3 ranked- 1Kawasaki Ninja 50060.0
- 2Aprilia RS 45751.3
Wins by 8.7 points
Best adventure bikes
7 ranked- 1KTM 890 Adventure R65.4
- 2CFMOTO 450MT64.9
Wins by 0.5 points
Best enduro and dual sport
3 ranked- 1KTM 690 Enduro R61.7
- 2Husqvarna 701 Enduro59.4
Wins by 2.3 points
Browse by category
- Supermoto8 bikes
Long-travel suspension, 17 inch wheels and geometry built for backing into corners. Supermotos trade practicality for the most fun per kilometre in motorcycling, from A1-legal 125s to the 74 hp big bores.
See the ranking - Naked14 bikes
Upright bars, no fairing, engines that do their best work between 50 and 150 km/h. The naked class runs from A2 singles to 190 hp hyper nakeds, and it is where most riders actually spend their money.
See the ranking - Supersport3 bikes
Clip-ons, fairings and rearsets. The A2 supersport class is where new riders learn body position without licence-losing speed, and the small bikes are honest track tools in their own right.
See the ranking - Adventure7 bikes
Big tanks, long travel and luggage racks. Adventure bikes carry riders and gear across continents, and the spread between road-biased commuters and rally-bred offroaders is wider than any other class.
See the ranking - Enduro3 bikes
Road-legal dirt bikes. Maximum suspension travel, minimum weight and just enough compliance equipment to connect the trails. The big-bore dual sports here will still hold a motorway speed between them.
See the ranking
The leaderboard
Highest scored right now
From the blog
All posts
Best Motorcycles for Short Riders in 2026: Every Seat Height Compared
Every seat height in our database ranked, from 780 mm up. Which bikes work for shorter riders, which need a compromise, and what the number on the spec sheet hides.
Your First Big Bike After A2: What to Buy in 2026, and What to Skip
The restriction is off and suddenly everything is for sale. Three middleweights that reward a fresh full licence, one adventure decision, and the 190 hp mistake.
How the points work
100 points, six categories, fixed weights. Every input is normalized within the bike's class, so a commuter is never punished for lacking superbike power. No editorial thumb on the scale: same data in, same score out. Boring, exactly the way a referee should be.
25
20
20
15
10
10
- Engine and performance 25
- Handling and chassis 20
- Value 20
- Practicality 15
- Technology 10
- Reliability and ownership 10