[robz71lm7]

I asked a few others (co-workers, local F-body board etc) but thought I'd ask here as well since I trust the judgement and value the opinions on this board. First of all I have never ridden a motorcycle, but have toyed with the idea for the past few years. I got my motorcycle permit last week and am taking an MSF course in a couple of weeks. As you can probably guess I want a sportbike. I have a 30 mile one way commute on 2-lane roads and the interstate (70 mph+). I'd mainly be getting it as a toy, but I'd like to be able to ride to work too so I can somewhat justify it in my head. I have thought about track days, but that is a ways away if ever.

I've had recommendations ranging from a 250 all the way to a 750 sport bike (Ninja 250r, R6, or GSXR 600 or 750). Thoughts?

[z28jeff]

I still have my first bike... an 05 500 Ninja (ex500). Bought it in the spring of 06 and put over 8k miles on it so far. I still have it because I'm not really tired of it yet. It's fast enough (for me anyway), handles great, super realiable, and was dirt cheap. I like the looks of it too, but that's a matter of opinion.
Like you, I was considering a new 250, but ended up buying the barely used 500 for about the same money. I'm convinced that was the right decision by far. I would not have been happy with the 250 for very long.
If I had to do it all over again as a beginner, I would probably be looking for a 650R Ninja, (They didn't make those yet when I bought mine) or a Suzuki SV650. The 2cyl bikes are much more forgiving with mistakes. You're less likely to do an unintended wheelie on them, but they'll still scoot when you wind them out. Shifting at 10k rpm allways makes me smile.

So yeah, those are my recommendations:
Ninja 500r (stupid cheap)
Ninja 650r (modern styling)
SV650 (tried and true realibility)