[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?

[Tobey]

I'll parrot many of the others and suggest an SV650. I had one as my first sport bike, and loved it to death; it ended up being my last sport bike also. It's not as fast as a 600cc I-4 bike, but it's plenty fast for 99% of the riding normal people do. It's lightweight and has good brakes. I commuted to work on mine, did track days with it, and toured through Tennessee and North Carolina on it. It's not the ultimate track bike, or the ultimate tourer, or the ultimate commuter, but it does all 3 really well. Last year, I rented a Yamaha FZ6 in New Zealand for a week of touring, and to be honest, I liked my old SV650 better.

I had mine for 5 years, put about 14,000 miles on it, and recently sold it. Why did I sell it, you're wondering? I woke up one morning, and was afraid to ride it to work. Not sure what happened, but I listen to the little voice when it tells me not to do something. So I sold it, and bought a dirt bike.