Just a couple of quick notes:
1. Congrats on wanting to join the ranks! Always good for new blood to come in.
2. Your first bike. Whatever it is, buy USED if you can! A used Honda Shadow 750 cruiser, for instance, can be had under $4k with less than 5,000 miles on them. Many used bikes out there, especially the Japanese cruisers, can be had for a song. Don't worry about it not having enough power, suspension, or whatever: it's a stepping stone. Use it to learn on. Use it to figure what kind of riding you REALLY want to do. Too many people make the mistake of trying to buy their "dream bike" as their first bike. Then they drop it backing it out of the garage (which, btw, is how you will likely drop the bike the first time. We've pretty much all done it. It's all part of the learning curve.)
3. Put 6,000 miles on the bike BEFORE deciding what you need to change, etc. Given your weight, max out the pre-load on the rear shock and, at least for the short term, just call it good until you get the basics of riding down. It takes 6mo. / 6000 miles to get used to clutching, throttling, downshifting, braking, etc. It just takes time for the controls to become ingrained in your behavior.
4. Assuming you buy used, factor in the cost of new tires ($300-400 mounted), brake & oil & radiator fluid change ($120) and a battery ($75). The tires are likely old and ozone cracked while the fluids just need to be changed because the bike was likely sitting for a long time, absorbing moisture.Possible, but not likely on low mileage models might include a new chain and brake pads. But not likely.
Bikes I like:
1995-ish BMW R1100R.
Wee-strom.
Any sub-1000cc J4 (aka, Japanese Big 4 Mfg's) cruiser. There's a darn good chance of finding something of a modern day classic like the Kawasaki Vulcan Drifter in an 800cc model with super low miles. J4 bikes, shaft drive, medium displacement cruisers are just this side of indestructible. It takes crashing of a small nuke to truly damage them.
Honda CB750 Nighthawk
Suzuki Bandit 600
IMO, the first three options are likely the better ones.
Accept a certain degree of humility in this. Chances are you will dump the bike. Several times. Chances are you will think you are a better rider than you really are. Humility will be your friend here. It takes a solid 6-10000 miles to really start to get the flow of riding. And another 25,000 miles of work to reach a true level of competence. Take it slow. Take it easy. Be open to learning. And be open to a bit of caution - especially when you start thinking "I've got this licked." and you dial in another bit of throttle. That's when danger really happens - it's called overconfidence. Lord knows, it can bite us all.
Crashing sucks. Invest in a decent set of riding gear, including some riding pants. A very good friend of mine (Viffer Vern) crashed at 35mph. Hit a dog at night. Broken collar bone, tweaked ankle, possible rotator cuff damage. Some knee rash where his leathers wore through. Big concussion. He was wearing full leathers and a full face helmet. Shit can happen at any speed. Imagine the damage had he not invested in good gear.
Good places to shop for gear:
www.ironpony.com - check out Teknic textiles - lots and lots of supercheap clearance stuff.
www.newenough.com - great place. great owner. I heard he rode through an ice-storm to donate his left kidney to someone in Montana in the dead of winter.
www.ebay.com - you just never know...
Good Luck!
Oh, and post back when you think you've found some solid bike examples!
Regards,
Robert
