Beginner Bike: Kawasaki Ninja 250r

[doublen675]

A Ninja 250 is a great starter bike and there are a ton of them out there.  Check cycletrader.com and Craigslist and you should be able to find one for under $2k easy.  Another notable sportbike, that is good for beginners is a Suzuki GS500 or the Ninja 500.  Or just find yourself a 70's-80's standard bike.  Perfect to learn on, easy to ride, and you won't cry when you drop it and scratch er' up.  

[TonyKZ1]

A Ninja 250 is a great starter bike and there are a ton of them out there. Another notable sportbike, that is good for beginners is a Suzuki GS500 or the Ninja 500.  Or just find yourself a 70's-80's standard bike.  Perfect to learn on, easy to ride, and you won't cry when you drop it and scratch er' up.  

  +1. Great beginner bike, and you might even find you enjoy riding it so much, you keep it instead of automatically upgrading to a 600cc+ after a few months.
Tony

[cjgauthier]

          The 250 is a good bike. If finances are a consideration, all bikes are dirt cheap on craigslist right now. $1000 will get you a bike that you can learn on. Wreck the more expensive bike later when you have the dough for the bike and insurance.  

[HipGnosis]

The bikes come out in spring.
Searchtempest.com does craigslist on crack for you.

[medswife]

My first bike was a new Honda 750 Shadow ACE, handle bars too wide, looked way too nice for a beginner.  I was too afraid of dropping it, so I never really road it.  Years later I decided I was going to ride and last fall bought at 1982 Honda CB450E.  I'm not afraid to drop it, and at just over $600, who cares if I do, besides the previous owner put the engine guard on it.  

It was one of the best purchases I made, not only did I get a bike, my friend who checked it over for me introduced me to a friend who could help me learn to ride again.  So not only did I get a bike but, a absolutely wonderful husband.