So you want to ride a motorcycle? (Part 3)

So, lets say you have had that motorcycle class I have been pushing in previous posts, and you are ready to ride, and own, your first motorcycle. As I noted in #2 of this series, there is some danger in getting the baddest bike on the market right off the bat. Many people (myself included) started riding on smaller bikes. I first rode a Kawasaki 100, went to a Yamaha 350, then (in the Navy) to a Suzuki 400, up to a Honda 550, then a Honda 600, and only in the last couple of years to a Kawasaki 1500. Is the bigger bike more fun than the others cause its bigger? No, its certainly comfortable, but not all that different than the others; and even less fun in some respects. Smaller bikes are quick handling, and fun on the really curvy roads. There are pluses and minuses.
That said there are a lot of good motorcycles out there. Be sure to check out some of the "commuter" bikes (for instance Kawasaki has the Vulcan 500 and the Versys), Honda has a lot of great models (some of the smaller Shadows and of course the 250 which if you take a motorcycle class you may train on!), Suzuki has a lot of good smaller bikes including the very highly regarded SV-650. The motorcycle magazines rave about that bike as being good for both beginners and experienced motorcyclists. What they like about it is a good balance of power and weight, also ease of maintenance with good handling. I don't think I have ever read a bad review of that bike. Even Ducati has a good starter bike, the Monster line has a highly regarded little brother. Sport bikes also come in smaller sizes, a good benefit of those is that they can also be cheaper to insure than their faster (and much more powerful) brothers.
I guess what I am trying to say is that bigger is not only not often better, but frankly can be a really bad idea for the beginning motorcyclist. What is important is that the bike fits your needs. If you plan to do a lot of highway riding you need a bike that can handle highway speeds, but that covers a lot of motorcycles; many of the 500's and 600's will run all day at highway speed. The lighter weight and lower horsepower of the smaller bikes can save you a lot of money (often as well consider that bigger bikes often require super unleaded gas), as well as be "more user friendly" to the new rider due to the lower weight, and somewhat slower 0-60 times over their bigger brothers.
Remember the best part of riding is getting back to tell stories of the ride; not the quickest trip to the hospital. Ride to live, live to ride as the slogan goes.