first motorcycle, help me pick one Options

[Hanyo]

I know, i know; the very commonly asked "first bike question" but i need help finding a first bike.

I know about the 250/500 ninjas and the gs500f from Suzuki are all great beginners bikes. I'm really leaning towards a 2008+ 250 ninja because I like how short and light they feel.

But I have a few opinons from my other friends what to get. My friend tells me to get a older 600cc bike such as a 98 katana; My other friend is teling me to get a gs500f to start off with because i will get tired of the 250 real quickly.

My main use of this bike is to commute and I would eventually want to go on the highway with it.

Does anyone have a suggestion on a bike that is less then $3000 and is a good beginner bike (600cc)?

[blu94gt]

I would recommend a used 500 or 600 cc bike. You WILL get tired of a Ninja 250, especially commuting on the highway. Plus, as a beginning rider, you are almost 100% guaranteed that you will lay the bike down at some point, and an older bike will be much cheaper/easier to fix. The options are endless on places like Craigslist, I always see older bikes of all sorts for less than $3000.

My first bike was a 1988 Kawasak EX500, which is pretty much the Ninja without full fairings. Picked it up for $450, and while it wasn't perfect, it taught me how to work on it and was great to ride. The 500 was almost too light to commute on the highway, I didn't like riding it over 60 mph at all. My current bike is a 1980 Yamaha 650 Maxim, bought for $700 and it hasn't really needed much other than tires and a few little things, I commute almost 100 miles round trip every day and it is very comfortable, and can still somewhat keep in play with my buddies who have newer bikes.

I guess when it comes down to it, get something that's comfortable. But you will eventually want a bigger/faster bike. I'd say something like an older Katana, GSXR, or R6 would be a great starter bike from what you've said, and they are all affordable and easy to work on. With your price range you can get all kinds of different bikes.