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)?

[tomazws]

I have to agree with everyone here. You will HATE the 250 once you start going on the highway. I purchased a 1995 ZX6R 3 months ago as my first bike and I LOVE it. The bike is obviously older, slower, and more forgiving than my friend's 2008 GSX-R600.

I definitely recommend against buying a new bike (Not even a new 250), you WILL drop it. I kept telling myself how and why I would drop a bike, and one day when I was pushing it I sorta lost balance and the bike just tipped over. Thank god for sliders.

The GS500F's are nice naked bikes, the Ninja 500's are also nice bikes with only upper fairings. You can get a set of Targa lower fairings to make it more complete looking. I believe a member here just recently got a Ninja 500 with the upper and lower fairings.