Chuck Hawks of Motorcycles & Riding wrote a fabulous article on Good First Motorcycles that includes the following advice.
Cruisers and standards are usually a better choice for the beginning rider than sport bikes. Modern sport bikes do what they do extremely well (which is go around corners–or a racetrack–at high speed), but they are often not very good for much else. Cruisers and standards are more versatile, at home on city streets, country lanes, and the interstate. They are equally suitable for commuting, weekend rides, the occasional longer trip, are generally easier to maneuver at low speed (where a tip-over is most likely), and are a little less likely to encourage overly aggressive riding.
I urge all you newbies to read it and heed it, especially this part:
To use my military aviation analogy for the last time, starting with one of these machines is like trying to learn to fly in a combat aircraft. The most typical accident for the beginner on a new 600cc sport bike is caused by a loss of control the very first time the bike is ridden, usually within a couple miles of the dealership from which he or she bought the bike. This is not an encouraging statistic. These are not machines for the youthful or immature rider. The lure of power and speed represented by such machines will almost certainly overcome the self-control of such riders, often with tragic results. If you are not over thirty, a mature and responsible thirty, do yourself and your loved ones a favor and learn on a lighter, less powerful motorcycle.
Getting a smaller bike to learn on is great info,it hits very close to home. It all started when as a true 13 year old overacheiver,I wrote a winning commercial for a local SF radio station and won the grand prize: a new motorcycle! I couldn’t believe it, now only to sneak it out of the garage when the parents weren’t home. The perfect day came and after having read the owners handbook close to five thousand times I was finally ready to jump on the kickstarter and roar down the road to biker initiation. The machine roared to life and with a few deft twists of the wrist I was in heaven. Doing my best to remember the shift pattern did nothing to prepare me for the pure massive gut wrenching power that this monster was capable of laying to the strip of asphalt stretched out before me. I less than an instant this two stroke torpedo had it’s front wheel spinning in the air and I was being thrust forward fighting to control this two wheeled rocket machine. When I finally wrestled the wild animal to a halt,my heart was racing,the adrenaline was pumping, and I thanked god herself that I had won the 50cc Suzuki and not the unthinkable 150cc parked next to it!
Great story! My first bike was a 75cc Honda enduro of some sort – can’t quite remember but it was big enough that my dad used it, too. The first time I got it going I was thrilled but forgot how to stop it. I roared through the orchard and was headed toward the chicken yard before I thought of stopping – couldn’t, which caused lots of running and clucking and white feathers flying, and toward a board fence before I started slamming both foot controls and squeezing both levers in desperation, which clunked it down into first and braked at the same time. I believe the throttle was wide open throughout the experience.
The first bike should be no bigger than 150 cc. I am teaching my sons (12, 14) and my friend, and they take well on very small dirt bike (85cc). After gaining confidence and know the clutch plays, they can move upto about 500 cc, then to the monsters.
I’ve ridden everything from 50cc scooters to 1800cc. My first was a Honda Sport 90. I put 10,000+ miles on it and learned how to survive. My best memories seem to be tied to my third one. It was a 1967 Honda CB77 (305 Super Hawk). It was light, responsive, and did what I wanted it to without any of those frame twisting, tire sliding, handlebar oscillating quirks that said, “Are you sure you want to do this?” The only thing it didn’t have was the “roll on” my V-Max has from 85 or 90. Some folks hate scooters… and the rest of us just can’t seem to get enough. You can love ‘em or loath ‘em… you just can’t like ’em. As for me, I thank God I was born during this century. What a blessing.