Originally Posted by chris410

I'm going to just be up front. I ride on the street and I also race and have ridden a lot of different types of bikes. First, no matter what bike you get it's the rider that makes the difference. Cruiser VS sportbike are two entirely different animals so you need to figure out what direction you want to go, cruising VS sport oriented riding. The most important thing you can do is EDUCATE yourself. Take an MSF course if you can or try to ride with someone who is experienced and will take their time with you. The type of bike really isn't important, the respect is. My wife and I both started on R6's and never once had any issues because we respected the bikes. And on the flip side...I've seen people throw their lives away when they lost that respect...trust me...you don't want to end up on that side.

The newer R6/Gixxer 600 is more track oriented although you can ride it just fine on the street. While I know people who have started on liter bikes, honestly they are overkill for the street but with some respect they can be a good bike as well. If someone is giving you **** saying 600's are pu$$y bikes I can tell you that they probably can't ride, any rider who is good will know better. An SV650 is a good all around bike and handle very well in the turns, power is decent as well. As others have said, bikes these days are all very good and no matter what you get, unless you are AMA level or better chances of you out growing or out riding that bike are slim to none.

Again, no matter what bike you go with, the most important thing you can do is educate yourself as a rider and take your time. It's plain stupid to rush and try to keep up with the faster riders and end up hurting or killing yourself...and I've seen both. If you do go the sport route I'd highly recommend doing some trackdays, you'll get a feel for just how capable the bike really is and gain skills that can come in handy at times on the street. Although, you'll have to tone the speed back if you want to live to ride another day.

Do some research and once you find the direction you want to go talk to some of the local riders and get their input as well. Avoid the ego riders, they'll be easy to spot! You'll learn that the "fast" riders are the ones who never brag or need to talk themselves up...those are the guys you want to learn from.

Good luck!