[Vettezuki]

The classic starter bike is the Suzuki SV-650. It's a VTwin with good torque and reasonable power to get around just fine. They are ubuiqutous, easy to buy, easy to sell, HUGE support community. Like my Bandit, it's a "Japanese Standard Bike" which means it's still sporty but is classed completely differently for insurance. I think my Bandit was literally like $75/year.

Think about how and why you're going to ride. If you're looking for a sport bike that can be used for other things, Honda seems to always come out on top: the GSXRs and Yamaha R series are purpose built machines that don't do the longer distance cruising as well as the Hondas it seems.

The high strung I4 600cc bikes (e.g. R6) are amazingingly nimble and fast, however, you'll have to get on the gas to get them into their power range just to get around, unlike the SV VTwin in the same size which doesn't make anywhere near the same peak power, but has much more power at lower revs.

The Hayabusas and ZX14s are BIG bikes that I've heard are very comfortable. They're utterly insane for power to weight, I think the ZX is 8 second something at 150mph . . . out of the box.

New vs. Used.
Can't think of a particuarly good reason to buy new now. There are SOOOO many toys on the market at steep discounts, it's crazy. Nordy racer sold two great (and kind of special) bikes recently for $5k range. .. amazing. You can probably get a great condition SV, Bandit, etc. for $2,000-$2,500.

A bike is way more fun than a car in a lot of ways, It is however, a bit nerve racking because people just don't see you. I will say this, learning to ride a bike made me a much better and more attentive driver.