Originally Posted by agent87

You can start out with anything that you're comfortable on. You will definitely NOT regret getting a 250 to learn on. In fact, you're one of the few people who actually seem willing to go lower than 600cc starting off. Some people will disagree with me but I'm a big fan of starting on something used and of lower displacement. Why? Because you're highly likely to drop it in the learning process. If you get something janked up and crusty (that's still mechanically sound of course) then it's less likely that you're going to cry when you drop it or have a get off. Also, they're just cheaper; you save money because they're cheaper to insure, cheaper to buy, cheaper on gas, and cheaper on tires. You also lose less through depreciation when you sell it. But that's just all IMHO, a lot of people start off on the bikes they really want (Rich and exnbp/Stephan for example) and have had no problems at all. There are also a bunch of other riders on this board who can give you a lot of info. Or you can visit some other sites too.