ah, summertime...makes everyone want to jump on a motorcycle...

good luck...i won't bore you with my $.02; everyone else here pretty much summed it all up but go to this site: cycleforums.com and check out the newbie section and do searches for topics on beginners and such...a plethora of info there and, for the most part, very helpful...

PM me if you have any questions or anything...i'm R1ceRocket on that board as well...