New rider looking for information

Hello everyone I'm new to the site and to motorcycles. I have been looking through a few threads for new riders and what a new rider should do when it comes to going through the process of getting my license and a bike. I have been looking at bikes on a few different sites to get some ideas of what I would like to get for a bike.

I know that since I am new to all of this it would be wise for me to ask for help from experienced riders on what would be a good bike to get. I feel like I would be more comfortable riding a cruiser over a sportbike. The idea of always leaning over the bike isn't appealing to me and I would like to be able to just sit straight up and go for long rides. One bike that I have been really interested about is the Honda Shadow.

I would like to know what the pros and cons are for the Honda Shadow and wether you think it would be a good starter bike for someone like me and what are some other similar bikes that would be good for starting out with. Thanks for the help.

For your first bike get the cheapest lowest cc bike you can find, it is your first bike, not your last. If you don't like but take care of it you can probably sell it at no or little loss in value. You will drop it, I dropped mine twice last week. After you get the skill you need to be at buy the bike you want. And remember when you sit on it when still is not how you feel when it is in motion, you might like a sport bike but wont know till you try.

Edit: read this
http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforum...ur-first-ride)

TFGeek beat me to it :) "It is your first bike, not your last one"

Great advice there.

I can share my own experience. My wife and I got our M1 last summer and took the rider training course through Sheridan college in August. Then bought a Yamaha Virago 250, aka V-Star 250 to learn on. The 250 and smaller bikes are quite light and are easy to handle. They are also easy to pick up if you drop one (you're a new rider, it's bound to happen). They are really fun to ride on the secondary roads again because of their light weight. While they can do the speed limit on the 400 series highways there isn't much left over in reserve as far as power goes though I've had no problems with it myself.

Since my daughter loves to go for rides with Dad, I have picked up a 1100 Virago. I found moving from the small bike to the larger one was a pretty easy transition. I'm glad I spent the time learning control on a small bike, the skills learned there transfer directly to the larger one.

Again, that has just been my experience. I had planned to start with the riding course, get a small bike, then upgrade to a larger bike that I can ride 2-up and one which I can also do my M license on without difficulty. After that point, who knows there are a ton of really nice bikes out there to choose from.

I've owned about 20 cars over the past 30 years, I expect my motorcycle ownership experience to be similar.

Hey Dracula,

The shadow is an awesome beginner bike. (It was actually my second bike after a 25 year absence). It is well balaced (easy to ride), bullet proof, and well manufactured.

Limitations I found were: Max speed 140, sluggish with my wife on the back. (probably not a problem to a beginner rider).

Here is a picture of my used 2003 Honda Shadow ACE 750

http://i1205.photobucket.com/albums/...29197_ap-1.jpg

I agree with everything said here. I too have dreamt about the Shadow but I choose to start with its little brother the 250 Rebel instead for the reasons mentioned above. Picking it up this week... can't wait for my first ride.