You's are talking sport bike and I am a cruiser guy but here's my 2 cents lol. I started with a 250 because that is what I drove at the course, good bike but should have listened to my saleman a little better. He tried to convince me to go a min of a 500 but I didn't. 2 Months after buying the 250 I had outgrown it. Now I was stuck with a bike I could not sell for what I owed on it to upgrade. If I had got the 500 or better yet a 900 I would have enjoyed riding it longer before I upgraded. A 250 is great for getting around town but get on a road where speed limit is 65 or better and you will wish you had started with a little more bike after that first ride

for biggners i think 250 is awesom selectiong aftr that a bigger continue when he learn proper dirivng.

Yep.

The guys who get bored with a 250 after a couple of months haven't learned to ride it. They get confident well before they've actually got skilled. Getting a bit bored is probably inevitable, but if you stay with the 250, as you start to really know how to ride you start to realise how much fun it is. Then they're ready for a bigger bike.

You can learn how to get from A to B without wrecking on a 500 or a 650, but that's not the same as lrarning to ride properly.

While there's an obvious argument in favour of bigger bikes to travel faster or easier, especially highway miles, or faster bikes to win races, you never 'outgrow' a bike that you're really learned to ride.

Rob

I think the ZX-14 is an excellant beginner bike! But only for people like Vampires, Warewolfs, and those kind of people that cannot die:D:D:D

400
 

I started on a yz400f when i was 17 then last year i got a 1983 honda shadow 750, then a 1993 suzuki katana 750, then just this winter i bought a 2009 zx6r, I think that if you are reckless on a bike you will be dangerous to yourself and other people whether its a 250 or 1000

Well i have started my bike riding as beginner with GSX-R1000. I still have that bike. After that i have purchased many bikes.But as it was my first bike in my life, i still not sold it.
I love my first bike.

Some words from a seasoned rider
 

Man, this is a long running thread (5 years)!

Read most of the replies, and lots of good stuff. I agree with the majority who say it all depends on your own comfort level. I also agree with the ones who say start small and work your way up, that's what I did. Started when I was 13 on a '73 Suzuki TS185 that I rode until I was 19 and only stopped when I went left for the Navy. Unless you're a really big person, don't worry about power, or speed, that 185 had more than enough power and speed to kill me, but it was small enough that it didn't overwhelm me as I was developing my skills.

Learning in the dirt is great too (I recommend it), you learn all the weird things that a 2 wheeled machine will do with little or no traction, and falling is not such a big deal. Just pick it up, bend the vital stuff back into place and keep going - basically I learned how to fall. Used bikes are good too, and the local motorcycle bone yard usually has cheap replacement parts (yes, you will lay your bike down at some point).

Riding courses are always a plus, had to go through a course to get a military base sticker. The '83 GPz550 I had was already a breeze to ride, and the skills I learned in the course made it that much better.

Now, with 35 years of riding under my belt, I'm happy as a lark with my '00 ZRX1100 and hoping to get a Concourse 14. But would I recommend either my ZRX or a Concourse 14 to a beginner , absolutely not. They're almost too much bike for me, let alone a beginner.

Start cheap, not necessarily small, but lightweight has its advantages when you're just starting out. Don't go forking out $10K+ just to lay it down in the first 90 days, used is better. Also, figure out what kind/style of riding you prefer, don't spend your money on the new hot looking ZX14 only to realize a V-Star is more your style. Get on the back, or borrow a buddy's bike and figure out what's right for you before you buy.

Thanks for the wisdom ZRXKen, well said.

go hard or go home
 

It dosen't matter what size you start on. It depends on the rider. The rider gotta have enough heart to start out on a bigger bike then a starter bike. Its better to get the power off first hand......

Well I would vote but the ZX-14 wasn't an option...............WTF:D