Welcome to MO, New Riders (Please read)

[sachiwilson]

These forums get a lot of questions from new riders or returning riders who want opinions as to what bike would be best. The old hands here give pretty much the same advice every time -- take a training class (the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course is a good choice, and available all over the US), get full protective gear (a full-face helmet, leathers or armored mesh jackets and pants, leather gloves, and boots that cover your ankles), and find a smaller, used bike to learn on.

That said, we're merging all the "new rider" threads into this one. Read it and learn, and if you have any questions after all of this, then fire away! And welcome to motorcycling and MO!