It's time to ride! Good bike to start with? Suggestions?

Specs: I'm a female, 5'6", 150 lbs, pretty strong for a chick, soon to be motorcyclist. My husband just bought me my "learner" bike, a Kawasaki Eliminator 125, so far I'm doing pretty well. I plan on learning on that bike for about a year (I also plan to take the MSF beginner course), and in a year's time I hope to buy a "big girl" bike. I'm looking at a Yamaha FZ6. ( http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/produc... ) Kind of in the middle of sport and cruiser, not to big (600cc, 410lbs), and good looking. Do you believe this bike would be a good first purchase? Is there another you recommend? But to let you know I am partial to Yamaha. Any input would be appreciated, thanks.

I'm a 23 year old female so in maturity age I'm like a 40 year old male.

You are doing great and you already have a game plan set out.....You don't need to change anything, Just go with it and Ride Safe.

Going from a 125 to a 600CC bike will be a huge increase in power, especially for a light rider. If you make this jump, take a long, long time to get used to the bike before you try to really get on the power, or you'll be sliding down the road flat on your back, and watching your bike pinwheel across the pavement. It will wheelie right out from under you...

You might consider getting something in between, and riding that for awhile. Maybe a used bike in the range of 350-400 CC? That way, you can sell it after awhile, and not take such a beating on the depreciation. Or you can keep it, and have a spare bike.

Be sure you've got great leathers before you try riding a bigger bike, and an even better helmet. Remember the rule about helmets - put a $10 helmet on a $10 head.

Depends on your age. If you are imature you probably are going to grab a lot of throtle and it will get away from you. You should take another season with this bike, or don't jump so high on the displacement. Try an old mid 80's 450 or 500 they aren't going to break the bank and you will get a similar power/weight.

I rode and raced for years, had a time when the bike was my only transportation. Yamaha was among my many rides.I have found them to be well built and they have a lot of history as good solid rides. I would only suggest that when you are ready to buy wait till the new year models are out and get a left over. I have seen Suzuki and Yamaha leave new bikes on the show room floor two years and dealers generally hate it. They come with all the new bike warranty and you can save a few bucks.I also urge you to do all the maintenance and required service as today's bikes are more tech.advanced and come with much higher compression ratios than what I rode.

You may like the Suzuki GSX R 600cc bike better, it's 54 lbs. lighter & used by all the racing schools in the USA.

If you get the art of leaning on the small bike you have, you should be able to ride the GSX R in 3 months. Then begin to learn riding it.

Things to remember on any bike.
1.Braking, use both brakes when stopping.
2.Accelerate in a straight line.
3.Pull in the clutch going around corners, is just like riding a coaster brake bicycle.
4.Under the speed of 20 mph. the bike is more unstable.
5.Put sliders on your new bike, so if you drop it...It will hit on the sliders.

Personally I would go with the V-Star 1100 it is a great bike with plenty of power for the open road and it is big enough that you will not out grow it,

Please don't follow the advice to pull the clutch in on corners.

Always corner with a trailing throttle, your training should discuss proper cornering technique including observation and countersteering.

with you being 5'6" i would sugest either a HD Deluxe or an HD Street bob because they both sit low and are very easy to handle i think you would be impressed with their performance also. im kindda particial to HD mainly because i use to work for them and its all ive owned. i have rode other bike but nothing that i can afford feels like a Harley. but the best thing to do is wait till you get your license and then go to all the difrent dealerships and demo the bikes you like. i know harle does demos i dont know about the rest

Of course get the bike you want but also consider what you will use it for.....but don't forget that as a beginner you want a bike that has enough power but docile enough so mistakes aren't catastrophic. Also this is a "learner" bike and you can and should get something with lots of bells and whistles later after you have more experience.