I've been on a few motorcycle forums reading up on what a new rider should know and their first bike. It always seems to come down to "a 250cc is fine, anything more and you will kill yourself" vs. "I started with a gsxr1000 and I'm doing just fine, it's all about control."

So my question is, what would you buy for a first bike? I am looking for a sport bike. A lot of people are saying the '08 Kawasaki Ninja 250 is a perfect starter bike but I'm concerned I'd get bored with it relatively fast (500 instead?). At the same time, I don't think I want a 100 hp bike (GSXR600+, CBR600+).

Another thing I read is weight. The faster bikes are about 100 lbs. bigger and thus are harder to ride on for first riders. Is this true? I'm 5'9" 155 lbs. so how much more difficult is a 400+ pound bike vs. a 300+ pound bike?

Thoughts? Opinions?