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Not just kind of retro - this is almost exactly the same bike I owned in 1986, it was the SR500 then. Fun bike, but rather top heavy while parking and intense vibrations on the road.
It depends on what you want to do with the bike IMO. If you're commuting or just want to tour the countryside then get a Honda Shadow 750. If you plan on doing trackdays eventually but still want something comfy for the street then an SV650 would be perfect. Side note: every street rider should do at least 1 trackday. It will increase your ability to handle a street bike tenfold and may even help you avoid an accident. You dont have to be Valentino Rossi just to do a trackday. If you want to start out doing some adventure touring then a V-Strom 650 would be good.
I was in a similar position. I'm female, same height.
Don't make the "buy a bigger bike now so I don't outgrow it" mistake. Buy the smaller bike. You can get a bigger bike later.
I bought a Sportster as my first bike and immediately realized the 575 lb mistake I had made
Keep in mind cc's don't mean much. I had a 650 cc Suzuki S40 that was a great learner bike. It had maybe 40 hp. An R6 has 600 cc but is a race bike with 100 hp!!
Anyway, I would get either a used Suzuki S40 or a used Ninja 250 or Honda CBR 250. You are likely going to drop the bike, so don't buy new.
I've owned both the Ninja 250 and Honda Rebel. Either one is a great starter bike, as are the other 250s from Suzuki and Yamaha. S40 is also a good choice, very similar size as the 250 cruisers but not much more weight, and the belt drive is less hassle to maintain.
The Suzuki SV650 is not a good starter bike, its very fast and powerful. If you're leaning toward that style of bike, get a used Ninja 250 to learn on.
The Suzuki SV650 is not a good starter bike, its very fast and powerful
Somewhat agreed. The SV650 gets thrown out as a great beginner bike quite often, which is no surprise given its price point. And while it does have a number of attributes that make it newb-friendly (cheap, plentiful, less HP than a 600cc sportbike, etc), its low-end torque is nothing to sneeze at and requires a fair amount of throttle control, especially compared to an inline engine or other configurations that lend themselves to less low-end power.
That being said, I started on a SV650S and enjoyed it quite a bit. I definitely had to learn to be easy on the throttle, but the bike otherwise fulfilled all my needs and wants at the time. I enjoyed it so much that I've (somewhat) come full circle with my current bike, a SV1000S.
The Suzuki SV650 is not a good starter bike, its very fast and powerful. If you're leaning toward that style of bike, get a used Ninja 250 to learn on.
Well, they're all fast. That's one of the reasons why we ride em' right?
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