Speaking of which, I think dual sports make great first bikes.

I really want to give advice.

But, all I can think about is how he's 25 and I'm only 28. All this time I've been thinking I'm too old to join your family! And you drop this bomb shell on us?! :lol:

Thank you for all the advice everyone! More thoughts and opinions are welcome and I will pass on what I've gotten so far. :)

And Travis, my daughters aren't still the little girls they were when I joined CF. My oldest, the girlfriend of the 25 year old, will be 22 in December. :lol:

Ninja 500 = flexi-frame and weak engine compared to an SV....

So why not just get an SV when it can be had for pretty much the same price? You can easily pick a decent used one up for $3K

SV / Kawi 650R / Monster 620.

If he is only going to use it for commuting/short rides, the DRZ400SM is pretty sweet

I had mentioned a monster to him, but, correct me if I'm wrong, in terms of parts and repairs, they are more expensive? Should that be a consideration?

Karl, I'm not familiar with a DRZ. Who makes that so I can tell him that too? He is just planning to use it to get to and from work, and to our place which is probably 30 miles from him.

I do think he's ridden dirt bikes before, IIRC....

DRZ-SM is no good for more than 15 minutes at a time IMO and terrible for freeways for any distance. I've owned a Ninja 500, SV650 and DRZ.

Make sure you buy used and avoid a lot of easily damageable bodywork (i.e. SV650S). I would look for a first gen SV650 (99-02). They should be easy to find for less than $3k and just require basic maintenance for years. The aftermarket support for them is terrific and there's enough power where he shouldn't feel the need to trade up to anything else.

My first thought was the EX500, but the SV might be a nice choice too.

Does this sound like too little for too new a bike? I know he said it was laid down but, I'll post another ad for an older bike with less miles, that is a lot more... (I really have no clue about this stuff, can you tell? lol)

2006 Ninja 500R/EX500 $1500

I bought this as my first motorcycle just under a year ago and it's been fantastic - never left me stranded. Bike has always been garaged, has 23,888 on the odometer and was laid down and repaired before I bought it and it's been perfect since. Great learning motorcycle! Exhaust cans are scratched and fairing has been repaired, again before I owned it. Has brand new maintenance-free battery - last one died over the summer. Have clean title in hand and ready to go!

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