Should I get a sportbike as my first motorcycle?

I have experience riding quads, am taking a motorcycle safety class this weekend, and I want to buy a Triumph 675 as a first bike. Can I pull it off?

Should I get a sportbike as my first motorcycle?security

I own a Daytona 675. I would definately not recommend it as a first bike.

I started on a Suzuki GS500. It was a great bike and I learned a lot on it. Something to consider is that if you start on a bike like the D675, you'll have a harder time learning the basics of riding. You'll learn more in 6 months on a smaller bike than you will in a year on the D675. I understand the draw to this bike. Its a great bike. But trust me, you'll get much more respect for riding fast on a small bike than you will for riding slow on a fast bike. The chicken strips alone will give that away.

Another thing to consider is that you're very likely to drop your first bike. I dropped my GS500 a couple of times and it never did enough damage to cost me anything. 4 weeks ago I had a lowside on my D675. I'm close to $2000 in damage. Older is cheaper, smaller is cheaper, no fairings is cheaper.

There are plenty of fun bikes that are good to learn on. Both the GS500 and the EX500 are great bikes. If you need more power there's also the SV650 and the Ninja 650. You really shouldn't consider moving up in bikes until you have no problems scuffing your tires. If you find that you aren't able to do that, please realise that more power is only going to make that harder. Spend a season on a 500 range twin and you'll be a better rider for it.