I am a novice in this area. I am thinking about getting my Motorcycle License and in the meantime I have been looking at bikes, but I am not sure where to start or what to look for. Any tips would be much appreciated.
Give us more info. What cc do you want? What kind of bike? If you're looking for performance the gsxr1000 is an amazing bike. You should learn on a smaller cc engine first though.
If you have little or no idea try some thing cheap and cheerful 125cc 250cc bikes and then when you've got the hang of 'things' take a few test rides and see what you find suites you. Enjoy.
In general, Japanese motorcycles are the best for the money. All four Japanese manufacturers are very good--Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha. I am partial to Honda myself, but that's just because I own one that's gone 60,000 miles with nothing being done to it except tires and brakes and a new battery. BMW and Harley Davidson are also very good but a lot more expensive. Different motorcycles are made for different purposes. Sport bikes, cruisers, 'dual sports' (on and off road), tourers, etc. To start out you want something general-purpose, not too big. You want to be able to sit on a bike with both feet flat on the ground. This can limit the range of choices somewhat for ladies and 'inseam challenged' guys. Though they publish the seat height in the specs, the seats are all shaped differently so the only real way to tell is to actually sit on the bike. You don't want to run out and buy a shiny new bike to learn on. You're going to be hard on your first bike. You will abuse the clutch and very likely you'll drop it once or twice. Get something used, maybe with already a few dings and bruises. After six months or a year you can sell this 'old beater' and by then you'll have a better idea of what you really want. If you like cruisers, they are easier to manage because of their low seat and low center of gravity. People say you should start on a 250, and yes, a little bike like that is very light and small and easy to handle. But if you plan to do long trips at highway speeds you need something bigger, at least 500cc. That's not that much bigger than a 250, you can probably handle it. A Suzuki GS500 or Honda 599 Hornet, just for instance. 650cc is probably not too big if you can put both feet on the ground. BTW the MSF course (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) is a good idea. They don't teach you to ride, you learn yourself by riding, but they teach you some very important safety habits to keep you safe.
