which is the best "starter sport bike"?

250cc and below, you can always upgrade down the road, when u get enough experience go for a 400cc 600cc or even a thousand, but make it a ladder, go up slowly,if you do start with something too powerful u might end up in the hospital or morgue. good luck

And we have another candidate for a posthumous Darwin Award. Improving the gene pool by removing yourself from it.

First off, don't get me wrong. I am not anti Sport Bike. However, I strongly believe that the motorcycle should match the skill level of the rider.

A Sport Bike like this is essentially a street legal racing bike. Getting this motorcycle for your first bike is like getting a Formula 1 race car for you first car. A very bad idea. Any decent Sport Bike can go from zero to deadly faster than you can say "Oh Sh**!".

Take a walk through your local salvage yard. I bet you will see several newer Sport Bikes with less than 5000 miles with the forks driven up into the engine. These were once owned by young inexperienced riders like you that thought a sleek sexy Sport Bike was the only bike to ride. Think about the road rash and broken bones the riders of these bikes had to endure if they are even still alive.

A recent report from the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) found that teenagers riding super-sport motorcycles were more than four times as likely to get into a crash than an older rider.

If you are insecure and feel that the motorcycle you ride defines who you are, do whatever you want because you won't listen to what I am about to say. However, if you are a secure person who doesn't give a crap what others think and your motorcycle does not define who you are, here is what I would do if I were you.

Get an older used Standard or Cruiser style bike in about the 500cc range. A Standard or Cruiser type bike will be much more forgiving to a novice like you. A 500cc Standard or Cruiser won't be so fast that it will scare the crap out of you but will be fast enough that you won't get bored too quickly.

Learn on this bike. Make your mistakes. You will make mistakes. Most new riders will lay their first bike down at least once. Ask yourself this. Which bike would you rather lay down? An older Cruiser or a nice shiny expensive new Sport Bike.

Another thing about a nice shiny expensive new Sport Bike. These bikes have lots of easily broken but expensive to repair plastic parts. Laying a Sport Bike down, even at low speed, will get very expensive, very fast.

After at least 1 year of riding this starter bike, you can sell it. If you take good care of it and don't beat the crap out of it, you won't lose much money on the sale. You can then put this money towards your next bike. Even a Sport Bike if this is what turns you on.

One final word about when it gets time to move up to a Sport Bike. Sport Bikes are generally owned by young riders who think they are racers on racing bikes. They tend to beat the crap out of their motorcycles. So if you want to get a Sport Bike, get a new one.

As for insurance, use some common sense. Insurance companies keep detailed statistics on all accident claims. They know from these detailed statistics that young inexperienced riders are high risk. They also know exactly which bikes are fast. Add together a young, inexperienced, male rider, on a fast bike, and insurance is going to be expensive.

Ride Safe - Have Fun

Always remember this. On a motorcycle stupid hurts.

you can go 250 like the other answer said, but there are 600s out there that you can do too. an F4i is a good bike. I woudnt go with the RR until you have a little more experince. also, if you have zero riding expericne or very limited, maybe consider a cruiser or an off road bike for a year to really get the feel of things. with bikes, espeically sport bikes, you dont get a lot of chances to screw up. they are ungodly fast and amazing to ride, but with that much power you can really mess yourself up. also, no matter what, ALWAYS wear a helmet, jacket, and gloves. the only gear i didnt spend on was boots becaue i like the feel of airwalks when i rode. that would have saved me some screws in the ankle and 5 months on crutches, and a lifetime of bruised bones. buy the gear. good luck, ride, and be safe.

Honda..good safety features

I'd suggest 500cc