[Doc Samson]

Welcome to the forum! I'm going to agree with the great Calculon...

There's some merit to the idea that your objective when getting a motorcycle should be to become a better rider, not find your forever bike that's probably hard to find anyways. Swerving, negotiating curve, panic stops, etc will save rear on the road. I say a used dual sport 250/300cc

I've been riding for a lot less time than most here (5 years or so) and started on a Ninja 300 before moving to a CBR F4i a year later. I love sport bikes but picked up a little CRF230 super moto a couple of summers ago and found myself wishing I'd started on it! Had a blast despite it's limited range/power.