Perfect starter bike

what are your guys opinion for someone who is new to riding?

a good friend of mine is planning on making the license this fall (he never even drove a scooter). Now I started up slow. Drove a 5hp scoot at 14, 11hp and 15 and so on, to finally make my way to the wrr when I was 18. So in my opinion, a good starter bike would be a 250, something like a ninja 250 (he wants to go into street bikes) or a duke 200 or even a hyosung GT250R. yet, when reading all motorcycle magazines (at least the ones in europe), they all say that 600-750 cc supersports are great for beginners, 800-900 for intermediates and 1000-1200 for experts....

don't know about you guys but I fail to see how a 125 hp machine like an R6 can be considered a bike for noobs??

have any of you guys started on a 600? what were your experiences and would you do it again?

and then of course there is the problem that he could technically only drive a bike with up to 32 hp for 2 years... most 600s like the R6 come with the option to limit their output to the 32 hp but then again... what would it be like to drive a motor with almost 100 hp below its potential? I just cant imagine that to be any fun! that's why many end up removing the block and that gets them in lots of trouble in case of a crash or anything if the insurance is involved...

like me he's a student so he probably will have to keep the same bike for a while, so it's either a 250 for the next 5 years, or a 600 limited to 25kw for 2 years and then remove the blocks. what should I recommend for him?? don't want to give him bad advice

Trying to find my sister a bike as well. A lowered wrx would be good...but she's a little more street as well.
I recommended a used bike for her, which would be easier to upgrade when the time comes $$ wise.
The cbr250 and ninja250 look cool...she's had a 250 cruiser and was a bit disappointed.
After that maybe a ninja(ex500).
Regardless, she's short, so I think a couple bucks put aside for some suspension work, would be the icing on any bike.
The more she saves on the purchase, the more she could spend setting herself up.
Then when it is out grown, she'll be mostly set up to pick one of her own , particular , liking.

The majority of people I know who started on 600 sport bikes don't ride today. Same with the people who started on big Harley's. I don't know why people think it's not cool to start on a small bike but starting too big is a huge mistake. Even if after a month or two they decide they want to move up small bikes hold their value. I sold my wife's 250 Ninja and GZ250 cruiser for the exact same price I bought them for for and she rode the ninja 2 years and the cruiser 1 (she HATED the cruiser btw).

If your friend thinks he is too cool for a 250 ninja, then urge him towards a dual sport or supermoto. At least they have much more mild and usable power compared to a 600 sport bike.

My brother, recently, just bought a cbr600f4.
I have been meaning to give it a go...but to be honest, next chance i get, I'm takin my bike for a ride.
i could ride it whenever I wish...which is nice...but a need has never arised.

...The cbr600f4 being one of the most beginner friendly supersport style bikes made...in my limited opinion.

If he wants a street bike, a good starter bike would be like a 650. Yamaha Fz6r, or Ninja 650. V-Strom 650 would also be a good choice, its very easy to ride, as would be also a Suzuki DR-650. Lots of good choices in that class. My son bought a 500 Ninja, but I rode it a little and though it was kinda underpowered. OK for learning, but my guess is that he might outgrow it pretty fast. He could ride a 650 and be perfectly happy for many years, unless he wants to go crazy fast.

Ninja/CBR 250, WR250, DRZ400, SV650 are all good beginer bike imo. Remind him how much it costs to repair a dropped 600cc bike vs. a supermoto or older but more popular SV650.

Novice riders usually have the following issues with their first bikes:

Seat too high, making it difficult to control the bike at a stop
This is especially true when riding on hills, cambered roads, or on gravel. This should be a non issue for you, due to your height.

Weight is too much to control at a stop
The vast majority of novice crashes seem to happen during low speed manuvers; either poor stoping technique, poor u-turns, etc. With a light bike like a Ninja 250, it's pretty easy to muscle the bike up if it wants to fall over. As weight increases, tolerance for low-speed mistakes is reduced, and it becomes more difficult to 'save' the bike when it wants to fall. If the seat is too high, this problem is exacerbated.

Ergonomics are poor
This can be a major issue with sport bikes - the low clip-ons, high pegs, and unforgiving steering lock means that good riding technique is absolutely critical for bike control. U-turns are extremely difficult, and the bike is hard to turn without keeping the elbows down. Higher, wider handlebars are much more forgiving to the locked-arms riding posture most novice riders seem to use, and offer much better control when using a relaxed upright body posture.

Temptation is too great
The kind of people who tend to gravitate towards a sport bike are the kind of people who want to go fast, and may not have the patience to develop their skills before picking up their speed. This is a personal thing, but you are looking at fairly good starter bikes, so it says good things about you.