Sagebrush posted:

Retro-styled motorcycles, on the other hand, do have a certain appeal to them, in the simplicity and classic aesthetic of their design. The new Triumph Bonneville, for instance, has sold extremely well on this basis alone. Unfortunately there aren't a lot of bikes with a classic look that are also suitable for beginners; usually they're too heavy and/or too powerful to start on. The Yamaha SR400 is about the only model in current production that has the vintage look and is appropriate for a beginner. Of course, you can also look around for a genuine vintage bike like the Honda CB/CL350 (1968-74) -- and speaking as someone who bought a non-running CL350 as his first bike and learned to fix it up, I do not recommend it if your primary interest is riding a motorcycle instead of working on a motorcycle. Feel free to ask for more details if you're considering this route.


Yamaha SR400; Honda CL350 (1968)

Really, your best option if you want a vintage/vintage-styled bike is to get the Ninja 250, ride it for a year to build up your skills, and then re-evaluate your attitudes and test-ride some of the options (Triumph, Moto Guzzi, Royal Enfield, Ural, or actual classics) to see what you think of them with some experience under your belt.