Motorcycle Safety & Driveability: good first bike? yamaha fzr600, kawasaki ninja 250, suzuki gs500

Question
Well I know someone selling their 1989 yamaha fzr 600.  It is safety inspected (canadian standards) so it's ready to go.  My question is, should I go for such an old bike?  they're selling it for $2500 canadian so I'm not sure if it's a good deal or not.  

I'm a very tiny petite girl and this is my first bike so is it too much bike/too old of a bike for me?  and is it expensive for it's age?

Answer
Generally, 600cc sport bikes are not good beginner bikes. Older ones like the 89 FZR are not as bad as the newer crop of 600 sportbikes (YZF R6, CBR, ZX6, et al.) but they're still a lot to handle for a beginner.

I am not sure what $2500 Canadian equates to in US dollars. I'd say a pristine 89 FZR would probably fetch $2000 in the spring and $1400 in the fall.

If you're shorter than about 5' 6", the FZR 600 might be a little tall and heavy for you. A better bike to start with might be a Suzuki GS500 or SV650, a Kawasaki Ninja 250 or 500, or a Honda VT250 or VF500F. All these bikes are similar in design to sport bikes, they're just a little more manageable for newer riders. You will learn faster on a smaller, less powerful bike.

Good luck,

Pat