I have a couple of good recommendations for you, based on my last few bikes. I had a 1999 SV 650 which I absolutely loved. It had tons of character (for a Japanese bike), good power, good handling, and it looked cool (much better looking than the newer ones, in my opinion). The drawback to the SV was just that it was too low geared and small for real highway work. It was buzzy over 80mph, and I wanted something a little bigger. I got a VTR1000 Superhawk, which I really liked a lot-- you can get 'em cheap, they sound GREAT (with loud pipes), handle pretty well, and look cool. Unfortunately, they have a tiny gas tank. Touring was a real pain because you can't count on getting more than 100 miles out of a tank. I sold it just for that reason-- I like to explore in places where you can't count on a gas station on every corner. My next bike was a 2000 VFR 800 Interceptor. I put louder pipes on it, but it still lacked character. In my opinion, Interceptors have all the personality of a blender. And they are WAY too heavy for an 800cc bike, but they carry it well and handle nice. I sold that one because I was buying a house. Next bike was a Kawasaki ZRX 1100. I loved that bike-- absolutely one of my favorite bikes of all time. Sounds cool, looks cool, handles pretty good, reasonably fast, and my feet can touch the ground. If you like an upright position and don't care about a fairing, I'd recommend the ZRX (and you can get one cheap). Unfortunately, they don't make them any more, but there are a lot out there. I started doing more long-distance riding and touring, so I really wanted something with a fairing, so I got an '03 Aprilia Falco. Best bike I've ever owned. Faster than any of the other ones, V-twin personality, handles as well as just about any bike out there, looks cool, and they're unusual, so they get a lot of looks and you don't see one on every corner. It's not the greatest "town bike" because of the relatively low bars and stretched-out riding position. I ordered some heli-bars-- we'll see if that helps. Hope my litany of bikes gives you a little bit of any idea of what you might want. Happy hunting!