I came back to riding at your age (a long time ago) starding on used standards and went through the full gamut of sports bikes, sports tourers and dual sports ranging from 250 (Ninja) through 1300 (Hayabusa) with a couple of big bore scooters thrown in. All of them were great in their own way but one stands out as the bike for all seasons, the BMW 650. Of course it wasn't as exciting as my R1 nor as cool as my Ducs but it was reliable, and as comfortable as an old shoe.