My first bike was actually a Triumph Tiger Cub in 1966, and after a modest 37 year layoff from riding I bought a new Yamaha v-star 1100 at the age of 57. I bought new because I felt I didn't know enough about bikes to make a good choice of a used bike. I liked the bike, except for the seat, which killed me after about 45 minutes. I was looking at new seats, windshield, bags, etc., but before I sunk a lot of money into that ride I went to the bike show and looked at other bikes. I had pretty much decided on a naked bike like a Yamaha fz6, when I was given the opportunity to trade some work for a 97 Valkyrie with 1650 miles on it. That is what I have now, with about 10,000 miles on it. It took all last year to get used to that beast, but now I really like the thing. When I bought the Yamaha I talked to a lot of very experienced riders, and the advice I got that turned out to be the most accurate, at least for me, was to not get any cruiser under 1000 cc because I would get bored with it very quickly. They were right. Next year I want to pick up a used vfr interceptor and see how I like that. I rode one once and really liked it.
By the way, after I had about 2,000 miles on the Yamaha I managed to get into the basic riders class and found it very helpfull and fun as well. I did put about 4,500 miles on the Yamaha before I sold it. Because I wrangled a good deal when I bought the bike, about all I lost on the sale was the tax.
I'm a bit old for a sport bike (60) , but I'm still looking at other bikes, like the aformentioned vfr. The only drawback to the valk is the weight when trying to pad around in a parking lot.
Any suggestions for a next ride, maybe when my new Avons wear out?