Considering 250cc for my first bike, but some friends say...

[Grey Thumper]

Two of my biker friends think that a 250cc bike might be dangerously underpowered. What they've said to me is that a 250cc bike might not have the oomph to let me accelerate quickly to get out of a problem situation if I need to. They think I'm responsible enough that the extra power of a bigger 500-600cc bike won't be a danger to me, but that's just not what I've read over and over again online.

Your friends aren't wrong; they probably already know you prefer a cruiser and also know cruisers tend to produce less horsepower than sportbikes of equal displacement. I think it's more useful to recco based on HP than engine size (say, 50hp or less), but it's kinda ana, plus it's a PITA to research power numbers.

[MZ33]

However, I'd wait until AFTER you take the MSF course to do any serious shopping. After riding a bike for a couple days, which will likely be a 250cc bike of some sort, you may notice things about those tiny bikes that will annoy you. I know I sure did.

Some of what you decide to do will be determined by what is comfortable to you, in size, power, and price. For example I might have ended up with a slightly larger bike if I had more money, but I got a Yamaha V-star 650 because it was comfortable

I second all that. The Rebel was great for me for the MSF, but by the second day, it felt like I was riding a plank. Upon further examination, I realized that it is a rather thin seat, and if I weighed only 110 lbs, it would probably have been great. But I don't.

[Scott58]

I've had my 05 Rebel through 14 states and Canada. Seriously, don't worry about it.

[morganjp94123456]

First before you make a decision to buy any bike - you need to sit on all of them to see what you like and what feels most comfortable, I suggest you try them more than three or four times around. You might find something you like at one point and see why you wouldnt like that later. Most forums I see would suggest anything in a twin stroke to be about 700cc or smaller and 500cc or smaller in a i-4. Personally, I think that the 4 is gonna have too much torque. I just bought a 07 Suzuki M50 Limited (never owned a bike before or rode on the streets. This bike takes off pretty smoothly and weighs in under 600 lbs and allows me feel more confident on it. Things you want to look at before buying a bike (not just the size of the engine) but comfort, price, options, dependability. You have to make sure that you feel comfortable on the bike before you purchase it.

Good luck!