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I have a Nighthawk 750. While I wouldn't call it the ideal first bike, it's a better choice than anything in the 600 cc sportbike class.

Throttle response on the inline 4 is quick, but not nearly as twitchy as the race replica types. The other thing, that Ninja79 mentioned is the weight. It's top heavy compared to most of the V-twin cruisers, and it will take a bit more effort to learn low speed handling.

I'd highly recommend taking the MSF course before riding one of these as your first bike. It's better to learn the basics on a lighter more manueverable machine.

Sure... the 1100cc cruisers are within the acceptable horsepower range... but what about the weight? It can be very tricky to handle as a new rider. I would say 800cc at most for a cruiser... with 650 being a nice sweet spot in my opinion.

The Nighthawk is an awesome bike... I wanted to start on one myself... althought I knew the 750 and 700's were over the acceptable limit in power for a new rider. Also the weight would be too. I thought I might have been able to get away with a... what was it... I wanna say the 650 nighthawk... did they make 650's? Its been so long since I've thought about those bikes i've forgotten. Still would be heavy though.