I bought the 2007 Ninja new as my first bike and was glad to have it. The really neat thing about riding this bike is that once you feel ready for something bigger you'll REALLY appreciate the performance of bigger bikes- turning, power, balance, etc. That's what I noticed when I went from my ninja 250 to my Ducati monster 695. The smaller ninja saved me from some spills with the smaller engine. It also got my confidence built up perfectly. The ninja took very good care of me! Cathy