[Water Warrior 2]

One of my favorite ways of wasting time is watching You Tube. There are too many examples of new or untrained riders having a bad day on their bikes. Entertaining, yes, but very sad too.
Speed power and size of the bikes is a major contributor of injuries and deaths. Lack of situational awareness becomes a major issue.
As a returning rider in 2005 I bought a Vstrom 650. I admit it was a bigger bike than I needed to return to the streets on 2 wheels. I felt way out of my league and luckily never became a statistic. Rider training ironed out the most glaring bad habits and the bike became much more friendly and my confidence grew daily. I was wrong in thinking my previous riding years would carry me through with a new bike. Fortunately my Guardian Angel was working overtime to keep me safe.
Start small and work your way up. There is no shame in a small bike, just sheer amazement what a newer small bike is capable of without going the speed of sound. Lynda showed me what her GZ could do in many ways. We rode the twisties, toured across Canada and had a lot of fun. Lynda often said the GZ was a perfect start to her riding career.