First off, welcome to the forum, IM me if you're ever in the Fresno area, we can take a ride up the mountain, you'll love it up here. With that said figure out what your ideal bike will be and that's what you should buy, you buy something too small and you'll outgrow it in a couple of weeks. Take your time, dont get desperate and look around and find what's going to work for you for the next few years, specially if you finance it. You don't want to get stuck with a bike you don't want and still have to make monthly payments. I bought a kawasaki 500 and was done with it in less than 6 months, I bought my sporty half a year ago, the kawasaki has sat ever since, now I have 2 payments because I cant sell the kawasaki, its not worth what I owe on it. I love my sporty, I will eventually upgrade to something bigger but for now and for a few years the sporty will be my ride. Do shop around for insurace if you're in California check out AIS ( Automobile Insurance Specialist) they sell Foremost insurance, the cheapest motorcycle insurance out there as far as I know.

 

Welcome to the lunacy.
+1 on the MSF course
+1 on looking at a used bike
+1 on shopping around for insurance

You will have no problem with a Sportster as a first bike. Im old, cantankerous and broken down (a little over twice your age) and my 2005 1200C is my first street bike. Got it about 2 years ago and took to it like a duck to water.

Good hunting and let us know how things turn out.

 

As someone who owned a ninja 250 at your age and now 20 years later has a nightster, allow me my two cents. The difference between these bikes are night and day. How they ride is drastically different and how you would ride them would probably be just as different. Don't settle for anything less than what you really want. Take the year to wait on that nightster. Because if you don't, then everytime you're riding on a bike you settled on and see a 1200N, you'll say to yourself, "what was I thinking?" If you are really desperate to ride then buy a used streetbike that won't set you back too bad, whatever the make, and learn to ride. Definitely take that MSF course! Patience is a virtue and will pay off in satisfaction in the end.

 

I'm in NY too (upstate) and when I had my Honda 1000RR I was quoted $4800 a year for full coverage, clean record with 10 years riding under my belt at the time. Now I only pay around $140 a year full coverage on my Nightster.

 

Joe Garcia has made a great offer, if you accept bring a good luck charm. He's a gremlin magnet. You can save a lot of $$$ going used. Mine is a 2006 1200l and had only 570 miles on the clock. It came with quick detach shield, sissy bar, sundowner seat, t-bags and a cover. It was half of what my son paid for a new nightster. Granted I didn't get fuel injection or a bobbed fender; but...

PS Welcome to the madness.