Any recommendations for my first motorbike?

A Honda Rebel 250 makes a good starter bike and will last a long time. Can be used for riding around town or out on the road. Relatively inexpensive, fairly lightweight, runs 70 mph and gets about 70 miles per gallon of gas. The most important thing to do before getting any kind of bike is to take a Motorcycle Safety Foundation course. (assuming you are in the US) Besides it counts as the driving portion of the license test in most states.)