New Rider, New Owner from New York - Ha!

[bopcrash]

Hello everybody,
I'm from North Tonawanda, New York (between Buffalo and Niagara Falls) and am new to motorcycling. The pic on my profile is my GZ250 with the Niagara River in the background, just above the falls. I've had my eye on the Suzuki GZ250 for over two years now and finally pulled the trigger this year. I did lots of research, read lots of reviews and visited lots of websites. I also went to my local shops and sat on all the bikes that I was considering. I settled on the GZ250 because of the reviews, recommendations of friends who have been riding for years (they all recommended a 250cc with a low seat) and probably most of all - the way the bike looks. I can't say enough about how much I love this bike, the way it handles and the way it looks. I get so many compliments and lots of people come up to me and ask about the bike. Most are stunned to find out its a 250cc. I love the color but was initially lusting after the blue one that came out in 2006. But the silver has a nice sparkle to it in the sun and I'm very happy with it.
I bought it at new from a shop about 50 miles away and drove my friend down, who rode it back for me - staying under 45 mph and at less than half throttle. Of course I was drooling all the way. He showed me some basics of riding that afternoon and after a couple of hours I rode the bike home. I signed up for my road test the next day and 45 days later became a licensed rider after putting about 500 miles on the bike. This forum has been so helpful and interesting, I read the post on changing the oil and it was such a big help. I bought and installed the sissy bar and saddlebags, I'll take more pics soon with the additions and post them in the right thread.
Above all, this bike handles great and has been a huge confidence builder for a new rider like myself. I let a friend ride it who has one of the larger Harleys, he's about 6'4" and he loved it. I'm really thrilled about my choice, in case you can't tell!!