Hey all, I'm wanting to get into motorcycling as ive loved riding dirt bikes and ATVs.

I'm looking to buy a bike that's pretty cooked and restore and repair it over time. I'm wanting something that is QLD Australia Learner approved so pretty much anything under 600cc.

Any suggestions for bikes that are easy to learn the mechanical side of things and are fairly cheap to buy parts for?

My current dream bike is a Yamaha vstar 650. Looks good and is a really good learner approved bike in qld Australia. So can ride it for years before looking to upgrade.

From my research thus far, Honda CBR 250, Kawasaki ninja 250 are both quite available, cheap and seem easy to repair and maintain. Also both learner approved in Qld Australia.

Any other suggestions or comments regarding the above bikes?

Pretty much whilst I learn to ride and go through the steps for licencing I want to learn how to maintain the bike, as well as repair things, and restore.

In terms of cheap I'm hoping to pick a bike up for under $1000 AUD (around $750 USD) and then spend upwards of $2000 AUD (around 1500 USD) maximum to get it roadworthy. I understand I can pickup a 2nd hand bike that works for the same price but it defeats my purpose of buying and fixing one. The vstar sits around $5000 AUD ($3500 USD) 2nd hand and $12000 ($9000 USD) for new.

As a newbie I'd rather buy a bike that I won't be gutted if I get a dent or scratch or accidentally knock it over. Until I learn the odds and ends.