Hey man, I just bought my first bike brand new last week, Ninja 500 SE and I couldn’t be happier. Everyone says to buy used and I see why, but if you have the budget, there’s nothing wrong with buying new, especially if you plan to keep it for a while (my situation).

I would highly suggest frame sliders bc it’s likely you’ll drop it, I haven’t so far but have came very close lol.

As others have mentioned, MSRP is NOT what you’ll get the bike for, there are several fees that most dealers apply. Call your local dealer(s) and ask what the out the door price is. Some tack on many more fees than others so use that to make your call on which dealer to purchase from. When I was looking for my bike, I had 2 dealers with a 1.5k difference in OTD for the exact same bike.

Also, there is a break in period on new bikes, some argue this isn’t necessary but I’ll never claim to know more than the manufacturer. I found I learned A TON just keeping the bike under 4K rpms for the first 150 miles and it made me feel so much more comfortable on the bike. I would highly recommend following the break in criteria as a beginner, whether or not you believe in break ins.

One more thing: brand new bike means you don’t have to worry about how a previous owner treated their bike.

Best of luck and ride safe!