good bike for a returnee

[Gremlin]

You might find a Kawasaki ZZR250 or GPX250 for that money. They're cool bikes to ride and real easy to get along with.

Somebody call me?? What a coincidence

Seriously tho, mine is for sale, she ain't pretty, but you said you didn't want to regularly visit the shop. Asides from servicing, mine has been very reliable.

Had to, I expect it to start everytime, and it gets used 6 days week

[avgas]

GB250, SRX250 would be my picks for a returning biker. Lotsa Torque, and no rediculous WTF!?! throttle reponse.

[Dadpole]

GB250 on tardme at the moment. Don't see many of the 250 models around, but the 400/500 seem OK.

[classic zed]

I bought it new in 78, I owned it for a couple of years before selling it after a nasty accident.
I have ridden a few different friends bikes over the years, FJ1200, ZZR1100 and my brothers RD500LC to name but a few.
When I moved here from the UK I decided to get a bike again, I found a guy selling two Z1300's (79 & 81 models) on Trademe and, as this was a bike I have always loved, I bought them, one was complete and the other was a bag of bits.
It took me a couple of hours to get used to the bulk of it but after that it was great, and surprisingly good in traffic.

[Stevo]

Hi
I am returning to riding after more than 5 years. Am sitting the learners test soon. Which bike would you recommend for a rider with medium skill level? The ones that I have in mind are:
Suzuki Bandit 250
FXR150
Honda CRM250 (road legal)

Basically what Im after is one thats not too heavy, within $3000, and does not require me to visit garages too often. I havent used any of the bikes mentioned above, am just basing it on pics I saw on the internet. Whch one would you guys recommend?
cheers
Hans

Two questions:
What did you used to ride?
Did you used to ride without a license?