[the chi]

You arent being crass, they got bikes that are too large without the experience necessary to deal with them in terms of manuevering, riding, and being able to control it at a stopped or off position.

I did EXACTLY the same thing when I started riding. I was dying for a "cool" bike, and at the time, 250 ninjas were "ugly" and I was told I'd grow out of it too fast, I didnt know about buells and no one was around to help me out. I bought the 600RR, 1st gen tank, and within an hour of owning it dropped it on myself in the driveway and my street 3 times. It was too tall for my 5'2", too unwieldy for someone who had never ridden anything bigger than a bicycle and in all just wasn't a great idea. But I've been accused of being stubborn a few times.

I went to a dealer within the week and bought myself a cheap ugly 250, and learned to ride on it. Took the MSF on it, rode it on the streets for a few months until I was comfortable (or at least I thought so with my big girl panties) with the whole "riding" thing and then went back to my 600 which was still too big. I honestly wish I'd held onto the 250 longer to have improved my skills but I was ready for a big girl bike.

As far as being able to handle my "measly" 600 or the larger bikes I've had the pleasure to play with, it's been a matter of experience and time. I can get off my bike and others and back it up, tho I prefer to do so on the seat, as I feel overbalanced and uncomfortable otherwise, but I can do it, its just a matter of getting balanced right and leaning it more into me, versus keeping it straight up where it can tip either way.

For me, it came down to seat time and experience. Today, Im comfortable on pretty much any bike, but I should have started out smaller and spent more time on it.