Saving for a Motorcycle

Without going into the details of why lets just say I've decided I want a motorcycle. I should be getting some off duty work thrown my way soon so I can start saving up. If you've never looked at them, there are about a kabillion different bikes. I'm pretty sure I want a cruiser, or something cruisers with a slight nod to old sport. My first bike will be used and probably pre-dropped, thus saving me money and heartache when I do it myself. Here are two contenders:

The Yamaha V-Star 650 Classic. I've been told this bike is pretty low on power, with a low center of weight and good looks. It's priced pretty cheap too. The bike I'm going to buy will surely be cheap. This bike may be a bit small for a passenger.






The Honda Shadow VT1100. A bit more power than the 650, with an extra gear for cruising on the highway. Auto adjusting valves and Honda durability make for easy maintenance. Also pretty cheap.






If you have any comments on a good starter bike let me know, I'll be looking for quite a while till I save up enough to plonk down some cash.