Hi Laurie, welcome to the fun! I´ve been riding for 8 years now, started on a Suzuki Savage 650. My husband got me started, but I did take the rider safety course later in the year. After riding the 650 for 6 months, going down to the 250 Rebel for class was frustrating. While I think it´s a great little bike to learn on, it really will seem too small after awhile. I´m 5´6\