[Sasquatch]

looks like a great deal!

I bought a 06 Katana, and love it (notice the bugs on my teeth)

[The CyberPoet]

Re: Beginner questions

This seems like a good deal,

It does.

but I am still a bit apprehensive. Is a 600 normally too big for a beginner? I weigh only 140lbs.

Much more critical is how those 140 lbs are distributed -- such as your inseam length. If you wear 31" length jeans (or longer), it will probably fit you; if you're 29" or under at the inseam, this bike isn't right for you as a first bike, IMHO. If you're somewhere between those two, it can be made to fit you with certain lowering/tailoring techniques.

Standard advice:

As a newbie, my advice is to look at cheap used bikes in the 400 to 500cc range. Find a bike that fits your build well, where you can put both feet on the ground and lean the bike between your thighs left and right a bit. The bike should be cheap -- $1k - $2k price range (preferably something you can afford in cash), physically light and nimble, and not all that powerful. If you wreck it during your learning curve, you won't cry at the financial penalty of it, and if you don't wreck it, you'll be able to get out of it whatever it cost you in the first place... It'll also teach you better riding habits.

To quote myself:

the Ninja 250 & 500's, Bandit 400's, Suzuki GS500 are an ideal starter bikes... [Newbie "riders"] would learn far better habits on the smaller bike than on a typical Katana (for reasons I'm about to explain):

There are certain great advantages to starting out on a small, nimble, high-rev'ving bike with a low total cost. Among others, you will learn to use the handling and power with far more finess and far more skill than you would on a larger, more powerful bike like the Kat. To put that into terms that make sense to someone coming from the car world:

When Colin McRae, the world-champion WRC (world rally cup) driver first started to drive (age 12 - 14), he did so swiping his dad's 1972 Ford Fiesta/Escort with a miniscule 1.2 or 1.4 liter engine. It had power nothing -- manual steering, manual brakes, and high-rev'ing engine with little torque. This taught him everything from precise handling to carrying speed through corners, finess and control, matching shift-speeds and proper gear selection. If his father had owned a Cadillac Eldorado with a 501 cubic inch engine and automatic-power-everything, he would have never had the opportunity (or the need) to learn proper gear selection, finess in handling, traction and handling loss of traction, etc. -- the huge engine and huge car just never require it of the driver. In the same sense, a larger, heavier and more torque-rich bike never require you to learn certain fine nuances of riding... you can just punch out in whatever gear for a passing maneuver, you don't need to carry speed through corners, etc. And there's the crux -- if you learn these skills as habits with your first bike, they go with you for the rest of your life. On the other hand, if you don't learn them at the beginning, unlearning mediocre and poor habits and learning the better/advanced habits later is very difficult and something many never master...
Thus, for all the same reasons that McRae went on to be the winningest rally champ in history, I say to you, get the Ninja 250 or 500, or a bandit 400, a nighthawk 450, etc., and start there. By the time you move up in a year or three, you'll be riding circles around at least half the guys who started on a Katana, and doing so with great confidence.

I talked to the owner for a few minutes and he said the bike doesn't need anything. I've been down that road before with older Talons, so I know some maintenance will be needed sooner rather than later, so what should I look out for?

The full list of what you should inspect for is here:
CyberPoet's Used Motorcycle Before You Buy Inspection List (applies to any motorcycle).

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[Sharp Shooter]

I agree w/both sides of the coin. Price for the kat seems good. but even for a first bike seems a bit much.
I've been riding smaller bikes for about ten years now.( dirt bikes, honda 350, honda 400, honda nighthawk 650-then 750). My 93 750 kat is way faster than anything I've rode before.
Still fresh to sport bike riding and Wow! what have I been missing!
However , if my kat had been my first love.
I would have been without skill sets I really need now! A.K.A. Throttle contol!

[slayergsxf1]

If thats spray painted with a can its one hell of a job....