Are Dual Sports bad first motorcycles?

Dual Sport motorcycles make for great first bikes. The Kawasaki KLR 650 would also be a great bike for a beginner. Easy to handle, upright seating position that puts your eyes much higher in the air than a sport bike. Better for keeping an ever vigilant eye on traffic. Very good handling. Good brakes. Easy to maintain. Suspect much lower insurance costs. Good Luck

New riders tend to drop motorcycles. Dual Sports don't care it they are dropped. Lighter weight is easier to ride. Dual Sports are lighter than other motorcycles. The City streets have pot holes and curbs and stuff. Dual Sports don't care. Dual Sports are the *best* first motorcycles. Even better if have dirt to play in -- learn that dropping a motorcycle is not big thing and dropping will not kill you.

A dual sport or motard would be the absolute best first motorcycle. Light, tough, quick, agile and you can take one on the dirt and learn what to do when crazy things happen. A very useful skill when the unexpected happens at higher speed on asphalt. A Honda xr650 is probably out of the question for you, but the Kawasaki KLR650 and the Suzuki DRZ 400 are probably very doable, go sit on them.

A dual sport is an excellent first motorcycle, but keep it below 400 cc, and make sure you can plant both feet flat on the ground when sitting on the seat.

No, they are not necessarily bad first bikes. They are light, durable and can give you experience in both dirt and on pavement. They are also inexpensive, maintenance is easier and cheaper than many road bikes and cheaper to repair minor tipover damage. The only disadvantage is that they are tall and can be intimidating at first.