stay away from WOW unless you have the bike inspected before you pay a dime for it, they have been known to sell a lot of crap and target first time buyers.

you may also want to look at the yzf600r....not the R6, they are different...but they look somewhat sporty, are "easy" to handle and are very comfortable...i had one for my second bike, it was a 2002 in PERFECT factory condition and I got it for $4100...you could probably find a late 90's or early 00's one in your price range. very comfortable for riding two up as well.

they haven't changed anything but the stickers in quite a while:


2005:


1997: