[Jeff in Kentucky]

You will probably fit well on a 250cc Kawasaki Ninja, but you really need to sit on several bikes for a half hour at a time before buying one.

The retail price for a new 250 Ninja is about $4,000- see the NADA book value for a used one. When the price of gasoline goes up, dealers do not negotiate the price much for their smaller bikes, and negotiate the price more for their gas hogs. I found it is best to call dealers- they will negotiate more over the phone, to get you in the door. Shop around for insurance- the price varies a lot.

You may want to buy the footpeg relocators from cyclecontrol.com and different handlebars for long trips for a 6′-1″ tall person, if you buy a 2008 or newer 250 Ninja. I would also consider adding a gel pad on top of the stock seat, to make it taller and softer for long trips. Shorter people often cut some foam off the bottom of the stock seat foam then put the stock seat cover back on, so their feet reach the pavement easier.

These are good soft saddlebags for a reasonable cost:
http://www.sporttour.com/luggage/cortech/saddle_bags_sport.htm