You should be fine with the weight thing…
As for the price, I’m sure you can find the right price if you can keep an eye out in the used market– alot of people buy the 250s a few months to a year and then upgrade for more CCs.
I happen to live in California, and those are the prices I see for OTD.
You can get a used Ninja 500 for around $3000 easy. It has plenty of power too
I got my 2006 Ninja 650 for a little under $5000; the 650s haven’t been around as long so they usually are a little higher priced.
I just got my ninja 650 today though, and its actually very controllable. In fact, I’m surprised BBM hasn’t reviewed it yet. I haven’t ridden a 2008 ninja 250 yet, but the 650 has plenty of power for the freeway AND is really easy to ride. The only drawback with the 650 is the higher price in relation to the 250.