For a first bike I recommend the Kawasaki KLR650.
It's tall enough for a long guy to be comfortable on, flicks through traffic, hauls on the highways, can bobble along off-road, carries the groceries or a passenger (larger load weight capacity than a Gold Wing), sips a tiny bit of regular gas, costs less than most any other bike, never breaks but with cheap spare parts (because grips and peg rubbers wear out), looks more macho than an M151 with machine gun, goes 12K miles on a rear tire, will scrape the pegs, has a range of 240+ miles with the stock tank, and is the most comfortable stock motorcycle this side of the aforementioned Gold Wing.
It's also the motorcycle I'd keep if I had to pick only one for the rest of my life.
-Don