Thanks for your reply!
Well, in regards to insurance, I'm 27 (male) with a full G licence and a clean record. I do live in Scarborough so I know that will be a con towards insurance rates. I will definitely be doing the motorcycle safety course as well so hopefully that lowers the rate. Also, thats another reason why I'm opting in getting a smaller bike versus a larger one, to avoid high insurance. I should be able to include this under preexisting insurance that I have as well.
Honestly, I just thought that if I get an older bike that I won't need to spend nearly as much on it but this is where inspecting the bike and doing my due diligence is going to come into play. The current owner mentioned that he installed a new battery and cleaned the chain and that the bike is functional with good working break pads. But I have yet to ask him further questions as I'm waiting for him to get back to me.
I'm gonna have to really think this over as to whether I wanna take a chance on an older model with potential future maintenance, or, one that is more recent (2013) and has also been taken care of.
Decisions, decisions!