I can respect that answer.
The best bang for your buck is going to be a blaster. but at the $500 level anything you find is going to need some TLC and that is going to cost money. My advice is t spend some time reading posts, search threads and learn what you need to look at, what you need to check, how to check it etc. while saving a few more bucks. Then get a compression tester and a leakdown tester. When you go to look at a bike take them wth you, d a compression test and a leak down, that will give you a fair idea of the condition of the motor. Dont spend your last dime on the bike, because you will undoubtedly need a few bucks to fix various hopefully little things.
Read everything yo can get your hands on as far as jetting and maintinance, it will put you ahead of the game knowing how to care and feed the blaster BEFORE it gets hungry and bites you.
you should be able (with patience, not buying the first heap you look at) to find a bike in decent shape between 750 and 1000, you may find a cheaper one, but a 500 dollar bike you immediately have to dump another 500 into is more expensive than looking at several bikes and finding one in good shape for $900.
