Is a 1200cc sports bike good for a beginner?

I would personally recommend getting something a little smaller just cause the size of the engine will also make the bike heavier. If it ever tips or gets knocked over and has a full tank it could be a pain. No one really ever needs an engine that big. I had a honda cbr 600f and thats fast enough. If you get a 600cc or 750cc you can always trade for something bigger

SV650? Maybe. Bandit 1200? Not quite.

Take it from someone who rode and owned a 1200 BANDIT
it is a carburetted 1152 cc SACS GSXR 1100 engine slightly down tuned for torque over power
In standard form without modification it produces just shy of 100 bhp Nearly twice that of a Harley 1200. but with 85 lb ft torque compared to the Harleys 79 lb ft torque
By swapping the exhaust can only adds another 12 BHP and 10 lb ft torque
This is no P.U.S.S.E.Y. CAT it is a pure monster a true muscle bike
a 3mm twist of the throttle in 2nd gear lifts the front wheel and has the back tyre scrabbling for traction as it exceeds 60mph in just over 3 seconds. Pull it right back and over 4500 rpm the engine bucks into life with a howl jumping from 65 mph to 100+ in a mear second.
Rear tyres last a feable 3400 miles and servicing is every 3500 miles with valves being done every 7000 miles fuel returns of 35 mpg ( 30 mpg US) are it's limits and an oil consumption rate of 1/2 a pint every 1000 miles.
Suzuki were no fools in styling the dash it is very reminiscent of a B52 with its letter styling and features and more than resembles an american muscle car. its asthetics were done on purpose.
The bike corners like you'd expect it is heavy in falls into the turns but has the power to drag its @rse out of the bend with some gusto, But it will step out at the slightest chance and will run right off the edge of the tread on the wide tyres.
Now for it's quirks! in astraight line open the throttle it can't decide to lift the front wheel or fold the rear tyre and snake or do both!!! it isn't predicatable in it's behaviour if given too much right wrist
When pulling away from a junction and turning right the torque reaction is so severe it will rip the handlebars out of unwary hands dropping into a shallow turn even at a walking pace, To the left it fights the rider in aslow turn keeping itself upright against your best efforts, this smooths out with speeds over 20 mph Makes taking roundabouts in the uk a breeze but in europe and america it fights you until you want to leave then throws itself off the roundabout like a bronco

SO
Do I think this is a good bike for a begginer!!!!!!!!
NOT in an icecreams chance in Aich EEEE double hockeysticks H£LL NO

Compared to the GSXR1400 the bandit is a much better bike but of lower build quality
it is not to be compared though with the Hayabusa GSXR1300 this is a totally different beast yet again

And we have another candidate for a posthumous Darwin Award. Improving the gene pool by removing yourself from it.

First off, don't get me wrong. I am not anti Sport Bike. However, I strongly believe that the motorcycle should match the skill level of the rider.

A Sport Bike like this is essentially a street legal racing bike. Getting this motorcycle for your first bike is like getting a Formula 1 race car for you first car. A very bad idea. Any decent Sport Bike can go from zero to deadly faster than you can say "Oh Sh**!".

Take a walk through your local salvage yard. I bet you will see several newer Sport Bikes with less than 5000 miles with the forks driven up into the engine. These were once owned by young inexperienced riders like you that thought a sleek sexy Sport Bike was the only bike to ride. Think about the road rash and broken bones the riders of these bikes had to endure if they are even still alive.

A recent report from the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) found that teenagers riding super-sport motorcycles were more than four times as likely to get into a crash than an older rider.

If you are insecure and feel that the motorcycle you ride defines who you are, do whatever you want because you won't listen to what I am about to say. However, if you are a secure person who doesn't give a crap what others think and your motorcycle does not define who you are, here is what I would do if I were you.

Get an older used Standard or Cruiser style bike in about the 500cc range. A Standard or Cruiser type bike will be much more forgiving to a novice like you. A 500cc Standard or Cruiser won't be so fast that it will scare the crap out of you but will be fast enough that you won't get bored too quickly.

Learn on this bike. Make your mistakes. You will make mistakes. Most new riders will lay their first bike down at least once. Ask yourself this. Which bike would you rather lay down? An older Cruiser or a nice shiny expensive new Sport Bike.

Another thing about a nice shiny expensive new Sport Bike. These bikes have lots of easily broken but expensive to repair plastic parts. Laying a Sport Bike down, even at low speed, will get very expensive, very fast.

After at least 1 year of riding this starter bike, you can sell it. If you take good care of it and don't beat the crap out of it, you won't lose much money on the sale. You can then put this money towards your next bike. Even a Sport Bike if this is what turns you on.

One final word about when it gets time to move up to a Sport Bike. Sport Bikes are generally owned by young riders who think they are racers on racing bikes. They tend to beat the crap out of their motorcycles. So if you want to get a Sport Bike, get a new one.

As for insurance, use some common sense. Insurance companies keep detailed statistics on all accident claims. They know from these detailed statistics that young inexperienced riders are high risk. They also know exactly which bikes are fast. Add together a young, inexperienced, male rider, on a fast bike, and insurance is going to be expensive.

Ride Safe - Have Fun

Always remember this. On a motorcycle stupid hurts.

until I get the hang of it.
Hope you are an incredibly talented rider otherwise I see that bike killing you inside a week.

The Bandit is not a real sports bike, it's a 'standard' with sporty styling. It's a good all-around bike, but I'd say too big & heavy for a beginner.

Too much power is not a problem. If you ride like a grown-up you only use as much power as you need, and it's nice to have a little extra in reserve for passing on the freeway. If you don't ride like a grown-up you can get into trouble on a 250. The problem with a 1200cc bike is like 600-700 lbs. It takes some skills to keep a big bike like that balanced.

Not that you can't do it, it's just not ideal. You're very likely to drop it once or twice or a few times, in parking lots, sitting at red lights, etc. It's not as safe because you could get a leg trapped under it, or get thrown.

Not in my opinion.
Too Much Too Soon.
Any of the newer (after about 1995) in-line 4 cylinder motorcycle engines make their power too high in a good rev-range to be suitable for a beginner. The Bandit 1200 is fuel-injected and it can reach that high rev-range quicker than you can blink.

Probably not. As a beginner, you will make little mistakes like twisting the throttle too much during a turn, releasing the clutch too quickly, and misjudging turns. Mistakes that would not matter on a 250, 300, or 600 cc motorcycle will be catastrophic on a 1200. Accidentally release the clutch too much in traffic on your ninja 250? No big deal, you just got a little scare and slowed down. Do the same on a 1200, you just hit the car in front of you.

It's always better to start small, but if you want a bike you can grow into and not have to replace in a few months, get a 600. It will have more power than you can handle on the street for a while.

Sure. It's better to have to much power and not need it, than not have enough. You sound like your going down the rite road with the class. Just use your head. Now. You will drop it some day. Not tomorrow, next week, but some time. Can you pick it back up is the question.