So - DAS (nearly) done and starting to believe that I will be taking pillions this summer ......but what IS the best bike to go for considering I am 5 ft 5 1/2 ins and weigh 9st 7lbs (on a good day!) . 
I want to be able to tour and have rides with a few fun corners ................ Comments and assistance please : )                                                                                                                                                                              

Well my first bike was a CBR600f-M, forgave me all my early efforts when i passed my test.                                                                                                                                                                             

Can't help much on actual choice of bike - too many factors, budget, attitude, physical constraints etc.

What I would say is don't get hung up trying to get a good bike for touring - you can tour on anything. We used to tour on 2 strokes in the 80's/90's (LC's, RG500 etc) and a couple of years ago we met a Brit on the Grossglockner who was touring on an MZ 250.

Find a bike you are comfortable with and you can do anything on it.

Good luck, it's always fun trying to decide what bike to buy.

Cheers guys ! My friend has a Duke Monster over in Spain that I can have - but would mean me flying over and riding it back ..... I love that idea !!                                                                                                                                                                             

depending on where it is you could ride it back to Santander or bilbao and get the ferry to Portsmouth.  would probably work out less that the fuel, tolls and ferry or Chunnel to ride all the way back - and if you are not sure of the service history it might be a better way to get it back to the UK.

Good bike to start on is a Suzuki sv650 nice and light not to high on ins will give you plenty of confidence as you progress                                                                                                                                                                              

Another good bike is the one I have too. Had My Honda CBF600 for nearly 8 years now, done 26K on it, Been on holidays with it, Rallies, loaded with all the gear AND a pillion. It's been in the company of 1200 Bandits and various other larger bikes and I've never been left behind....laughed at them filling up when, I haven't needed to though. It's got a height adjustable seat (I.m 5' 4'') and is generally a great bike in the real world.
If you don't fancy a Honda, what about a Bandit, Fazer, SV, (as JP says) ?. Loads to choose from.

Hopefully getting another, bigger bike next week, but, I'll be keeping my CBF and that's the best compliment I can pay it!. Good luck

Mmm - thanks ! In the good old days I had a CB400/4 and loved it - but I guess the performance of the old bikes just dont cut it anymore ! I will enjoy shopping : )                                                                                                                                                                              

 my only advice after riding for 35yrs is to go to some dealers sit on as many as you can to get an idea of seat hieght etc because some bikes have wider seats than others so harder to reach the floor.then get some test rides.but in the end the only person who can tell you whats best for you is you.i am 5"5 and ive ridden zzr1100,s zrx1100,s, zzr1400,gixer 11,s and have a triumph speed triple 955 at the min.its all in the confidence and that is something that you can build on in time                                                                                                                                                                              

Congrats for when you pass.
I'd say don't spend too much to start with. Look for used bike with lowish miles on the clock (say 20k). Reliable but not something you will get too precious about.
Take along someone who knows bikes so you don't get a lemon.
Make sure you fit it, don't believe all this one foot one the ground rubbish.
Decide what you want it for; touring, sunday bimble, track/scratching, posing and polishing or standing by the road waiting for the AA (that will be a cheap old ducati).
Good options are Suzuki s650, Kawasaki 650 twins, yamaha 600 fazers, Honda cbf 500 or 600. A left field option would be a KTM daker rep with turbo AND nitrous.

And then get out and ride it. You will be amazed how many people forget this last bit!

I hope this helps :-)

@ Steve_H, Make sure you fit it, don't believe all this one foot on the ground rubbish.   Why is it rubbish?   Are you saying that short people shouldn't have a choice of riding bikes with a high seat and if this is rubbish I better sell my Tiger with its 33.1 inch seat high on the lowest setting because my inside leg is only 26.6 inches and I can only get one foot on the floor at a time and that's on tiptoe                                                                                                                                                                             

Well said Ragnar, My inside leg is 27 inches. So, do we become "Eunuchs" to gain the extra inches or, give up biking, Steve H?.

You're "Sizeist" you are!!! Tall people look daft on bikes anyway!! lol

Ps, Gonna get Honda, to sack Danny Pedrosa now, are we ?

Not been sizist, just realist.
Once you have a few thousand miles under your wheels you may feel confident with one foot on the ground, but when you have just passed your test?
Also consider leg strength, the average male will have plenty more then the average female. Even then the law of physics is hard to argue with.
Nothing gets my goat like seeing people not enjoying biking because they bought the wrong bike at the wrong time.

I'm at the same stage and spent several shows sitting on loads of different bikes until I found one which "fits"...... settled for a Yamaha Diversion 600.... can't wait to pass my test so I can ride it. I am only 5ft 5 so not very tall and I found the Yammies a little lower than a lot of the other bikes.

Good luck with your test x

Find some bikes that fit and feels comfortable, by going to a large dealer. Then decide on spec. and appearance. Test ride as many as you can, then you will know what bike is right for you.   A good start is the same model bike you did your DAS on. After all if you qualified on it, it must right for you.     If you have one foot down or two, thats up to you.                                                                                                                                                                             

I agree with all the above replies and would add that a Kawasaki ER6N is also worth a look. Reasonably cheap to service and reliable.                                                                                                                                                                             

Eunochs !!! Ouch !! I am taking all this on board and will let you all know .....cheers x                                                                                                                                                                             

 good luck with the search hun.and one more bit of advice dont buy the first thing you find.try loads of bikes.i have had zzr,s for the last 7 yrs and didnt want to try anything else till i moved to malton where all the roads are goat tracks and realised that the starship enterprise was not suitable for the area.so i went round loads of dealers up here sitting on bikes and test rode a triumph 675 speed triple and fell in love.so i searched till i found the 955 triple i now own and i have to say it is just awsome to ride.very light and flickable.take into account not only your comfort and confidence but also the main bulk of what type of roads you will be using.its hard to gain confidence but so damn easy to lose it.take it steady and ride safe x                                                                                                                                                                             

Look at Harley-Davidson 883 Sportster... 

You can pick up a five year old, low mileage for £4K

The 883 Low (XL883L) is 45.7 inches, with a seat height of 25.3 inches.

                                                                                                                                                                             

There's a few of a ladies on BM got Virago 535s and very happy with them, but (a) they're a bit shorter than you and (b) cruisers aren't for everyone. But it might be worth having a sit on one.