1. First, what kind of bike are you eying? And do you want (a) old and needs maintenance so you can feel empowered that you fixed it or (b) new and reliable where only basic maintenance is required?
a. For this case, if you are an absolute beginner nothing will beat a Honda Rebel 250. This was my first bike and it's literally two bolts and a nut. There is nothing to it, that's how simple it is mechanically. Its main downside is that its underpowered. But it'a also super light which means it is very easy to maneuver as a beginner. I was an absolute beginner when I started out so for me this was a good choice. If you want something a bit more sporty-looking, get a Kawasaki Ninja 250/300/400 or a Honda CBR300 or a Yamaha R3. Again, simple bikes, not much to them easy wrenching. These will be faster (a Ninja 400 can get you into trouble fast). If you want a standard bike (feet under butt vs in front for cruiser or behind for sport bikes), a TU-250 from Suzuki is a low maintenance choice. If you want a cruiser with a bit more oomf, get a Honda Shadow 750. It'll be heavier but still very manageable unless you are relatively small in stature. They are cheap, plentiful, and being a Honda, very easy to work on.
b. If you want more reliable (this is a good way to go because as a new rider the advice is that you should spend more time riding than wrenching), I would get a Kawasaki Vulcan S with ABS for a cruiser, or a Suzuki SV650 for a standard/sport bike. Avoid any bike that has an inline 4 with a total displacement of 600cc. Those bike are proper sport bikes that are not beginner friendly. For example a CBR600 from Honda is going to be stupidly fast compared to a Honda Shadow 750. You can also look at the Honda Rebel 500 ABS. ABS is the key here: bikes without it are more common but the technology really should be on most bikes these days. It makes a big difference when you need to stop fast.
If you reply or message me privately with your specific thoughts I might be able to recommend a more specific set of bikes.
2. MC Garage on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9SeHb6U1OQ&list=PLoIkhe-bQc...) is an excellent start. You can watch the whole series in a couple of hours and have the lay of the land so you'll at least know the terms you need to know and have a general idea of the kinds of things you might need to do. From there, it's really needs-driven. Get a bike, it has a clogged carb. So you need to clean the carb. Get the shop manual for the bike (you can often find the PDF online for free), watch a video or three on how to deal with that particular bike's carb, take it off, get it cleaned. Now you want to fix the leaky front fork leg, so you look up how to service motorcycle forks, and so on. I also highly recommend https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcycles/ as a resource for both bike info and bike maintenance info. Their wiki is excellent and you can always ask a question.
a. For this case, if you are an absolute beginner nothing will beat a Honda Rebel 250. This was my first bike and it's literally two bolts and a nut. There is nothing to it, that's how simple it is mechanically. Its main downside is that its underpowered. But it'a also super light which means it is very easy to maneuver as a beginner. I was an absolute beginner when I started out so for me this was a good choice. If you want something a bit more sporty-looking, get a Kawasaki Ninja 250/300/400 or a Honda CBR300 or a Yamaha R3. Again, simple bikes, not much to them easy wrenching. These will be faster (a Ninja 400 can get you into trouble fast). If you want a standard bike (feet under butt vs in front for cruiser or behind for sport bikes), a TU-250 from Suzuki is a low maintenance choice. If you want a cruiser with a bit more oomf, get a Honda Shadow 750. It'll be heavier but still very manageable unless you are relatively small in stature. They are cheap, plentiful, and being a Honda, very easy to work on.
b. If you want more reliable (this is a good way to go because as a new rider the advice is that you should spend more time riding than wrenching), I would get a Kawasaki Vulcan S with ABS for a cruiser, or a Suzuki SV650 for a standard/sport bike. Avoid any bike that has an inline 4 with a total displacement of 600cc. Those bike are proper sport bikes that are not beginner friendly. For example a CBR600 from Honda is going to be stupidly fast compared to a Honda Shadow 750. You can also look at the Honda Rebel 500 ABS. ABS is the key here: bikes without it are more common but the technology really should be on most bikes these days. It makes a big difference when you need to stop fast.
If you reply or message me privately with your specific thoughts I might be able to recommend a more specific set of bikes.
2. MC Garage on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9SeHb6U1OQ&list=PLoIkhe-bQc...) is an excellent start. You can watch the whole series in a couple of hours and have the lay of the land so you'll at least know the terms you need to know and have a general idea of the kinds of things you might need to do. From there, it's really needs-driven. Get a bike, it has a clogged carb. So you need to clean the carb. Get the shop manual for the bike (you can often find the PDF online for free), watch a video or three on how to deal with that particular bike's carb, take it off, get it cleaned. Now you want to fix the leaky front fork leg, so you look up how to service motorcycle forks, and so on. I also highly recommend https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcycles/ as a resource for both bike info and bike maintenance info. Their wiki is excellent and you can always ask a question.
If you want to learn how to ride, take the MSF course: https://msf-usa.org/. Then read Proficient Motorcycling (https://www.amazon.com/Proficient-Motorcycling-Ultimate-Guid...). Make sure to get all the gear, head to toe, and always wear it. Motorcycle accidents can get gnarly, and the gear makes a big difference.
Hope that helps!
P.S.: One of the most entertaining and informative motorcycle info channels on YouTube is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNSMdQtn1SuFzCZjfK2C7dQ. I don't think you need to even own a bike to enjoy it.