Howdy,
The Virago 535 is good for learning and backroad riding. I would not recommend it for touring. It is VERY lightweight and gets tossed around by the wind off of other vehicles if you are in traffic. This can be very unsettling for a new rider. They will top out around 85-90mph if they are running well. They are sweet looking and sound great without being obnoxious. No offense Kidder, but $2700 may be a little high even for a perfect example. Ours was a 96 or 97, can't remember. And it was literally in showroom condition with about 8K miles on it and we got $3500 for it four years ago. The used value guides show the Special Version (two tone paint job and extra chrome) to be about $1800 for a 94. My wife loved her Virago but when it came to touring, she wanted something a little heavier so it would ride better and also be able to carry luggage. The location of the rear turn signals on the fender is right in the way of saddle bags.
Regarding a Nighthawk, if you a referring to the 750, I wold NOT recommend this as a beginner bike. It is quite top heavy, much more so that my VFR 800's. It is also fairly tall. Being a naked, if you do drop it the damage is exceptionally minimal. But it will be a real **** to lift it back up again. A Nighthawk 250 on the other hand might be a decent bike. They can be had for quite cheap at most Honda dealerships because they are used for the MSF classes and then sold. The dealer will be asking way too much and you will have to chew them down, citing all the abuse at the hands of beginners
The bike is lightweight and will crusie at highway speeds without too much trouble. It gets fantastic mileage. You can through a set of saddle bags on it and head out of town for a weekend with no problem. When you go to trade up, they really don't lose much value.
Stubbs Cycle in Houston on Telephone Rd., had a leftover 2001 GS 500E on the floor back in July. I got them talked down to about $3500 out the door at the time, but then we got Debbie's bike at the Cycle shack in Conroe for a hair less. She loves the bike. She is 5'2". We dropped the rear suspension a little, put on the engine guards, and put new preload spacers and oil in the front forks to reduce the dive. It is a blast to ride. It is not intimidating. It will do trips very well. It gets close to 60mpg. We also put a windscreen on it. At the time, we paid a little under $3500 for a brand new bike with a full factory warranty, the same price that used GS's were going for with about 5-8K miles on them. The bike handles being dropped very well, especially with the $60 engine guards. Resale should be a good deal as well. You might call Stubbs and see if they still have the bike and offer them about $2700-3000 for it. This bike is also nice because your wife will be able to ride it for quite some time without immediately outgrowing it. I have over 100K miles riding experience and I still find the bike to be a hoot on the backroads! Sustained cruising speeds much above 80mph would get old after more than an hour or so.
I would really recommend staying away from any bikes with fairings, even the SV650S. I have yet to meet someone that has not dropped their bike when they were learning. This is not to say it is a given, but if you are a betting person, the odds are definitely in favor of the bike hitting the ground. Why pay for the plastic just so you can turn around and pay for it again after it gets messed up?
Check out GStwins.com. They have a forum and there are always used bikes for sale. This will give you a good idea of what they are worth:
http://www.gstwins.com/forum/
Adios,