Having a low seat height is very important for those of us with short legs. Most 'Standard' bikes have low seat heights. Your feet should easily reach the ground on both sides (almost flat on the ground). Also, ligher bikes (less than 500 lbs) are easier to control when you have short legs. You can usually find the spec's for late models bikes on the web. Look for seat heights less than 31 inches (I believe just about all standard bikes are less than 30 inchecs). If you are willing to work a bit, you might also find a high density replacement seat, I understand that some narrow and slim seats can give you an extra inch or so (though I have never experienced this myself). The 'sport bikes' or 'super bikes" usually are 31-33 inches. I have just purchased a Kawasaki Ninja 250R, with a seat height of only 29.3 inches. This may be the shortest sport bike made, and I find it comfortable (I'm a 5'4" male with a very short 26-27 inseam). The 250R is also one of the lighest sport bikes, just over 304lb dry weight. The Ninja 500R is also low (30.5 inches) and 388 lbs, this might be at the edge of my comfort range, at least until I have a year or two of experience under my belt. Good Luck!

If you are interested in a cruiser you might try the Harley-Davidson XL 883L Sportster 883 Low. Since 2004 they have had rubber mounted engines which make the ride much smoother at high speed. Seat height with an 80k rider is only 26" with 4" ground clearance. My girlfriend is 5' 2" and she can sit with both feet on the ground. Stock big twin H-D's today have the TC 88 engine which is about 1450cc. Many XL riders replace the 883cc top end with a 1200cc kit which puts a Sportster close to big V-Twin size. With the new rubber mounted engine a 1200cc Sportster can run with the big dogs all day.

You only need to touch the ground when stopped so you can ride most bikes, you would be most comfortable on a cruiser. Rebel 250, v Star 250 or gz 250 are all good starter bikes.