Bikes i have bought new over the years.
My first proper motorcycle Suzuki TS250ER . I had just joined the RAF and i spent all my savings from my paper rounds and Saturday jobs. Yes i saved £775 as a kid!
Laverda Jota 180 1982(last of the 180,s before the 120 came out and they were selling it for £2200!) from Chris Clarkes in Wymondham. I only went in to buy a secondhand Yamaha RD350LC and was swayed by this beauty.
Yamaha YZ465G Moto Prince were selling of crated 1980 models in 1982 cheap because they had over ordered. This arrived at the gate at R.A.F Honington and i had to break it out of it,s crate,put the front wheel and handlebars on and push it to where i was storing it. I then had to come back and clear away the packing crate.
Generally i buy secondhand. This is because i have never had the funds to buy new. As it has been said already if nobody bought new there would be no secondhand bikes for the rest of us to buy. Even with cars we tend to buy a car that is maybe a year old and someone else has taken the hit on the first year of major depreciation in it,s value.
As i get older and the mortgage is payed off i would probably consider buying new bikes again,especially if it is a new model i have been waiting for and you don,t know when the first secondhand examples are going to be in the "market place"
It is all down to personal choice. I am a bit OCD and sometimes prefer a care worn pre-owned bike as i can,t bear the first time you scratch or drop a new bike or you get it all covered in mud or road dirt and get corrosion on the first couple of bolts ect