advice on vtr1000 (and V-shapes in general)

Hi,

I just sold my '96 bandit 600 last week. I had it for almost 3 years and I
wanted to go for something bigger or at least sportier.
but one problem I have in my plan is the budget. unfortunately, the most I
can spend on my next bike is $4000. so, with that I guess I have pretty much
ruled out anything newer than 2000.
one option I thought of was to go for an old and cheaper gixxer (or the
like) but I prefer to get a newer bike. I had a bad experience (money-wise)
with my previous bike. I guess it was my fault - I let my friends ride it
and I ended up having to fix it each time.
another one was the sv650, which seems to be cheaper.
I found another bike that seemed to fall within the budget - a '98 vtr 1000
for $4000.

I guess I am still not very familiar with the different kinds of bikes out
there. can someone tell me what the pros and cons are for a V-motor as
compared to an inline ? why someone would go for a V rather than an inline
?
is there a reason why they are cheaper (maybe I am wrong here) ?
are there any common or known problems with the vtr 1000 ?

I would appreciate any kind of information to help me decide what bike I
should get next.
maybe there are some bikes that I haven't thought of... any suggestions ?

thanks,
Julian.