Hi Ken,
My situation sounds somewhat similar to yours in that at age 56 I just got back into riding a motorcycle last year after about a 35 year hiatus! However, I was an avid bicycle rider during most of those years. I'm 5'8" and weight 145 lbs. I bought an M50 and really like it. With a dry weight of 544 lbs. I don't think I would want a bike any heavier. As mentioned earlier, once you are moving the weight isn't such a big factor, but that doesn't mean you can discount the weight factor too nonchalantly. You'll find that you have to move your bike around a considerable amount with your legs while getting ready to take off, during parking, or during very low parking lot speeds.
The one piece of advice that I would most want to leave you with is to give serious consideration to buying a driver's backrest for any cruiser you might purchase. You can get a quality backrest from Grasshopper for under $100 and I believe you'll find it makes a huge difference in your riding comfort. I rode for a month or more without one when I first bought my bike, but noticed that I was starting to experience some low back pain after even moderate length rides (40 - 50 miles) and I've never had any back problems.
Once I installed my backrest I never again had any back pain. What most impressed me about the backrest was how much stress I had been putting on my shoulders and torso during normal acceleration. I never thought much about it when I rode, but once I put on the backrest and started feeling how much support it was providing as I was pressed back against it during acceleration I realized that without it I was having to deal with all that pressure by using just my arms, shoulders, and torso.
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