People pick the 600 because it's a happy medium between too much and not enough. 99% of the people who start out on anything bigger then a 600cc bike, suck at riding. Why is that, you ask? Because they never learned throttle control, they learned throttle chop. It's my personal opinion that by starting out on a bigger bike you hinder your learning curve drasticaly. Your more worried about, on and off throttle response then being smooth and comfortable.