Yes it’s a good first bike. There is no reason to go with a 250 unless youre really short and cant seem to manage the other bikes because of height limitations.
There is no chance of popping a wheelie. It can be done but you have to want to do it – just like on a bicycle.
The power is there but it’s not at all overwhelming and the bike handles very well. It handles cornering great, pickup in town and on the highway are exceptional. Uphill it pulls fantastic.
As far as getting blown around by the wind, well youre going to be blown around in the wind no matter what bike you have. Once you can handle the motorcycle it’s just a matter of working with the bike and the wind but youre not going to get blown off the highway as long as you know how to ride.
The bike is not heavy as a lot of people say. There are no problems with quickly learning low speed manuvers (turns and whatnot). – Those that would say it’s too heavy really should be thinking about a membership to the gym before buying any motorcycle.
Yes frame sliders really do work. As far as a high speed crash or even moderate crash you will undoubtably damage the fairings no matter what you install on your bike, but for a low speed tip over or just a drop the frame sliders are an excellent thing to have. I have the no cut frame sliders on my FZ6R and they have saved the bike even at a spill at 30mph. Pretty cool things.
There are a lot of misconceptions on the internet on which bike to go with for a first bike. The biggest misconception is that a 600 machine is too much for a beginner. Not true. The FZ6R is the perfect starter bike.