A 600 cc sportbike is NOT for a new rider. Period. Don't be fooled by the engine size; those bikes are hugely powerful, with quick and sometimes abrupt reactions to your inputs.
We always recommend that a new rider start out on a smaller used bike, so that you can learn with less potential of killing yourself. You can always move on to a new bike after you have some miles under your belt. The EX 500 is a good starter bike; so is the Suzuki GS 500. The 250 cc Ninjette is also a very capable little bike - if you want style, you could look at the new ones. (I know several women and some men, all very experienced, who have Ninjettes. People do Iron Butt rides on these bikes - they are, as I said, very capable.)
FWIW, I ride a 600 cc standard bike (the Honda 599), and my second bike is a 400 cc Honda CB-1. I have 22 years of experience, and I've concluded that small and light is a heck of a lot nicer than heavy or overpowered.