I am getting a bike today

[UberRoo]

Honestly, no matter what you get you'll still be itching for more power sooner than later. Modern 600s are rocketships though, and will get you in trouble ridiculously fast. A 600 should keep you close to death long enough to either put some sense into you or splatter your guts all over the pavement - whichever comes first. I'd go for the Yamaha, but I don't have much to back up that opinion. Since you claim the reason for the bike is to save money, I think you're nuts to buy such a new bike. Even if a big part of the motivation is cause bikes are cool and you've always wanted one, you can still get an awesome bike that's a few years older and save a ton of money.

Some people really benefit from the safety courses - some people don't. Not everybody knows which person they are, but if you've already got a lot of hours on bikes, you're probably in the later group. Definitely go with the helmet though. Leather is also a very good idea, even if it's hot outside or if it's just a pain to put on.

And yes, no matter how good-looking your bike is, it's still invisible. I've thought about carrying a baseball bat so I could smash the windows of cars that try to "share the road" a bit too much.