info on new bike

I read Trevit's article on purchasing a new bike
when he's refering to new riders, does he mean people who have never had any contact with any bike?
Ive been riding a gilera runner 125 for 7 years now and i decided to make the transition to a larger bike.I chose the Honda Hornet 600(599 in the U.S.) just because articles over the internet refer to the hornet 600 as an ideal first bike.Ofcourse other factors have played a role in my choice.
Now my question is this. Is the Hornet with 97 bhp a good first bike?

thanks