I started with the SV after taking the MSF course. Actually, I took the HD Riders Edge, so we practiced on 500cc Buell Blasts (though they were single cylinders). The Blast seemed kind of small for me @ 5'9" & 210lbs, though they had enough power to drag me around. I've driven stick for a while, did many track days in cars, but had no MC experience at all before the course. At the end of the course, though, I thought I did very well, and felt pretty comfortable on the bike, so I thought I could move up a notch. I started looking for a bike while drooling over the 1200cc Buell Uly XT, which just seeemed to be way too much bike for me (well, not according to the salesman). I really didn't want a bike w/ fairings like the Ninjas (which were hard to find last year anyway), and there wasn't really anything available in a 'naked' street bike in the 250-500cc range other than the Blast. I heard there was an SV400 at one time, but couldn't find one. If they had a naked version of the Ninja 500, I probably would've ended up with that, or had there been some more info on the Versys at the time, and had it been available in a color other than red, it may have been a contender. But, in the end, I brought a brand new SV650n home within a week of passing my MSF course last year. I was a bit intimidated by it at first, so I was very cautious. I did drop it from a standstill at the entrance to my condo complex that first night (kind of a weird driveway - it's sort of uphill at a 45-degree angle and it caught me off-balance). The naked, though, is pretty forgiving of this, and $12 later I had a new clutch lever and was having the time of my life tooling around the neighborhood. Within a few weeks, as my confidence increased, I had worked my way up to highways and traffic, and after 3-4 weeks even dared the George Washington bridge and the outer boroughs of NYC.
I rode everywhere the rest of the summer (except to work), and did weekend trip to the Jersey shore (~150 miles), and later a 1k mile r/t weekend to Toronto (ordered a Corbin seat as soon as I got back from that one!). I did drop the bike once more - at a stop sign ~3 blocks away from my friend's place in Toronto, after 500 miles of uneventful slab riding. Broke the same clutch lever, too.
The SV, IMO, is not a bad beginner bike, as long as you can respect it. I would definitely not recommend it if you can't flat-foot it. It's not the lightest bike around, so, as a new rider, it takes a little practice and patience when walking it around a parking lot or your driveway until you get used to how the weight transfers (especially if you're not a large or strong person). Yes, the throttle is a little 'twitchy' (mostly in lower gears), but I learned that when on a bumpy street, upshift a gear, and the bike won't jump every time you hit a bump that causes you to rotate the throttle a hair. A little self-restraint goes a long way, and once you do get comfortable, it can be a long-term keeper.
Now, I'm eyeing a Street Triple, and still thinking about the Versys, but just can't really justify either right now. The SV does everything I want it to do, with barely any mods other than a set of Cortech Sport bags, a set of mirrors, and the Corbin seat. I may someday want to get something that's better for long-distance 2-up riding w/ a weekend's worth of luggage (a mid-size adventure tourer like the BMW F800GS may fit the bill), and a Ural w/ sidecar may someday be a blast for when there's snow on the ground, but even then, I think I'll still want to hold onto my SV.
Just my $.02. Take it for what it's worth.