I'm not sure what this MSF thing is in the US, but in the UK I did what is called a "Direct Access" course, which basically takes me from never ever riding a motorbike to a full license over the course of about a week (4 days in my case).
The course involved a first day getting used to a motorbike, how it worked and showing that you have basic control of it and at the end of the day you get what is called a "CBT" (Compulsory Basic Training) certificate to show that you aren't an idiot...
The rest of the time is spent getting used to riding a bike on normal roads etc...
I quite enjoyed the course because it started daily from a race course, during the weekdays the race course was pretty empty so we got to go round it
after I passed my test lets just say I went quite quick
I had a full driving license so road laws/customs/etc....I was already used to, I think they don't actually let you do the course if you haven't got a car license.
Looking back I did the course because I was in a rush, I had limited time back in the UK until I had to head back out to Geneva and wanted to get it done. Overall, I would have liked a little more time to get used to riding at high speed, although we did a bit, my first real experience of it was when I took my bike out to Geneva...750km trip, thrown in the deep end I guess
I've only got experience of two different types of bike, an SV650 and my current CB600F
The SV650 is a nice bike (used it for my test+learning) and can't really say anything bad against it (didn't have time to really get to know it), the ones I used were a little old and a bit clunky in the gear change but felt quite nimble and light...saying that I used two different sv's during my learning and the older of the two didn't feel as light...guessing improvements have been made over the years.
My current (and first) bike is a Honda CB600F Hornet, it's the 2007 model which was a totally revamped version, it's very light, ~215kg fully fueled (compared to the suzuki bandit at 250kg+, my brothers ex-bike, similar style), very quick (hit 130 MPH on the autobarn) yet I'm now using to go in and out of work in london and i find city riding fine and quite enjoyable.
The only thing that I don't like about it is the lack of faring, on my long trips and at high speed (motorway speed) the wind buffeting you get is quite substantial and wears you down after a while (1hour+). My trips taking the bike to and from Swizterland from the UK, were great fun and the views were amazing, but I was dog tired at the end.
Point is, if you plan on doing some long distance rides on a regular basis, get a bike with decent faring or a good screen.
Whatever your first bike is, I'd personally say go for one with a light weight, they tend to be easier to maneuver at low speeds which is where I found I had trouble when I first started and still do to some extend (my only accident was at ~5mph on a slippy mini-roundabout with a new front tire...).
Other than that, get a make/model that is reliable, japanese bikes rule in this category I believe.
Also get a bike that has a bit of go, you can always drive slowly on a fast bike, but believe me when I say after a few weeks when you are comfortable with the bike you'll start to go faster, having a bike that has the capacity to "give it some" will mean you won't want to change after 6 months to something bigger.
hhmm...think that's it
You should get a certificate that lets you get your MC endorsement without testing, too.