Honda are very good at what they do. But as you say, when you get where you are going you kind of get off and forget the ride instantly. If you are staying around the 600 bracket then options are there. Gsxr is something of a more exciting ride, albeit more aggressive in terms of ow it delivers power. I have friends who prefer kawasakis over gsxrs, and both camps universally deride Honda for being too smooth or too bland. It would be a sad world if we all liked the same thing though. You buy the bike that suits you. Personally I prefer v twins to multis. They are more vibey to ride at low speed, but the torque and acceleration ( real or perceived) make for a completely different riding style. The feeling of low down grunt on a twin is addictive. Whether as addictive as the feeling you get when a 4 cylinder bike comes on cam at the 5-8 thousand rev range is down to the riders own taste.
I have a mate with an sv650 (twin) that loves it. Half faired rather than full faired, plus it handles well through the twisties and holds bigger bikes at bay, but hit the motorway and it gets beaten by the multis at high speed.
You need to narrow options though and base the choices around where you ride, if you do a lot of motorway work then a faired bike (or half faired) will save a lot of neck ache. Otherwise the naked bikes become an option. Is power or handling your thing.
An old vmax (1200cc though) will rip your arms out of your sockets in a straight line but in corners where it doesn't handle so well will try its best to kill you if you are not careful, but it will guarantee excitement when needed, but be a pussy cat when you need that to.
Put simply, its easier for you to name a few bikes you fancy and get people to say good or bad based on whether they have owned or ridden them, than to have hem try and guess what suits you. Me personally, I love ducati s, I have a 2 valver and a four valver, both bring different pleasures and hates to the table in terms of riding, while the zx7r equals both for the most part in every way except style.
This is what my other half says! He's an ex bike instructor who likes to tear around the iom tt every year!
Happy birthday!!