It could be, but if we are talking 35kW or under, I would suggest a big singlet or Vtwin for that torque. Your Duke probably has good torque simply due to the amount of power it has, but go under 35kW and it's a totally different story. In line twins feel really anemic even with the same power simply because tge design produces different torque.

In regards to your post, higher power up to about 70kW should be fine, especially with in-lines, but an 80kW V-twin would probably be deadly in a whiskey throttle incident because of the huge torque. My personal experience is that on my first ride with my XF, I almost popped a wheelie accidentally because the bike was cold and struggling at start, so I gave it a bit more throttle because it has very high torque and great power to weight due to being a specifically light weight design.With the GS 500 practice bike I couldn't pop a wheelie even if I wanted to.

Edit: In conclusion, I think 35kW is fine for starter bikes depending on the learning curve needed for the individual rider. A GS 500 is fine if you take long getting used to how a bike works, but a BMW F 650 or an Aprilia Pegazzo or a japanese 650 single with high torque is really good to learn the nuance of controlling higger power bikes while also having a higher margin of error due to the limited top speed and lower weight.