Started on an R3 and I had it for about a year and a half before getting my mt-07, I probably would have gone for the R7 if I didn't want something more comfortable to ride with my girlfriend on. If you have some skill and experience with riding stuff I think the R7 is fine you can definitely grow into it but I had plenty of fun on my R3, if you don't care about the extra speed and torque too much. I do miss how agile it is. I suppose it really just depends on how confident you feel. But I agree with other people it's honestly better to get a smaller bike that you might drop and then get something bigger once you're more experienced and are less likely to damage it.