First to reply how nice that story was. Glad you're excited. Ride safe 
I have the blue one too, 729 miles on it so far here in San Antonio, TX. Came from 2 previous Hayabusa's and love this Ninja. I'm 6' 220 lbs and it hauls me around with no problems. I bought the saddlebags (must have) and the tankbag with tail bag. Saving $ to get the gel seat!Just got off of my new bike today which I now have 129 miles. It was a gorgeous Easter day down here in South Texas!
Extremely difficult keeping it at 4000 rpm's. My husband and our friends jokingly laughed that they were getting awfully good gas mileage today.
Thanks for all of the really nice comments about my post!
Well to answer your question I previously rode my husbands Yamaha V-Max for a long time. The 167 horsepower to the rear wheel was great as a slingshot bike, but not really good on the twisties. And the Mad Max was really too heavy. So I bought me a Ninja 250 which I rode for 2 years. At 33 horsepower it didn't compare to the power of the V-Max, but it was so much fun throwing it in the curves. This bike is extremely fun and a great teacher. I would have kept this bike but trying to keep up with my husband's Concours 14 is IMPOSSIBLE!
Now would I recommend the 1000 to someone who doesn't have any experience on sportbikes? The answer is NO.
I truly believe in order for someone to ride the 1000 you need to learn to respect it first. As great as it is if you don't learn how to ride on a smaller sportbike first it can easily get away from you. You need to build up your skills and confidence first. My 250 did this for me. Five years ago I would not have been ready for the 1000.
In fact, when I sold my 2012 Ninja 1000 the day before yesterday, my husband and I lined our bikes up and it was the first time that I was able to take him through the first 3 gears. This was a great day for me, but then he was gone. Lol!
However, I will continue to hone my skills on my Blue 1000!
As for the lowering link I believe it cost around $200 installed with an adjustment of 1-2 inches. I have found no cons to the lowering link.
The pros of the link allow me to be flat-footed and by the lowering of the midpoint of the bike it actually sits me in a more upright touring position. This is more comfortable for cruising or touring. However, I can still lean forward when I want to get into the curves.
Have fun riding and thanks for letting me post!
Blessings to all,
Blue Ninja Girl