My current ride is a YZF-R1 (1000cc, as opposed to the R6, which is 600cc). It’s a sportbike. Personally I don’t find it uncomfortable. Amend that. After 70 or 80 miles it turns into a torture device. But it was quite nice when I was riding it on a 40+ mile commute. My other bike is a Yamaha XJ600 Seca II. It’s much more comfortable, and is a Standard.
Both of these bikes have little windscreens. But their purpose is not to keep the wind off of you; rather, the are meant to deflect the wind over you in a stream. My previous bike was a used Honda CX500. This is a ‘mini-tourer’, and when I got it it had a Windjammer fairing on it. Drove me nuts! I was riding through L.A. traffic and I couldn’t get a decent breeze. I took it off. I missed the handy storage, but I liked feeling the wind. Now that I’m hundreds of miles north of the OP, I could use a bike with a full touring-style fairing.
I worked with a guy who coveted my R1. He had an SV500 and, even though he’d only been riding for three months, it was too slow for him. I can relate. I’ve got 80,000 miles on the Seca and I much prefer riding the R1. I like the power. But a 600cc Standard is perfectly usable as a commuter. Cheaper too. A lot of places will charge higher insurance rates over 700cc. My Seca II gets 50+ mpg and can run on regular gas if it’s not too hot. My R1 gets 40 to 43 mpg and requires premium fuel.
I’ve never ridden a cruiser. They look uncomfortable to me. Feet too far forward. Seems hard on the back. Also, they’re not designed to handle like a sportbike or even a standard. Obviously handling is important to me, else I wouldn’t be riding an R1.
If you’re going to use it primarily as a commuter, I’d get a standard (what used to be known as a UJM – Universal Japanese Motorcycle) in the 600cc to 750cc range. A standard has an upright seating position, is often cheaper to buy than a sportbike or a cruiser, handles pretty well, and generally gets pretty good mileage. Insurance might be cheaper than a sportbike too. It won’t be fast, but it will be fast enough and can be fun for the occasional pleasure ride.
A sportbike makes a decent commuter too. When I was commuting on mine I was in L.A., so lane-splitting was normal and expected. The R1 is much easier to maneuver through traffic while lane-splitting. Part of this is due to its more compact and streamlined mirrors. Standards, such as the Seca, tend to have higher mirrors and I’d have to watch closely to avoid touching mirrors with the cars when it was really tight. The R1’s mirrors would go beneath them. A 25-minute ride is not too long to spend in the saddle, so no worries there. And for those occasional rides you can really have some fun with it.
A lot of people commuting ride cruisers. More power to them. But not my style.
If you’re not worried about lane-splitting (and since you’re in Oregon, you’re not) a touring bike will be very comfortable and will be very useful on your pleasure rides – especially long ones. But they can be more expensive than other bikes.
Spiny Norman has a very nice sport-tourer. A comfortable ride, I’m told, but also has some oomph and slice. If I hadn’t had my heart set on the R1, I would have bought the Yamaha FJ1300R sport-tourer. That one has an electrically-adjustable windscreen. When I looked at them they were running about thirteen kilobucks though.
Anyway, I’d suggest looking at a 600cc to 750cc standard or a 600cc sport.
And remember: Friends don’t let friends drive Harleys.