Lucky me, I'm the first one who gets to shape your opinions.
Depends on your type of riding. I like doing wheelies, lane splitting at stop lights here in CA, etc. It really helps getting off the line having the bike geared lower. Also, most speed limits on local freeways are 65mph. You get out of town a bit and you get 75mph limits. Regardless, I'm at 56XX RPM in 6th at 70mph with my 16/43 combo.
I can't speak as to just having the 43, but I did start with just the 16 up front and it make a significant difference in reducing the amount I had to slip the clutch from a dead stop, but really wasn't as noticeable as I was expecting as far as the acceleration goes. As far as 3rd gear clutch ups go, they can be done with more ease by adding the 43T to the rear combined with the 16t front. You can do them with the 16t only, but requires more RPM and more blipping of the throttle in order to get it lifted. When I added the 43T rear, I also wasn't blown away, in fact, I struggled to tell the difference. Maybe it's because our bikes have much more power than we typically use, so unless you're twisting your throttle to the stop all the time, it's hard to say what difference it's made. But again, it certainly makes wheelies much easier in 3rd. No body english required. I'm sure I could lift it in 4th at 100+ but there's no reason to do that. Actually 3rd gear wheelies are a little sketchy on the roads around here since it's so bumpy.
I also like the fact that 6k rpm happens to be about where the bike starts making good power. At sane freeway speeds going 75mph, you're right about where you want to be with regards to the powerband of the engine. With OEM gearing, you roll-on and wait for too long to get in the power, necessitating a quick double click on the shifter to get into fourth to make things happen a bit more quickly. That is one reason why I like the 16/43 combo, but other than that...if I had it to do over again, I may just do either a +2 rear or -1 front. Not sure really. Whatever. It's all good. Stock gearing contrary to many recent threads on here, is really only good for top speed and racing at speeds over 100+. Other than that, your bike will bee more street friendly with a gear change.
Sprockets are cheap. Get steel ones. Get 525 size and you're looking at $60 total for both sprockets. Make sure you have an air gun to remove the front sprocket though. It is an absolute nightmare without it!!!!