I've ridden my '07 F650GS to our national rally, STAR, 5 out of the last 7 years, and this year will be #6 of 8 now with a bit over 100,000 miles. For my money, it's the best go-anywhere bike you can have. It's small enough to drag you up 500 miles of muddy road to Prudhoe Bay on the Dalton Highway(I like your pic) or to Inuvik N.W.T. on the Dempster Highway, and it will still handle a 1,000 mile day from Tennessee to New Mexico.
Then there's your R bike. What a fine machine that is! Dave McQueeney, of Iron Butt fame and fortune (if you can call it that) seems to still prefer the RxxxxR to anything else. He rode it from California two Decembers back to have lunch at the Stagecoach Restaurant in Stockton, AL, and after lunch headed home. He almost sheepishly admitted it had BMW's tall windshield which is way shorter than your fairing.
I'm not sure what I'll do when it comes time to give up having only 2 wheels, but I can appreciate what you're facing.
