Hello, i currently ride a 2014 cb500x which i love for multiple reasons. I should clarify that even though i love it, i was kind of forced to buy this model due to A2 license limitations. I bought it used couple of years ago with about 30k km and i have done about 25k km myself. I have used the bike for multiple 200-300km daily trips and a couple of 1500km trips spread between 5-7 days and i love riding this machine solo. However the 2-up situation is not so great as expected from the small twin engine. Since we are doing most of our kms 2-up and i dont have any licence limitations anymore im thinking for an upgrade, especially having in mind the 4-5000 km trip we are planning for the summer. So, ideally i want a bike that can handle about 200kg of load while travelling at rural roads most of the time as i try to avoid highways, I need minimal dirt road capabilities for simple passes when necessary and of course an upgrade in power and comfort from my current ride.
Since im not planning to spend more than 2k more than i will get from my cbx (so we have about 6k to work with) i believe my best bet would be a 2012-2017 v-strom 650 or maybe a f700gs of a similar year. I would love your opinions on these 2 bikes, or any other that you believe would suit my needs.