Im mid-trip in south america with a F8 with 21000km on it. I have had 2 bolts fall out, and few drips of water from the pump, but Im thoroughly pleased with it. Seat and windshield upgrades for a long distance trip would be a good idea, but a not necessity.
This bike is relatively new to the market, hence the lack of long distance trip reports, but they are out there if you dig. Heaps of info on ADV, but I'd recommend you take what you read with a grain of salt. A lot of whining, people jumping on the band wagon and blowing problems out of proportion. Its by no means perfect, but most of the problems/recalls are for the early production runs and have since been dealt with. AFAIK, the 2010 models have been problem free so far.
As far as strengths/weaknesses go, its all relative to how you use it. As an all round , long distance adv tourer - which is what it was designed for - I think it is well balanced and an all round excellent bike.
If you spend alot of time in demanding off road situations, I think you will find its a tall, heavy, high geared pig, but quite manageable with practice. I think this could be said for most bikes in this category. It seems to really excel at high speeds on gravel roads.
On road, the seat/windshield tend to be lacking and you are reminded of the cushy susp. on hard braking.
Strong points are excellent brakes, the engine, the lava filled grip heaters, and overall versatility. To be able to go street bike speeds and drag the pegs on road one minute, and then negotiate mud holes the next without changing a thing is very impressive if you ask me.
I think the key to appreciating/liking this bike is to use it for its intended purpose - since you're on this site, you probably will - and I don't think you will be disappointed, apart from the wad of cash you have to depart with to buy it.

Look for MVRTV on youtube. There is an 8 part video review that is pretty accurate and informative.