The truth is there is no 'right' or 'wrong' bike. The very fact that there can be so much discussion about what to get means that it is all 6 of one and half a dozen of teh other.

The trick is to get a bike that with which you are happy. It ought to be comfy and have a high chance of surviving the journey. If you like teh bike and find that it does what you want and expect then the likely hood is you will both get along fine.

Even seemingly unimportant things can make a tremendous difference to your riding experience.
an inch or so seat height for instance. My own bike a bmw, has never let me down and is a slab crusher par excellence..But I do not like it. and will change it next year (hopefully), Changing the front tyre from and Avon to a metzler made a huge difference and has (for me) improved teh handling and steering no end. Some one else might prefer it the other way round.

I think you need to have a reasonable range, and that is better done with fuel economy than by using a big tank. Cheaper and less weight.

I agree, entering some little third world village on a bike that looks like it just warped in from tatooine will get you a different reception than chugging in on something that technologically looks slighly familiar. My own opinion is the more technologically advanced the equipment the smaller the spanner needed to bugger up the works.

Others may argue differently based on their own experiences. In the end you pays your money and takes your chance. The best thing to do in my opinion is set up an account with a good worldwide shipper of parts for your bike.. and hope you wont need him.