I managed a test ride on the Honda (strictly on pavement) and was surprised that the motor had a somewhat industrial feel to it despite being a twin. Ultimately, I bought a 650 V-Strom with which I am pleased.
As far as 17 inch wheels are concerned, the Honda may be different, but I've travelled a good many gravel and dirt road kilometres on a Kawasaki ZR7-S (which is a standard-ish UJM design on 17 inchers) and found it abysmally unsuited to those types of roads. I'm sold on the notion that narrower, larger diameter tires do better on unstable surfaces.
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