Have you looked at the Honda CB500X? That's going to be my next bike.

Although not a dual sport, there are starting to be some nice mods for off-road.

Whist bikes can carry a lot of load .. those doing so are traveling very slowly over roads the rider knows well.
The manufactures speck is usually hidden in the riders handbook .. maximum weight includes the bikes weight, fuel etc .. so take one form the other and then take off your e=weight with your riding gear on and you have the max you might put on it ..

However .. you and the bike will be far happier with less weight .. Less is More.

definite Ups and Downs to small bikes. Really depends on WHERE and HOW you like to travel.

Max carrying weight is called: GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating).
I agree!
That's s great bike, affordable at $6000 usd NEW, gets good reviews all round. Is it the perfect bike for S.America? Could be.

A few things to think about:
It's clearly paved road focused. How well it handles knarly, rocky, dirt roads, deep sand, mud, I don't know. I haven't found any long distance ride reports on this bike. The 17" wheels front and back are great for twisty roads, but I wish Honda had followed Suzuki and the Vstrom and gone with a 19" front. MUCH better off road.

Toughness is another question mark. How will it hold up to bashing along hundreds miles of washboard? Dual sports are designed to do this ... I don't believe Honda designed this CB500X for heavy thrashing. Opinions? Experience?

Weight:
Though not extremely heavy, it's still a bit heavy for a 500cc twin at 430 lbs. wet. (195 kgs) Most 650 class dual sport singles are 60 lbs. lighter or more. DRZ400 close to 100 lbs. less weight.

The GVWR for the CB500X is 408 lbs. according to forums. (Honda don't list it on line) With Nick starting at 225 lbs. he should be OK even with 100 lbs. of extras. But certainly suspension would need upgrading as it will for nearly any
dual sport as well.

The 53 mpg is impressive for the CB500. Just about even with 650 class dual sports. But it only puts out 45 HP, so it should get good MPG with such a moderate HP number. Still, that is, IMO, an advantage in a travel bike: nice under stressed engine.

I'd say if you can stick mainly to pavement or easy dirt roads, the CB500X could be a great bike. But if you have to pass more technical tracks and fall down a lot ... the bike may not survive. Dual sports crash well, not sure about this Honda's crash-a-bility