Great finds, Alan.
The conclusions are very incisive. Despite its age, the ST outperformed the two much more modern bikes in several areas that we like. One, its range, two, its comfort and three, its handling.
The other two have better power, technology, weight and price. The ST loses out on its instrumentation, lack of heated grips and cruise control.
The bottom line- pick up a reasonably priced late model, spend a few bucks on a few farkles, and you have a better bike than the Kawasaki 1400 and as good as the latest FJR.