Yeah, you know what, the ST1300 is Honda's most top-heavy bike, maybe a top 10 of all motorcycles, but I went in with the idea of it being a "luxury motorcycle" like a Goldwing Lite. With half of the gas tank under the seat I never paid any attention to those top heavy comments but everyone who rode my bike said it was so top heavy, a friend bought one, dropped it in the driveway because it was top heavy. Overall, it was also a "heavier" bike. I say heavier because I think it was 725 wet and I've owned Goldwings and Nomads and VTX1300 which were all much, much heavier, approaching 800 and 900 pounds, and most didn't make as much power as the ST did. I chuckle when I see people complain about the Bandit being heavy at 551 pounds wet.
I bought my first Bandit while I had that ST, and the ST didn't get ridden often after that. I finally learned after 20 years that most of my riding is pleasure riding on the weekends, a few hours at a time, and I'd rather have a bike that I'm happy with, say, 50 weeks out of the year and I'll deal with its shortcomings for the 2 weeks of touring riding far from home. The only real complaint I have about the Bandit is the seat. This Spring I found a new Suzuki tour gel seat (looks stock with a weave pattern on the rider portion) and that helps. I also have an Airhawk cushion that helps, but would like to find a comfortable seat. What are you guys doing for a seat?