What that tells me is that pretty much ALL of those bikes are awesome. The scoring was all within 10% from top dog to bottom dog in any given ranking. So it is hard to go wrong with any of them, although the low cost of the Honda is a HUGE selling feature... They kept raving about the motors of the KTM and Ducati, but if you look at the HP and Torque charts, there really isn't much difference where it matters, unless of course you are just wringing the motors out to the really high revs.
It sure would be awesome to get to participate in something like this review where you get to ride all the bikes in a short time so you can compare them. I really think it eventually just boils down to personal preference in terms of looks, fit, and price. I do love my GS, but I could never afford a new one. The Honda on the other hand is in reach, even new, but I'd still likely buy a slightly used one from a Starbucker
Roger and I were in Utah and Colorado a few weeks ago. A few of the roads were fairly technical for the big bikes. I had an absolute blast on my GS, with a passenger, and three heavily loaded aluminum BMW adventure bags. Granted, I do have a set of Ohlins front and rear, but the motor and balance of the bike were great, off and on the pavement. The ONLY time I wasn't happy was when we got into some slick mud... But I would not have been happy on my KTM 530 EXC either. I just don't do the mud thing very well. Sand? Sure, I'm good. Large or small gravel, yep. Plain old dirt, love it. Mud...
I could hear Sarah over the communicator, "Please don't let us crash, please don't let us crash...." as the bike was wallowing from side to side through a long patch of mud. I must have worked because I don't know how I saved it