Until covic shut everything down I rode on the annual circuit of Ky ride every year put on by the Louisville BMW riders which was open to everybody regardless of brand. This is a ride around the outer borders of Ky and is about 1350 miles on secondary roads. We get everything from a few HD's to Japanese sport tourers (FJ1300's, Kaw Concours) and of course BMW's. One year I borrowed a 2014 GW. First time I rode one of the older GW's and frankly it kept up with and sometimes pushed the more capable sport tour bikes. Of course the GW will not run at 10/10ths with these bikes but 98% plus of the riders on them are not capable at this level. My newer gen GW is 100 pounds lighter than that 2014 and handles better than that 2014 I rode back then. Really a surprisingly capable bike within it's limits.
I used to look down on the wing in my wilder sport bike days but I really like the new 2018 plus bike.