Would you consider something not quite as big and heavy?
In particular, what I ride.
I've done one
adventure ride with a rider on an R1200GS and he was ready to bail out before we got to the "good stuff". I talked him into at least riding up to where normal cars could easily get to at Sierra Buttes, then showed him the paved way down while I continued with the rocky hill climb up to the top. And that was on a 990 Adventure.
The 790R is significantly better for the type of riding that I like than the 990 was. I also have an XR650L, which is about 90 pounds lighter and has 3 or 4 inches of additional suspension travel. Other than when I've had to pick up the 790R (once) or had to turn it around in a tight spot, there haven't been any cases where I wished I was on the XR. It handles rocky, rutted uphill roads just as well.
If you intend to do mostly pavement and easy dirt roads, then don't listen to me. But if you intend to ride any more serious dirt, at least look at the trade-offs of a lighter, more dirt friendly bike that can still easily handle long freeway runs and twisty mountain roads.
