As someone who gets to ride brand new rental bikes every year (except for COVID 2020) my answer is an unequival YES - but it is clearly a personal subjective answer. I frequently ponder the contrast between older and newer bikes, more vs less technology, etc. ,especially as it relates to motorcycles.
The luxury car makers like Mercedes, BMW, Jaguar, etc were the first to introduce high-tech features many years ago, which have now trickled down to mid and low prices cars - things like heated/air cooled seats, big dashboard screens for GPS and controls, dynamic suspension, etc. I remember reading an article way back then. The basis of the article was that all the premium car makers were essentially at par when it came to the high quality of their leather seats, wood dashes, powerful engines, suspensions, etc. Therefore the premium car manufacturers were turning to electronics and technology to add value and differentiate themselves. That's now well underway with motorcycles.
My personal preference is to spend a little extra to buy simple, high quality, durable items with a reputation for excellent functionality and then maintain them until they either wear out or are superseded by something that clearly works better. I can't always afford the very best new so I am fine with the occasional used purchase to get the top quality gear I want. Much of my riding over the years has been solo exploring out of the way roads, sometimes in remote locations. As such reliability is important to me and simple, top quality but solid functional items are more important than supplemental/technical enhancements that might add an addtional 10% - 15% of performance or comfort but significantly increase the potential for difficult to repair on-the-road malfunctions.
My last Alps tour before COVID was in September 2019. My wife came with me for the last 3 weeks so I rented the R1250RT, which had just come out. I have always liked the RTs and was thinking these 3 weeks would be like a long test ride. I'm getting set to retire and was looking to buy perhaps my final touring-type bike and the 1250RT was near the top of my list.
I've enjoyed most of the BMWs I've rented (dozens of them over the years) including all the RTs. I know that various members here have them and like them very much. I'm not bashing them - just indicating my experience relative to the ST1300. I suspect I may have gotten a lemon but it was one of the worst BMWs I've ever rented. It was fully optioned out. The gear box was terrible. The handling 2-up felt like the front end was loaded with cement, etc. On one long day of very cold and wet riding we had all the electronics on, heated grips, heated seats, etc and the battery was too weak to start the bike after filling up for gas. Upon my return to the rental shop the technician said that the gearbox was a little "stiff" but that all the electronics worked correctly including the dynamic susepension, etc.
When I got back home I crossed the RT off my list. I looked for and found a very nice, low mileage, well farkled ST1300ABS. I reworked the front and rear suspension to suit my riding style and weight (and that of my wife and gear) and it has been perfect. It shifts better than the 1250, handles better (for me), has plenty of grunt and I know it's reliable. To me is a good example of what I mentioned earlier - a relatively simple, high quality, reliable motorcycle with excellent functionality for its intended sports touring function. I'm sure items like electronic key fobs, dynamic suspensions, heated seats, headlights that go around corners, etc are all wonderful things - but the complexity and cost they would add to the excellent fundemental performance of a bike like the ST1300 is not worth it to me personally - even less so when you factor in that a new R1250RT would have cost me 3 times as much.
When I was working to jump start the dead battery at the gas station in Switzerland an older, well-to-do looking couple pulled up to see if I needed any extra help. The man was driving a Mercedes AMG GT 63 - roughly a $140,000 car here in the US - clearly a technological marvel. He said he preferred his BMW R 80 GS to the new bikes because he felt that the newer bikes were too complicated - go figure.
Like I said - it's all personal. I like the way that my ST1300 works so much relative to the bikes I rent that I would actually consider taking it over to the Alps as both my solo and 2-up bike, which says a lot because I usually prefer the lighter BMW F800s or KTM 790s as my solo bikes in the tight switchbacks and high little 1-lane Alps passes. So a BIG personal YES from me - the ST1300 certainly holds its own.
