What I mean is that there is not much with the same capabilities offroad and on road, with a long oil change interval and the ability to carry enough gear to be self sustaining.
Can a Bug or a scooter travel around the world?
Yes, of course, but so can a bicycle, unicycle or your own two feet. Many people choose these options or any other motorcycle, but I'm trying to find the best balance of comfort, road ability and offroad ability for me and my personal preference. There's a good choice out there for everybody but they're not going to be the same for everyone.
I'm not discounting your or anyone else experience obviously, I'm just saying that people have different priorities.
THE most important thing for me is the overall ride/life experience, that incorporates reliability of whatever I'm traveling on, as well as my personal pleasure and happiness. As long as they aren't trip ending maintenance issues I'm not going to lose any sleep over it(aside from working on the bike overnight). A little excitement in a long distance trip should be welcomed, not shunned because it isn't the absolute safest, most reliable option of them all.
I could tour the world, taking only pavement roads, using the safest, most reliable Honda Goldwing. But then why ride a bike, a car is probably safer and more reliable. In fact, why bother leaving at all, it's safer to just stay home, then I am guaranteed not to break down in a desert.
Obviously this is an exaggeration, but I still stand by my point, the trip is meant to be a major life experience. If I'm constantly worried about reliability I'm not going to be taking the bike I want, not going to be riding the cool secluded roads I want, not going to be bringing the bike over 3K RPMs at all because I don't want to cause any stress in the engine. If I'm too worried about safety I'm not going to go to Colombia because something bad may or may not happen, I'm not going to enjoy the hospitality of some family in a remote village because they might murder me.
I'm rambling, these points probably don't apply anymore.
In my opinion, there isn't anything else on the market at the same level as the KTM 690, something with its same balance of capabilities and light weight. If it has some of its own issues in the maintenance department, then maybe I'll just have to eat those worries and costs in return for have a bike with this balance and ability.
Hopefully something come out in the next few years that makes this conversation irrelevant, something smoother, more reliable, longer oil changes, cheaper bike, cheaper parts. 1200s are what is trending and they sell for a pretty penny, so that's where the most development is in this already niche market.
Feel free to bring up anything I've overlooked, these are just my opinions but they could be based off of skewed facts or something incorrect entirely.