I know you said you weren't really interested in anything Italian, but have you looked into/checked out the Tuono? And before any of you savages get started, I know Aprilia's aren't always reliable, and they have issues sometimes, blah, blah. I just wanted to through it out as something to consider, because if I was looking to get a bigger bike I'd be looking at the Tuono or the Monster 1200R or maybe the S1000R. But that V4 though... I really need to play the lottery or invest more time into finding a sugar daddy... lol
Just my 2 cents.
Congrats on the new job and good luck on the new bike hunt.