The old reliability issues are a thing of the past. I had the same reservations when I bought my Aprilia Dorsoduro back in 2011, but they were unfounded. I've had very little issues with the bike, despite taking it off road when it wasn't really meant for that. Certainly no more than my Hondas or Suzukis.
Support from Aprilia is an issue, but AF1 has been my solution. I have found that they generally have more parts in stock than the Aprilia factory.
The 660 parallel twin looks promising. In the RS660, it makes about the same power as my 750 v-twin.
The Taureg looks like a direct competitor to the Yamaha Tenere 700, or the 700/800 BMW GS. It's the bike I was looking for when I converted my Dorsoduro to an all terrain machine.