My knees are bent quite a bit. That's true. I thought I would get lower back pain or shoulder pain on a long journey, but that hasn't actually been the case. I'll admit that i'm a bit surprised by that. It's one of those things where you have to try it out and see how things work out. We're all built slightly differently.
One thing I can add to my earlier comments, and that is, that I don't find the bike all that comfortable on long trips if I travel at higher speeds, as my torso is taking a lot of wind force and in that riding position, it's not good, hence the reason I would prefer handlebars somewhere between the R and GT. That would help some.