Ah - a mere youngster - I've been riding for 40 years
As to the worst advice ever -
The original question was raised by a guy 6ft+, looking for a big load carrying bike that would be comfy for his wife as pillion. He specifically mentioned an older Goldwing, Pan, etc. I was merely commenting from personal experince about living with similar bikes. If he'd have asked about a dirt-bike, or sportsbike, I'd have commented on those, but he didn't! Similarly, an MZ - a personal favourite of mine by the way and I still have a couple in various stages of disrepair - didn't fit the criteria.... As to "test-riding the hell out of as many bikes as you can" - erm - good way to become an accident statistic!
Physically, there's no reason why he shouldn't be able to handle a Goldwing, or Pan, or K1100LT, particularly if he takes time to get used to the beastie - which doesn't include riding the hell out of it
So what therefore is the point on starting with a smaller bike that doesn't meet his needs?
Final point - whilst acknowledging that you found the Goldwing uncomfortable, you are in a huge minority (actually the only one I have ever heard criticising the comfort of a Goldwing)! As far as the others are concerned, the BMW K1100Lt was a favourite ride - and frequent winner - of the US Ironbutt rallies (1000 miles in 24 hours).
I was only 2 years old when you started riding, don't think i'd even progressed to pushbikes by then, so i concede to you on being old errrrrrr i mean more experienced
Still though, i have had only a motorbike as my only mode of transport for many many years, so no garage queens here, plus i've owned and regularly ridden at least 1 bike since i was 14, so although you have me licked on years i still have a fair few miles under my belt and have ridden pretty much every major bike that's been released since the 70's.
The problem i have with your advice was that:
a/ A Goldwing is a big heavy bike to learn how to ride on
b/ It's covered in expensive plastic so WHEN it does go down it'll be expensive
c/ It might have a low cg when empty, stick a pillion on the back, fill the panniers and the fuel tank and it's a right bus to ride even for experienced riders
d/ It's heavy, so it's bad enough the first time you drop a bike over without having to ask a local rugby team to come and help you put the beached whale back on it's wheels
e/ For many non wingdingers it's one of the most uncomfortable bikes we've ridden.
In my experience if you've ridden varied bikes previously it tends to be difficult to get on with the wings seating style.
As i say bike buyer should be fun, the op needs to find what works for him, the ONLY way he can do that is by going out and test riding as many bikes as possible.
It's only with bums on seats that he will learn what feels right for him, once he has found a style of bike then we can narrow down a short list of the usual suspects to test drive.
To be honest you can adapt pretty much any bike for any task, i've toured Europe on bikes from RD350LC's and RG500's through to Busa's and sportsbikes and they all got the job done to varying levels of satisfaction.
We have done Greece to the UK and back several times on my old CBR600, one time requiring a quick return to Greece meant we did UK to Ancona only stopping to fill up the tank.
Sure we were knackered, but then we were the times we've done the same journey in the same time in cars.
The point is you don't NEED a big heavy tourer to tour on, it's really about individual taste and what feels right to ride for each user.
which is now a design classic. Nearly all spares are available from folk such as Motobins or similar companies. These old BMW bikes are renowned for their reliability, ease of servicing in the field and there is a lot of interchangeability between the models. 
