I prefer the conventional suspension on the R - Better ride quality, infinitely adjustable (Compared to just 3 non adjustable settings on S which are harsh, harsher and hardtail) serviceable, much less to go wrong and the rear shock could be replaced by any brand rather than £1500k+ for the semi-active one.
I don't like the 21" front wheel much, it is noticeably harder to turn the bike and looks a bit skinny, I am sure it has more grip than I have balls, but I still much prefer the 19" of the S.
Apart from the wheels, suspension and screen I believe the spec is identical.
The OE Panniers aren't great, I have them for my 1090 and on the 1190 I have KTM Branded Givi Trekker Outback which are much better, but require a rather unsightly scaffold arrangement to clip onto.
The Givi's make the bike very wide (3'9" in old money) but hold 85L (48/37) and by both being rectangular / top loading are easy to cram full of stuff.
By comparison the KTM boxes only hold 66L (36/30) are side loading, and have a diamond shaped outer side (lid) so are much more difficult to efficiently fill up, especially the really odd shaped exhaust pannier. They are still fairly wide at 3'5". Had KTM squared off the boxes rather than had some arty fuckwit designer draw them up then they could of probably made them narrower with more capacity.
I think for a solo traveller staying in Hotels the standard luggage is fine.
Filtering is fairly limited even with KTM boxes (they are wider than the bars) I would rather have plenty of room /easier loading at the expense of slightly worse filtering ability,
I have seen a bike with the Bumot panniers and they looked a bit nicer than my Givi's, not sure of sizes, but they looked quite big and probably a bit better tucked in, if I did not already have a set this is probably where my money would go.
Well, get the bike first. 
