When I was looking 2 years ago, I took a 28 Skater(250 XS's) and a 28 AT(525) for test rides. I liked the ride of both, but the skater seats were cramped, there was no storage space up front and I missed the noise of the I/O. Plus, it was almost impossible to get an insurance quote at my age(28 back then).
We can overnight on the AT, have more people and supplies and I can afford to put gas into it with the insurance savings.