Dave--It really is a question of what things are most important to you, and what you are willing (or able) to pay to have them. I had a 13 that I traded in for a new 17. There are many things on the list that are upgrades--better suspension, slipper clutch, LED lights, bigger tank, better seat and yes ABS.
There are other things I simply liked--the double walled chrome headers and 4 into 2, the engine color, the shape of the tank and the spokes, which come at a price in practicality but say "retro" to me better than anything. Are these things worth $5K? That's up to you. I wanted the best version of the CB 1100 available to me, which in my view was the EX; the money seemed to be an obstacle until about a day or two after purchase, and then I knew I would be happier with this bike than with my old CB and cash.
Pekingduck may be right about price reductions on the EX in the future. Or not. They are already being discounted, and if dealers sell the available inventory at these prices, they will be gone and no 1/2 price deals will ever materialize. Used 17s are starting to appear. Last time around, it appears Honda sold enough of the 13s in the US market to bring the bike back in DLX and 14 standard forms. The relatively few DLXs sold well; the standards did not, leaving them with many bikes they had to sell at huge discount. They did not repeat this mistake with an 18 or 19 model that would compete with dealer inventory of 17s. So, depending on your nerve and patience, I would not count on a repeat of what happened with the 14 standards. For me it's hard to monetize the cost of waiting and not having the bike I wanted.
