if you want to get back on a familiar styled bike to your previous crosser but for the road have a look at supermoto.
different style and speed to sports bikes but every bit as much fun and for me even more. our roads are so c#ap the long travel to the suspension makes progress on B roads much quicker and you don't buy a bike for straight roads.
great fun for hooning around and as obnoxious as you like, the louder the better. look at the KTM website at the 950sm plenty grunt reasonably good cruising but naked nature makes sustained speeds, 80+, pretty hard going. 990 adventurer makes touring more practical but for real sm bikes try 525exc's, 640's, CCM's or proper sm'd crossers.
i've had a CCM 604SM for 5years and it still makes me smile everytime i ride it, might not be fast but plenty quick enough.
http://www.ktm.co.uk/frameset.asp