I agree!You'll find that brakes are strictly a personal preference and the opinions are many. I have ridden both and my 05 is non-ABS. The breaks are sooooo good on these bikes with either version, I wouldn't let that limit your purchase.
I sold my first ST1300 which didn't have ABS and bought another ST1300 with ABS. Day to day, you can't tell the difference, but it's nice to know that the ABS is there..... Just in case......!