Really, I do know what you mean, Spanky. I had my suspension done, too. I was just trying to point out how spoiled we are with the fantastic machinery we have available. Factory riders never had it so good, back in the day, but now the bikes come off the showroom floor darn near perfect. Sure, I make modifications too. It's half the fun. But we're awfully lucky to have this kind of quality at hand.
So life is sweet in that regard. On the other hand, when I started riding 30 years ago, even though I was mounted on a heavy, ill-handling, no-suspension, blubbering, vibrating, unreliable piece of coprolite, I could head out to the desert or the national forests and ride absolutely anywhere I wanted to, no black helicopters, no eco-Nazis. It was pure freedom. That is something I'm glad I was able to experience, and no modern manufacturing marvels can take the place of that. Anyway, the important thing is to ride, and to love it while we can. Someday, people will see pictures of us and say, "Can you believe it? They actually used to let people ride those primitive machines on the hills and meadows, destroying the Earth, before everything became preserved under a protective layer of concrete."