I had a '95 and rode it 84,000 miles before upgrading to a '10. Rebuilt the upper end at 50,000 - never had a problem with it ever. Runs as strong today as the first day I got it.

Issues I saw coming were repainting the frame, rebuild lower end in a couple years, wiring drying out and harness replacement, second rebuild on top end. Bottom line is I chose to go new rather than spend lots of money to refurbish a 15-years old motor.

Resigned commission and now have time to ride: 10,000 miles in 4 months at this point, and plan on cracking 100,000 on this one in 5 years.

Yes, I thought it got better with age.

 

I plan to keep it until my son is old enough to take it and I'm too lame to hump the beast up off the side stand.

After all the work I've put into it, it is MINE and fits just ME. I can't imagine going through that again for quite a while.

 

I guess that after you go thru the break in period and fix any problems that come up within the first 10,000 miles or so you could say that the bike is better than it was when new. At this point it should certainly be reliable. The rest of the aging is up to the owner. Take care of it and do all the required maintenance and it should age well. Beat on it or let it sit to rot in the garage and it will go downhill much faster.

No matter how well a bike is taken care of I don't think it will get better as it gets older. Everything will wear somewhat. Eventually you will hit a point where it needs major work.