I love threads like this. No right or wrong answers. I grew up on minibikes with lawnmower engines, the graduated to small dual-purpose bikes (learn in the dirt, stay alive on the road). I've ridden a variety of bikes over the years and stopped riding aor awile because they go too sophisticated (no personality).
I think the two types I can most easily pick out are those who rode for the journey and those who ride for the destination.
Roads are the same. You can look at some roads and immediately see they were made for the destination. They flatten hills and bridge rivers. They run straight, true and boring. Other roads rise and fall, twist and turn, and generally cooperate with their environment. These roads are made for the journey.
I was attracted to RE because it is a bike made for the journey, the riding experience. They could have easily followed the current trends of bigger, faster quieter, smoother, etc. But they purposely attempted to retain character.
I still get to my destinations, but I am in no hurry. Once I get there, the ride is over. That makes me sad.