Excellent advice Phidauex.

The part that I like so much about bikes in general is how easy it is to gradually upgrade. I think that both you and EnigManiac are telling me to just go with whatever I feel most committed to, then sort out the rest with upgrades. I'm really looking to make this a chopper for serious riding, not just for show, so aside from weight, I will certainly take the advice regarding rotating weight as well as make sure to get some gears on it. I haven't checked out the Rohloff you talk about, so I better do that. It's fun to not know as much about the parts now that I'll be getting and working on a totally different type of bike than I'm used to.

Have you ridden either of the bikes on my list, by any chance, Phidauex?

EDIT: Wow. I checked out the web just now and I'm absolutely blown away by the Rohloff. I got to have one of those!