I guess its just my bias, but once the original headbadge is gone, the original decal work is gone, and the original paint (perhaps) is gone; its no longer a question of "what is it?" Its more a question of "what was it?" Whatever it was left when the items I just mentioned were removed.

+1 When I see a bike with all of its decals gone, except for a well preserved tubing decal, I immediately doubt it. I would need verification, like a Columbus mark on the steering tube, before I started believing it.

I remember the guy I ran into in my old motorcycling days, that bragged about his Harley with one million miles on it. Well, it turned out it was on at least its tenth engine, its fourth or fifth set of wheels, its fifth or sixth fork, etc. Just about the only thing with 1 million miles on it was the original VIN badge (I don't think the frame was original either, so he transferred the VIN badge, not sure how he pulled it off, but he was a politician). Oh yeah, and the tenth engine blew that day, which ended his ride (it was the odometer check on a road rally I was participating in). The bike did not make it five miles.....