Many of the people over in the C&V forum like to work on their bikes as well as ride them. Most of the bikes featured on the C&V forum were restored, built, reconditioned, repainted, modified, etc. by the owners. Lots of us express our creativity and individuality in the bike builds, they are not just an object exactly like the 50 other objects next to them on the sales floor. For the above reasons, I think many of us take a pride in our bikes that cannot be gotten by simply purchasing a new bike. I think most of us just love bikes, it isn't purely a performance tool to everybody.