I am aligned with the way
randyjawa described it: part of the enjoyment of the hobby is the hands on work one does, and a bike that comes to you perfect (either new or beautifully maintained) is still fun but somehow not quite as fun as taking something less than stellar and doing work to bring it to some level of "okness". I had one bike that had been cosmetically ruined so felt no problem in stripping and repainting, and I learned tons about the process. Another was cosmetically challenged and I left it alone for quite some time before realizing the challenges were bothering me, so it also got the full strip and repaint/redecal treatment. However most of the other bikes I have are either in "as found state" (but still completely gone over for tires/cables/lubricants etc) or minimally upgraded (new rims, component swaps etc). I really enjoy doing the work (and trying to do it well) and then riding the result.....more than solely the riding.