"but when it's raining and I'm thirsty I'm pretty glad for the fender mounts and bottle braze ons."

if it's raining when your thirsty, you dont NEED bottle braze-ons. just open wide.

seriously, i would never buy a bike that DIDNT have fender and rack mounts (not that I have either on my bike at the moment). Versatility is a GOOD thing.