my wife bought this bike new in march 06 for me. I rode it stock for about three months (changed to progressive shocks) before i started to really modify it. from there i made a set of struts to lower it and a new fender to fit over the tire and a seat to fit too. this took many attempts so i worked on it on friday and saturday and test rode on sundays. after a failed build i would return it to stock and ride through the week, rethink my ideas and start again on friday. I have been through 3 fenders, 2 sets of struts, 4 seats, 3 paint jobs. i have 15,000 miles on it. i have had 1 flat tire, ran out of gas once, and had a dead battery once (battery terminal came loose) and the bolt holding my seat down stripped out (the last 3 incidents within 24hr time). other than that it is a very reliable ride.