Yep, 49% of the reason I've owned so many bikes is that I ENJOY personalizing them. Spent all weekend welding up custom hard bag mounts to get around the ugly/small/fragile factory bags and fitting a windscreen. Next weekend will be a quick release top box with better passenger accommodations, followed by a tail tidy and then maybe an attempt at drop protection. Sometime down the line will be custom paint
Pretty much every bike I've ever owned I get other bikers walking up to me with "Where did you get those custom 'fill in the blank', that's so cool!" or "Is that a '____'" I took my Ducati to a Ducati group meetup and every bike was virtually stock. Yeah, aftermarket exhausts, but woo wee, big deal. I like bikes people modify and like modifying them myself.
Only fault that I'm pretty sure I can't get around is the dismal range. When I head out with guys on their Harleys that get 44mpg with 6 gal tanks, I'm always going to be the one holding up the group.