If you want to find the problems and bad news, these forums are the place to look, not for the XT but for all bikes. I'm not knocking forums, I think they are great, but it is where people will come to when they have a problem so it's easy to get a distorted view. You have to remember there are many many happy customers out there who won't get on a forum to praise their bike just for not going wrong.

Typically when I get a new bike I do some research to find out what might possibly go wrong and what I might need to do to prevent it or fix it, knowing that any problems will probably only affect a minority of bikes. I make a calculated decision on the risk and remedial action and go from there.

I've been immersed in BMW GS ownership for the past couple of years. If you go by their forum you'd never buy one! It appears like a never ending tale of expensive woe. As a result I did carry a spare fuel pump controller with me on longer rides and trips. By comparison there appear to be very few issues being reported on XTs. Indeed it's one of the reasons I have just bought one, but I might still grease my head bearings, swing arm and take a look at the regulator connector, just for peace of mind. Then I'll just get on and ride it...