Capability may not be the most important thing riders look for.
There is something to be said for the rider, and for the machine. If you ride for the wind in your face, or the performance of a well-executed run on a challenging road or track (or if you are just on a bike for the "Look"), the machine beneath you has only purpose and its capability (or appearance) might be most important to you.
If you are a gearhead, then the machine has not only the purpose, but the "personality".
A good illustration of these two aspects is any group of Harley riders. Some are posers, some are riders, some are gearheads, and then you have the riders that adore their bike, because they know it inside and out, and there is nothing else they'd rather be doing.
It seems (and I apologize if this sounds stereotypical) the metric cruiser riders don't fit the last category. Maybe because there isn't a heck of a lot they can do (or need to do) with their rides, save dress 'em pretty.
I had a Harley FXR for years, and I loved that bike, warts and all. Now I have a bike that is much more "capable", is as reliable as a hammer, and I have a lot more fun on it. However, it has nowhere near the personality of that Harley, and the level of motor oil in my blood has become rather low. My only salvation is that I have the wonderful distractions of a young daughter and a baby boy, so I don't have any time to work on bikes (or much of anything else, for that matter).
A buddy has solved his problem another way; he rides an XB9S, but has gotten back into restoring old Triumph Twins. Talk about personality!