I had a variety of bikes, the last about 1975.   I picked up one of those little Honda 90cc street bikes long about 1970 and that started me out.  I was primarily interested in off-road riding and eventually got involved in sportsman-level motocross.
Campaigned a much-modified Hodaka 100cc for a while.    
 
Went through a variety of off-road and dual-purpose bikes; Montessa 250, DKW 125, Suzuki, Honda 350..... My last bike was a Suzuki 550 triple two-stroke.  Nice bike; sewing-machine smooth.
However, I got married and we fell on tough financial times, and also being in police work I kept handling motorcycle accidents with the rider variously mangled... That will make you think...
 
I admit I still miss riding, but bikes have gotten so vastly expensive now.  I confine myself to the pedal-driven variety now.

I can remember taking off on my bike on the spur of the moment with no destination in mind whatsoever and being gone for like twelve hours.  With a tiny 60cc bike I was getting probably over 100 miles/gal so why not.  It was great fun and I've never just taken off like that in a car.  Even though I'm old and should know better there's still a part of me that wants another motor cycle.  I'll probably get one one day.  If I were to get one right at this moment it would probably be this one:
http://www.suzukicycles.com/Product%20Lines/Cycles/Products/DR-Z400/2012/DRZ400S .aspx?category=dualsport

Now I ride this one with 4 wheels.

Quads are amazing, a squad of quadders rescued me when I was once lost at the top of a mountain - it was the 13rd of January, there was snow and ice on the road, I had fallen from the motorcycle and was unable to lift it (I was riding alone and the motorcycle was half in the road, half out against some trees)! Luckily I met these quadders while I wal walking down the mountain to reach a tiny village...  
 
It seems that you have a predilection for cross bikes; I find them very nice and would love to have one, but I then can't imagine myself riding a bike in the silence of the wilderness... I'd rather walk  
Still, cross motorcycle are very funny indeed!
Greetings,
Mauro.

Indeed, like everything, it's the way one use its motorcycle that matter.
I saw some idiots in two different occasions: two of them were riding CR in a National Park, while I was watching birds, while a whole group of others came in the small village I had my base in, riding very fast. Now, that village is almost uninhabited, but being a Medieval village it has very narrow streets, and house's doors opens on them. It was imprudent to drive like that, but they found much fun in the fact that streets were not covered with asphalt  
Greetings,
Mauro.

I explained badly - these streets are not still the same of the Middle Age; better, they follow the same track, but have been "improved" by covering them with cobblestones!  
Like this for example  
 

 
Greetings,
Mauro.

Nice, Brett.

Japanese "chopper", looks like maybe 90cc. Kumamoto City.