Maybe the chopping guys don't really like the bikes they chop then. That would explain a lot!
When I see an XS, I see what it
could be, as well as what it is. I would
never chop an XS1, but I would chop '79s all frikkin day, until there wasn't another one left, without blinking an eye. That first year was something special... by 1979 meh, not so much.
Interesting thing is you chop a '52 Hydraglde and you're adding function really. No one would do that today, but that's beside the point.
Give me a '52 Hydraglide in the same shape as the current '79 XS I'm chopping (a 75%-missing basket-case) and I would chop that too. No bike is truly safe around someone who loves to chop. NO BIKE.
That aside, do you really understand what chopping is? You couldn't
add functionality to a Hydraglide by
chopping it. You could
bob it and make it faster. I keep looking at this pic...
...and now ALL I can think about is how I would LOVE to chop one. Those fat fuckin' tires with a shorty fender on the back and no fender on the front, raking out the neck and adding some 4 or 6 over forks, losing all the fat and clutter, stripping it down and stretching it out so it's nothing but a seatpan, giant tires and that monstrous panhead... grrrrrr.
Incidentally a Hydraglide is nothing special intrinsically. Less special than the xs650 in terms of ride, maintenance and the other criteria you lay out. That makes me think it's -all- about perception and mythos.
This argument is flawed in that your initial assumption is that I, and everyone like me, have some reverence for bikes like these. I certainly don't. If I owned the bike in the above picture, I wouldn't chop it. I would sell it and fund my next 20+ projects.
Therefore it's unfair to single out the xs650 as a poor bike, too much vibration, old design and etc. Hell, go customize an R6. Is that closer to what you want? I don't think so.
Unfair how? It IS outdated, slow, with too much vibration and not that much comfort. Sell me an R6 in a basket with a good engine and a straight frame and forks for $200.00 and I WILL customize it, gladly! I'd turn it into a crazy frikkin chopped streetfighter.
That being said; I love the XS for what it is; a solid, reliable platform for any number of different styles, whether it is chopper, bobber, cafe, tracker, hill climber, stocker or table saw.
I'll chop ANYTHING if it's cheap and it looks like it would be fun.