I rode a hardtail, a 1948 ULH 80" Flathead Harley. It was too big for me, and I sold it, but I rode it, suicide clutch, tank shift, manual spark advance and all. It had the sprung seat with the passenger springs and the ride was reasonably comfy once you were moving, but the combination of rigid rear end and stock springer forks made for somewhat tenuous handling. Based partially on that bike, I voted negative on hard-tailing.
Funny---I remember when there were aftermarket rear suspensions being sold for people who wanted to modify their bikes to ride better....my, how times don't change!