Any thoughts on how to make an integrated system more "musical" to use a crappy audiophile word?
I think you'll probably need to get more specific with your question (which integrated amp are you using? what is the rest of the system? what is it you're missing from it now, or what have you heard that you are striving for?). I have a Portal Panache SS integrated and find it very satisfying and engaging. Clear, fast, great imaging, and lots of other audiophile adjectives to heap further praise if you like. It works very well and I enjoy it very much. Overall, on most of the music I like to listen to (acoustic, vocals, folk, alt-country, jazz, small-scale classical) I prefer my SET rig, but the Panache is probably more versatile overall in that it can master more complex, fast, and layered music better, as well as doing quite well with the other stuff. With my personal preferences in music, if I had to choose one I'd take the SET without any hesitation. That is a personal choice and, as I said earlier, I'd suggest you try to listen to as many different options as you can with your own musical preferences and make your own choices.
California, more specifically Northern CA, is my favorite place to ride! Those big dualies rule in the mountains and canyons around there. Another one you should seriously consider is the newer KTM Adventurer, which could be equally as versatile as the GS. I think you may have misunderstood me; I never said anything about the "Airhead Oilhead thing" to agree with. I've never owned an Airhead GS. The airhead is a great bike for it's time, and overall, but it lacks power on the pavement, and leaves much to be desired as far as suspension and brakes are concerned. It is a dated bike and there are better choices IMO though it suits many just perfectly - THAT definitely IS a hot debate in the big dual-sport world. If I were moving in that direction I'd sooner get a more dirt oriented bike. The Multi vs. GS debate (if there is one?) really isn't as similar as you may think to tubes vs. SS: Those two bikes do not serve the same purpose...there is little to debate where that is concerned IMO. The MS takes styling cues from the big dual-sport bikes, but the resemblence is only skin-deep. It doesn't have the tires, wheels, nor ground clearance to make it much good off pavement. Those specs are not debatable, they are simply black and white facts, if you will. Although SS and tube amps are different, though both serve to amplify music, I think the lines drawn in the sand are not as clear in terms of looking at the specs on paper, because, in the case of audio gear, the black and white does not tell the whole story. Both technologies are capable of reproducing music quite well. Each has inherent distortions and idiosyncracies to varying degrees. But some of the "distoritions" actually make the music more pleasing to some folks (in spite of the fact that they look "bad" on paper).
You are quite right that ABS does not mix with riding on dirt. As a rule I turn it off whenever I ride off road (as would any GS rider with any sense). Doing otherwise could be dangerous. All the Oilhead GS's allow you to turn off the ABS option, and will indicate on the dash when it is turned off, as well as when it is operating properly. The brake feature I was referring to was not ABS, but Linked Brake Systems where the front and rear brake controls are linked by computer and using either one will engage both in a programmed ratio. Also not good for dirt as you often want to use the rear brake independently to slide the rear end, and for slow-speed control.
Marco