I'll be interested to see what you come up with,re the XT,I went a long way down the road to buying a 690SMC,I'd no problem with the fact the motor took a little more looking after and maybe a tad fragile,but for me the deal braker was sitting on it,your perched on it like a fairy on a christmas tree!! and the bike has way too much suspension,no wonder the new R has been shortened.

I'll put up with less hp,and have always found the trick is shedding weight weight to make a bike go better,or be it at a cost.