I recently bought a low mileage 2009 XTR, and the surging doesn't bother me. Coming from an inline four, I DO notice something odd holding constant speed in 2nd or 3rd around 30mph, but nothing that I would have commented on if it weren't for a million forum threads alerting me to a "problem". As Black Dog says, it's character!

I think it's easy to read about things like surging, buy a bike and then go looking for a problem. In reality, it's a thumper - it is what it is. Get it and enjoy it!