actually I can testify to the opposite, both on my bike and quite a few (all?) the bikes 2moto uses for demos. those bikes get hammered all year long and i don't think they have ever smoked a motor.
i did experience what seemed like heat soaking for the first time ever on my bike this year. granted i was floggin her pretty good in the preston mtn area and it got plenty steep and deep before I felt the power drop a bit. take a break, chipped some snow and ice off the bike and gave it a chance to cool off. thats one thing the bike does quickly in the mtns. depending on the day and the depth of snow, you can ride a bit with the choke on and don't have to use the hot start lever very often.
like any motor sport, you need to do maintenace or have it done. I can say, i fear smokin my sled (or dealing with my buddy's sled) more than the bike letting me down. I mean, how often do you have to tow a bike out of the trails or dunes... 2 times for me not fuel related, in about 17 years. not too bad.
these things are great but like the different kinda of sleds (mtn,trail...) there is a time and place that works better than others. if you ride one on a demo, you will be hooked after an hour! if you ride motox, you'll fight it for 15 mins, get used to it by 30 mins, and be rockin and airing it out a the 1 hour mark!
Hauler