On the BMW GS ownership issue... a lot of blokes who can afford that sort of bike trade their bike in every 2 or 3 years. Obviously, that sounds extravagant, but it makes a bit of sense as you spread the financial cost of owning a bike, rather than owning it for 10 years until its value drops completely and then having to stump up almost all the cash for a new bike then. Often makes more financial sense to buy a new bike every 2 or 3 years and just pay the depreciation each time.
And with that in mind, I'm sure the GS plus an extended warranty is great to own. Sure, bits may break, but if BMW repair them for free each time it's not the end of the world. By all accounts, BMW are pretty good with lending you other bikes while yours is in for repair anyway, so probably wouldn't be too annoying.
Of course, if it has a catastrophic failure halfway through a big long tour, that's another issue... but assuming that doesn't happen, maybe the reason a lot of the GS blokes don't mind that expensive things keep breaking is that it's BMW picking up the bill, not them. Then when the warranty runs out, they sell the bike and get another.
If I was in a position to buy a GS (which isn't impossible... just would have to make savings in other areas of my life, so maybe one day I will) I would be buying it with the intention of running it for 2-3 years then trading it in for another new one (or nearly new, ex-demo one if I'm being smart).