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@cornelius_blackfoot
I'll be first to throw my tuppence in on this one,
you have bikes you ride them, if you can afford to have more than one, and want one to be pristine, and virgin territory that you ride around on every so often, then good for you. Personally I find that anathema, a friend of mine used to live with a friend of his in his friends mothers house, she had a front room which was locked, but kept in pristine condition just for when visitors came round, so you could show them your best. I don't understand that, where I live, what I ride is what it is.
I'm all for people having more than one bike, different bikes for different jobs, moods, styles of riding, all good. A bike to show off on, to be pristine, to come out a couple of times a year I don't understand. But I like things to be lived in, used, experienced, I'd rather have the scratches and the history than repainted perfection.
My bikes are dirty and well used and I love them that way, I may clean them come the summer so they shine and gleam a little bit, but I'm not going to get all OCD if they get a bit grimey, as long as there's no corrosion/rust etc, a little dirt won't hurt.
And on the whole beater/hack subject, if you can't just throw it down outside a place and leave it there until you return, if it'll hurt you to lose that bike, then its neither a beater or a hack, so don't call it that, call it an everyday. The great thing about having more than one bike is that, god forbid it happens, if one does go walkies you've always got another to get about on.