Not recognising the fact that the overhaul to get them anywhere near service would be incredibly expensive.
I think we really do have to get away from the idea that any sort of 'budget' offering is in any way possible short of running an 803 with seats through the night.
Deutsche Bahn did that, but I doubt they're very popular, and they could actually be less economic as fewer people would travel. On the other hand, there is an 0428 Glasgow to Euston (arr 0916) and an 0539 Edinburgh to Kings Cross (arr 0940). You could pull the latter half an hour earlier, but the former would be fine for a 1000 workshop/meeting start more or less anywhere in central London, which despite all this talk of 0900 meetings they aren't that common. Sure, they're not nice times, but most people would sleep better in their own bed for 4-5 hours than on a train for 7 hours. Yet the Sleeper books up.
Is that condescension? One happens to be a seasoned bicyclist.
No, I'm pointing out that few people would be willing to get to Aberdeen in the Sleeper and then get on a mountain bike and ride it 20-30 miles along a road to some trails. Riding a knobbly-tyred full-suspension MTB on road is a heck of an effort.
How much time have you spent here in the shire, how aware are you of the growing cycle tourism here?
Not a lot of time, admittedly. Only in the city, of which I'm not a great fan.
This whole avenue of adventure tourism is an important revenue stream for the sleeper going forwards.
It certainly is, but Fort William and Aviemore are probably your key destinations for that, and the trails start pretty much on the edge of town there, unlike Aberdeen.