If I used a 10 amp Royal, the cops would be kicking down my door for peace disturbance. I love Royals and Kirby's both. But dang those Royals are loud! But the brush stiffeners on the Royals are awesome! I would put them on even par for cleaning ability.
Now...about these broken fans 'n such...just what the hell are people vacuuming up? I can understand the aging and cracking issue regarding plastic, fair point there. But if you're going to be vacuuming up coins, bolts, shards of brick, bullets, buckshot, get an industrial vac. Or pick up the big chunks beforehand. What are they expecting these things to do? They're vacuum cleaners, not bulldozers.
The only fan I've ever broke on a Kirby was metal. But I think the vac had been a bit abused before I acquired it, as I hadn't picked up anything heavy. It shattered to bits of metal. I figure it had been pretty well compromised beforehand.