Craig maybe 20 lbs heavier (still a decent and good looking bike today).... to be thought of as baby fat when considering today's all grown up models. LOL
I remember my first street legal motorcycle. A Honda Hawk 400. A good little bike in its day. I think it had all of 27 HP with a top speed of 105 (hell it could almost be a Hardly Dangerous hunter today, if you were a skinny 16 year old and weighted in at 1/3 the weight of a hog humper and factor in lbs / hp). I had a photo of the GPZ550 on my wall for the longest time. Its stubby small head light bullet fairing seemed so leading edge and racy. That was a bike that I wanted to own more than anything.
I used to look up to the guys riding the infamous KZ900 (enjoyed, bored out to 1000cc enjoyed, and over bored to 1100 and enjoyed again). It was the bad boy on the block. I remember buying a 1981 KX750 (it was the fastest 750 that year..... 2 months after I bought it they brought out the GPZ750 and it was just a hair faster (both sitting in a parking lot and on the 1/4 track). I had it painted Kawasaki Green, put super bike bars on it, took off the heavy stock exhaust and center stand, add 4 into 1 header. Replaced the rear sprocket - added 2 teeth, installed an aftermarket clutch (so stiff that it two 2 weeks to build my hand muscles up to actual use it for more than a 1 hour ride). Slapped on some Pirelli Phanton tires..... it wasn't the GPZ750 but it was mine.
One day I pick up a motorcycle magazine and I see her. The Kawasaki ZX100. I could not imagine a biker ever being able to look any better than that ZX11. I wanted that bike as bad as I had wanted the GPZ550 as a kid. The difference was I was in a position to slap down some money and buy it..... but my kids were very young and the timing was not right.
Years passed and one day my brother calls and asks "you still like the Ninja"? My friend is selling his. I bought some riding gear and a helmet, bought a ticket to Alberta, and flew out to get the new bike of my dreams. I rode it home and thoroughly enjoyed every minute on it. I remember the first time a cranked the throttle wide open. It felt like it was all I could do just to hand on. I never pictured myself selling it. I had some great rides on the bike.
One day one of my guys comes into my office and says he wants to buy it. I told him it was not for sale. It did plant a seed. After about the 6th prodding, I said yes. I was going to take a break from riding for a year. Watching someone pull out of your driveway on your bike can change that thought in an instant. Within a week I had the ZX1400.
I guess the point I am making is that we should enjoy the bike and the moment because it and they do pass. You can never go back. I will always have a soft spot for the GPZ550, but my heart belongs to the ZX14 (today)
Spyglass