do the young ones like older sport bikes

[ShotgunOhio]

Im 42 and I love ALL motorcycles. I have loved bikes since I was a young'n. Watching "then came bronson" reruns and watching evel kneivel do his thing really put the love of motorcycles in me. Growing up my dad always had Harleys and Indians but also had Jap bikes too. It's not what kind of bike you have, it's that you have a bike (and ride it). I tend to like the older bikes at this point.

[tatumjr]

I am 24 and my first bike was a 2005 Buell XB12S. I had that bike for two years until one fateful day in some twisties in W. Virginia. I hit a patch of gravel and thats all she wrote. Either way, in my group of friends one rides a CBR1000RR, one rides a Goldwing 1800, and one a Buell XB9X, and I finally just got back in the game with my new(to me) GS650GL. All my friends are more impatient than me for the new coils to come in so they can ride it!! Even while I'm working, people running-(one cute girl even...Shhh...Don't tell my fiance...) will stop by and ask all the details.

[kilog55]

we have a crew of old bike riders here in town old gs's, cb's etc im 30 and they are younger then me

[redneck83gs750e]

I am 25

I am 25 almost 26 and I wouldn't think about trading my 1983 Suzuki GS750E for anything I almost love it more than my wife.

[anthonygs1000]

I cant believe that elvis is shaking his hips like that

ant here putting in my two cents I am 18 I own 9 vintage GS suzukies all chain drive there is over 20 bikes in my garage I love old bikes, but my mind is open to all. I had a chance to ride a bone stock zx14 and let me tell you it was sweet it stops on a dime around the twisties like a champ and down the highway like something from buck rogers . I like evolution the 78 gs 1000 i think is the begining of time and it is pricless. If you get a chance you should open up your eyes and take a good look at some of the new stuff like the M109r that bike has so much torque and throtle responce that it feels like it will rip you off and it is real comfortable to ride for a long ride
so rember elvis's music when he started and think how you are acting

ant

[Colorado85gs550]

My first bike was a Suzuki.....1979 50! I was 3 years old and dad put training wheels on it for the first week I rode. He says I begged and begged until he finally took them off....If I can dig up the old picturs I'll post them. I rode mostly Suzuki and Honda dirtbikes until I was 15. In the State of Colorado then you could get your permit at 15 and 3 months. You held your permit for 90 days and at 15 and 6 months you could take the driver's test....I was driving my 1982 Honda Nighthawk 650 to school at 15 and 6 months before I could even get my car permit!! I rode that bike until the rear wheel locked up one day during my Senior year in high school. I then purchased my first bike that I had to pay for....it was a Kawasaki Z900 and it never felt right under me! I purchased my first GSXR600 while serving active duty in the Navy back in 1995 and rode it until I moved with the Navy from Hawaii back to Washington where I traded it in for a 99 ZX11.......sold it 6 months later!

Now I've finally got a bike back after 9 years without one! Its my 85 GS550ESF!! I like these older bikes much better! Cheaper to work on, better built, and what can I say, this one ISN'T a Honda, Yamaha, or Kawasaki.........and don't get me started on the USA built bikes Oh and by the way.....I'm 33

[schlyme]

well i started(don't hate) with a yamaha zuma 50cc scooter, only cause i'm cheap that was in 04 it was ok for going to work 5 miles away. the next bike was an 06 shadow spirit 750. the funny thing is when i was looking my gs was offered to me, but i thought it was the ugliest thing i ever saw so i'm riding the hell outta my honda and need to change the tires. i take it to the dealer and $270 later i decide to learn to work on my bike. i go to LA trade tech collage. so now i need a project bike. so i ask about the gs, well it was given away to someone else. a year goes by and i get a call asking if i'm still taking the classes thats how i got the gs1100e, and why i found this forum. it still need lil things done but i'm riding her.

i like all bike, but not all bikers. kinda like i like all classic car but not all owners
i would like an old intercepter 85 or so, on my list is also a buell 2004 or newer lightning or firebolt. if i where to get a HD it would have to be a nighttrain. but most of all i want to fix up my gs to make her look clean n pretty and have some performance mods. i hope to be able to have at lease 4 bike when i have room for them.

[Mattro]

Awesome thread! ...and a good one for me to make my first post on.

I just turned 28 a few days ago and my 1980 GS450S was love at first site for me. Clean, supine lines, but angular, aggressive, and oh-so Japanese 80's. My funds were limited, but I looked at all kinds of bikes from many different eras and styling trends in my price range and there was simply nothing like it.

The design is just so unique. I've never been a track bike or cruiser fan, per se (i do like motorcycles in general as some other posters have also said) and the classic sprinter/cafe racer look has had such a boom lately that I'm glad I could get really into a bike that set itself apart from that trend, as well.

This will be my second full summer on the bike and I have to say that I still like the looks of it as much as any other motorcycle I see on the road. So there's at least one young opinion for you.

As far as people out in the world asking about it, I don't think I could pin down a particular demographic. Most of my friends are into the "scooter goblin" thing and it's pretty funny when I see them out pack-riding their 30-50cc Puch's while I'm on a full size motorcycle I get nothing but love, though.

And how could you not love this:

[maro]

This will be my second full summer on the bike and I have to say that I still like the looks of it as much as any other motorcycle I see on the road.

and you are just now joining the forums.!!?? WELCOME! You are in for a treat here. Tis a nice looking bike too!

[GS550ES-Hank]

I actually do appreciate the generation of bikes around when I came into existence in '85, and own a bike eight months younger than I. Newer, plastic laden bikes don't do it for me anymore. The newer the bike, the less interested I am in them. These days, they come with steering dampers, ABS, fuel injection... there's no fun. No tuning. No learning. They might as well come with a set of training wheels on them so you can't lean over too far. I've learned more in the seven months I've owned my bike than a friend of mine with an 04 FZ600 which he bought new.

Then again, I am somewhat biased toward certain types of bikes as well. Standard-cruisers, full cruisers, "custom" bikes, just not a fan. I've always preferred upright or leaned forward riding, and mid 80's plastic styling, just not all over the bike.

And the seats. What's with today's seats? They used to be like couches, current generation CBR's come with cardboard covered in pleather.

To end the rambling, I prefer the older bikes, and I'm young enough.

[Colorado85gs550]

glad to see another 550 owner Hank.......what mods have you tried on your bike so far, any?

[GS550ES-Hank]

Mmm... got the right throttle cable, replaced the mild painted steel 4-1 when the collector blew out, and swapped the R/R with one from a '08 ZX-14. I'm unsure of the current jetting, but it runs well as is, even if it is choking. I'm planning on re-jetting it and getting some pods for it when I become employed again. Over the next week I'll be mounting up some replacement turn signals to get the ridiculous one footers off, and fixing some of the plastic.
I've got a mostly electrical background, so I'm sticking to mostly wiring and component fixes, but I'm crazy/brave enough to break it down into pieces and rebuild it if I need to. Mechanically, I can do what I need to, when I need to.

That's what I really love about it. I can do what I want with it, and I'm not afraid of forgetting something or scratching the plastic when I take it off.

Actually, mine looks just like yours in the signature right now, but with a chromed 4-1.

[Colorado85gs550]

4in1 is my next purchase......I'm getting ready to do the gsxr front end swap and katana rear wheel as well as a 99gsxr750 rear shock.....I have all the plastic waiting for the swap and then paint........

I was told today that we can't get the pods as our carbs are the oval style and they don't make the pods for our bikes! I'm wondering what mods we can do to make these things breathe a little more!

Good luck with your bike.......keep me posted on how it goes and I'll do the same.

Paul

[850 Combat]

My 20 year old nephew loves the FT500 Ascot I sold him. I offered him a clean '80 850G for less money. He doesn't want a sport bike, he wants a Triumph Thruxton. He likes my '83 1100E a lot.

I think we'll probably end up with Clubman bars and a humped seat on a UJM and call it a cafe racer. An early GS750 makes a perfect one. He's also interested in my Yamaha 650 Seca.

[GS550ES-Hank]

I think it all comes down to exposure. If you stick a ten year old in a different country, they'll eventually pick up the style, language, etc. Same with bikes. If they grow up with cruisers, they'll want a cruiser. If they grow up with UJM's, they'll want a UJM. My father had an '82 GS550M, so I stuck around the same era when it came time for me to get one. Of course, the posters of mid 80's 250 and 500 GP racers, sidecars, and the Seca 650 model breakdown and spec sheet I was constantly looking at whenever I was in the garage probably helped too.