do the young ones like older sport bikes

[10secafair]

i have people stop all the time to look at my bike and most of the time it is the younger ones that want to talk my head of. It might help that i have a 6inch extended swing arm with a 190 on the back and 4to1 header. but i allso have a HD so i respect every biker out there even if you on a moped

 

[not a biker]

i'm one of the "younger generation" in my 20's and i love vintage bikes! I have an '82 gs650g and i think it's great. I enjoy the thrill of a twisty road and the lack of much/any body fairing and the fact that there is always some sort of tune-up needed i'm very picky about my moto preference and (most) of the crotch rockets just don't do it for me, so before you label all of us youngins "ignorant asses" just know that we true appreciators are here, although admittedly few and far between.

so watching some guy crash a perfectly good sport bike stunting on tv is not your idea of a good time ?:d

 

[pkbjamn]

I initially chuckle until I realize how pathetic it is. No Brain - No Pain.

 

[mighty13d]

so watching some guy crash a perfectly good sport bike stunting on tv is not your idea of a good time ?:d

I love watching the boneheads who do all those crazy stunts crash. I think some of the stunts are cool the first or second time I see them, but I don't want to do them and a surely don't care to see them a third or fourth time! I haven't even pulled a burnout with my bike. I probably should this spring, if I'm going to, before the new shoes go on though!

 

[MelodicMetalGod]

I'm one of the "younger generation" in my 20's and I love vintage bikes! I have an '82 GS650G and I think it's great. I enjoy the thrill of a twisty road and the lack of much/any body fairing and the fact that there is always some sort of tune-up needed I'm very picky about my moto preference and (most) of the crotch rockets just don't do it for me, so before you label all of us youngins "ignorant asses" just know that we true appreciators are here, although admittedly few and far between.[/quote]

That's true in EVERY age range. Always has been, probably always will be.

 

[nisom512]

I was 18 when I got my first bike and now I have 3, all vintage and great fun.....im sure they will be once they are running. (im 20 now)

Ya know I get when you oldies(sorry) were growing up your parents said the same thing about your cars and what ever things your were doin. listinen to rock-in-roll music.....maybe not that old......but you get my point(hopfully)

any ways in stead of being mad do what a lot of guys have done show them up in the twisties and just watch out for thos guys flyin down the road doin 120+ I personally Love working on these old bikes. I just like everything about them. they look great and stand out most deffinatly.
​

 

[Unbridled Rage]

Oddly, I'm going the other direction...

1990 (19 years old) bought a 1979 Yamaha 650 Special (XS?) vertical twin. Crashed.

1995 bought a 1980Honda CM400. Crashed.

2000 bought a 1983 GS450. Crashed, but still have it. Being fixed now, actually.

2005 bought new Kawasaki ZRX1200. Not crashed. Still a UJM, though.

Currently looking at a ZZR600, a GSXR750, or a Triumph Daytona 675 to turn and burn with. Around here, a literbike is pointless... no place to stretch the legs.

Seems like the older I get (39 next month), the faster I want to go, albeit safely. Kinda weird, but if you think about it, modern sportbikes allow a certain kind a safety to high speed cornering, given modern tires and suspension. I consider sticky tires a safety feature. Like to do some trackdays with my next bike.

 

[areid2009]

Well

Well

My first bike came last year when i was twenty one and it was a 78 KZ 650 and i am purchasing this saturday a 82 GS 1100 G model and i love all the older bikes crotch rockets got there safety but they got no soul. when i hit the throttle on an older street bike the hairs stand up on the back of my neck but when i rode a rocket it just felt tame i dont know who agrees but raw power for me with a side of large sprokets
Aaron Reid

Young but not Dumb

 

[Guest]

My first bike came last year when i was twenty one and it was a 78 KZ 650 and i am purchasing this saturday a 82 GS 1100 G model and i love all the older bikes crotch rockets got there safety but they got no soul. when i hit the throttle on an older street bike the hairs stand up on the back of my neck but when i rode a rocket it just felt tame i dont know who agrees but raw power for me with a side of large sprokets
Aaron Reid

Young but not Dumb

Good luck for saturday.
Hope the bike is what you expect !
Post pics when you bring her home.
(Wished my dad rode a Guzzi too...)

 

[atb1998]

older bikes

older bikes

Around here most of the younger crowd dig on any clean older bike, be it Japanese, british or american.

 

[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

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

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.