Want.

I recently was out and about on my little CL350 with a bunch of friends, when one of them had a mishap, and dropped her bike in a parking lot.  No biggie.  It happens to all of us.  However, the clutch lever was completely bent, and when I tried to bend it back so that she could ride home, it snapped right off.  So, I got my truck, hauled it to my garage, and fixed it with a new part.  Easy.  10 minutes.

Anyway, before I handed it back to her, I wanted to test ride it to make sure the clutch lever was just right.  Did I mention that it's a brand new Triumph Bonneville?

I have never ridden a bike newer than 1983.  Ever.  30 years makes a LOT of difference.  Fuel injection, ABS, and SO MUCH MORE POWER!  I've had a few CB750s in my day, and this was only 115ccs more, so you wouldn't think it would make a huge difference.  It does.  I'm in love.

As a matter of fact, after I wrote that last sentence, I grabbed my gear and took it out again on my favorite little test track behind the fairgrounds, a couple blocks away.  I didn't want to push it, since it's not my bike, so I only did 90.  (Don't tell Stevi.)  Probably should have brought a helmet.

(Edit:  I totally lied.  I forgot that I rode my old boss's 883 Sportster.  It was a '96, I think.  Hated it.  Gave me a fucking hemorrhoid.  Fucking shitty Harleys.)

(Double edit: Dude.  It has twin Keihin carbs?  I was so wrong.  How awesome is that?)

I digress.  The point of this whole thing is that modern bikes are SO UGLY.  Triumph (and possibly HD, but I hate them) is the only manufacturer that's figured out that they can modernize their classic models, and people will flock to them like crazy!  Hello, Honda?  How can you not recognize that?

AND, these original, 1970's flat-seat standards are CRAZY popular right now.  I have so many theories about it, including urbanization and reverse white flight, but the point is that for someone like me, who LOVES the vintage style, but is a little tired of having to spend a weekend a month tuning up their bikes.

AND, AND, why isn't there a decent budget option?  $8500 is the STARTING price for a new bike.  That's ridiculous.  A brand new Bonneville in 1967 would be the equivalent of about $4000 today.  I get that it's a lot more bike, so I'd say $6500 would be fair.  But just shy of a tenner?  Damn.  A kid is supposed to be able to save his summer job money and buy one.  Boo.

Genuine Scooters had the answer 10 years ago.  Buy the old molds from a company like Vespa, make a few updates and start re-manufacturing them.  People bought them like wildfire.  Again, hello, Honda?  Manufacture CB-350s, CB750s, 550-4s.  WE FUCKING WANT THEM!  BLAH!