[Mercutio57]

Yeah, it's definitely a yard sale item.

Besides, I find that there's something so basic and essential about riding a small-displacement thumper in the wind, with, of course, an open-face helmet. Yes, there are the bugs and all of that, but this strikes me-- no pun intended!-- as a part of it all. Out there I feel as though I'm one with generations of bug-eating thumper jockeys before me, experiencing what they once did on their little Trumpets and Beezers.

Call me a romantic poet of sorts, but there it is.

To me a huge part of the GZ's charm is that it is, at least in this country with its insatiable drive for "bigger and better," the last of its breed. I know, I should be on a Royal Enfield Bullet, kick-starter and all. Or the "new" Bonneville T100. And, budget permitting, perhaps someday I will. Unless of course Kawasaki should bring that beautiful retro 650 twin back to the USA, or Yamaha do the same with their SR400. Neither possibility, however, seems very likely, given what the market demands here: 200 MPH crotch rockets and 1200+ cc cruisers sell; anything else is a losing proposition

Naturally there are times when I like to be out of the wind and weather, listening to music with a cup of coffee at my elbow, but that, I think, is what my cage is for!