#zrx1200

I should probably have broken this down into “Riders Over 50 with a History of Failed Relationships and Bad Decisions Without a Pot to Piss In,” and “Riders Over 50 With Healthy Portfolios and Dazzling Smiles”… but I didn’t. Because motorcycles are still relatively inexpensive, and because all us old guys seem to be drawn to the same ones whatever they cost. Besides, even wealthy motorcycle people mostly seem to be inherently cheap; otherwise they’d be car people, no? Consider this my personal cross-section of the bikes people like me covet most, and/or actually would (theoretically in my case) own.

Admittedly, when I saw the title to this story, originally penned by relatively recent MO re-hire, John Burns, while digging through the archives, I was confused. The modus operandi has usually been to list the make, model and year of the bike. Intrigued, I clicked on “ Kawasaki Slips Into Something More Comfortable…” only to find ol Johnny Boy wonderfully rambling on about giving up his trusty ZRX1200 for a then-new Z1000. The year was 2003. I hadn’t yet made my way into the moto-journo biz yet, but I remember seeing the Z1000 for the first time in my local dealer and being awed by just how different it was to anything else. The 2014 Z1000 is equally as polarizing, so now, 11 years later, let’s take a look back at what Burns thought of that original Zed1k. Also, don’t forget to check out the original story’s full image gallery for more pictures.