It's hard not to look back, but I work at it. When i sell a motorcycle, I rarely ever think about owning it again. There have been three, maybe four, exceptions to that rule: my '92 850 TDM, my '86 XT350, my '86 TY350, and my '83 XTZ550 Vision. Yeah, I know; all Yamahas. If I could find an XT350 for the right price, I'd buy it. The same goes for the TY.
A friend owns a TDM and I ride it occasionally. That usually satisfies that jones. I am not a collector personality.
I taught a BRC II this weekend and one of the students brought his '83 Vision. It wasn't in great shape, but only had about 18,000 miles on the odometer. I flashed back to my old Vision (see photo) and discovered that I missed the bike. I missed the drive shaft, the comfortable seat (mine had a custom Corbin), the narrow profile, exceptional touring handling, the full coverage fairing, the freaking fairing heater, and the retro-modern spacey look.
I took that picture in front of my house in Colorado, while I waited for a guy from California to pick up the bike to take it back to California. The only thing I don't miss is the 48mpg that I consistently got from the Vision. Not good enough then or today.
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