I had just obtained my long-awaited unrestricted motorcycle license (large motorcycle).
I was dreaming of the day I could own a big bike soon.
Then, out of nowhere… a chance appeared.
I’m quietly tracing back my memories and writing this down. (^^♪
Unfortunately, it’s still not a GS1000S.
If I had ridden it first, maybe I would have thought this was fine too. That’s just how people are.
Going back in time…
I was working at a Yamaha motorcycle shop back then, so I had many opportunities to work on Yamaha bikes.
It was 1994, and the era of big naked bikes had arrived!
Each manufacturer was competing to announce new bikes. The top speeds were incredible too.
And Yamaha…
Yamaha proudly unveiled the XJR1200!
My first impression was: huge! Muscular! Air-cooled! The styling was incredibly appealing, and I really wanted one back then.
I’d see new ones at the shop, but the sheer size made me think, “Can you even ride something like this?”
Of course, I didn’t have the money to buy one.
While I was just thinking how nice the XJR1200 would be, by chance—or fate—
a customer who had just bought a new one at the shop crashed it right away, cracking the cylinder head, denting the tank, and scratching the entire right side. They decided to scrap it and buy a new one instead.
And so that damaged bike came to the shop.
There was only one thing on my mind.
I want it… If I can fix it up, I can afford this one.
Rather than repair and sell that trade-in XJR1200 on the shop floor, BDS Auction would handle it, so I asked them to let me have it, and I managed to get my first big bike.
Basically, I’ve always acquired bikes through fate.
Maybe that’s when I fell in love with air-cooled four-cylinders.
And because I rode the XJR1200, I was so surprised by the 1979 GS1000S in so many ways. For better or worse.
To be continued
