Is it a "cause I'm getting old" thing or what?

[Max Headroom]

But I wouldn't call a 1976 model 'old' .

You have no idea how mortified I was to see bikes like mine featuring in classic bike magazines over ten years ago.

Bikes seem to "age" faster than cars. No facts to prove it, but I suspect the attrition rate for bikes is much higher due to total loss accidents. Then there's over-enthusiastic owners who dismantle bikes with good intentions of rebuilding but never progressing beyond the pile of bits.

I've bought many parts from both sources over the years......

[Big Dave]

I have a mate that couldn't put his Panhead back together because if he did the Patches would come and take it.
Dark ol' world that one.

[Taz]

I like old bikes. I have two bikes from last century, a 97 and a 99.

[slowpoke]

Hmmm, it's a tough (unfair) comparison really.
There are some good points to owning older bikes: low depreciation and even possible appreciation, low insurance premiums, no performance pressure when out riding etc but the obviously outdated performance can ruin the experience if you expect too much.
For me it's about class and aesthetics. The first CB750's do nothing for me but a Z900 just looks so much better. The first GSX1100 looks a bit bloated nowadays but the slower CB900 has aged better aesthetically. A wire wheeled Katana is still stunning.
As always standard is a last resort in my household so a Cooley rep GS1000 or Spencer rep VF750 would be my ideal project (to paraphrase John Rowles: if I only had time.....)
The wogs seem to have always had a way with the design pen that appeals to me, unlike the Poms with there fetish for parallel twins which just leave me cold
Maybe it's to do with the era you grew up in but I can name bikes from just about any era that are appealing, although I've gotta say that most of 'em aren't worth pissing on if they catch fire: just 'cos it's old doesn't make it "cool" (for want of a better word).
I dunno, some bikes have just got "it". Just like the ol' mustang in the shed which handles poorly, steers atrociously, stops better than I thought, drinks more than George Best in his prime and has virtually no creature comforts, for some indefineable reason I find myself with a stupid grin on my face every time I open the shed door..........and so it is for some bikes.

[Bonez]

Tis nice to park the ol girls up after a ride and somebody comes up and mentions their son/brother/sister/father/daughter/cousin/mum/dad owned sommit similer back in the day.

[alanzs]

I went looking for a newer bike a while ago. Nothing really caught my fancy. I guess my lusting for "things" has changed a bit over the years.