I find that attitude with a lot of Harley riders, a lot of the college aged kids on supersport litre bikes. There's definitely a lot of people who ride just for the image, and they tend to be the ones who pansy out anytime it's cold, or hot, or a longer ride. And they also tend to be the ones who don't ride with a helmet. Or the classic shorts and flip-flops guys.
I think the old standards and japanese cruisers just don't quite appeal to the same crowd. If you're trying to show off to all your buddies, a Harley has chrome, and an R1 goes faster than they (or most of the guys riding them) can handle, so it's cool.
I like the old standards because you can use them for anything, and they're durable. Look good too, but in more of a minimalist, practical minded sense. They aren't flashy. So I think you see a lot of the smarter guys who just love riding on them, and riding them with helmets and protective gear.
And if you love riding, you can handle wearing an extra hoodie to go riding in the cold. My college roomate rode his KLR rain, shine, or snow. On snowy days, he stayed off main roads (or sometimes off roads alltogether, it was AZ so there were alternate routes), and he was always fine. Just got to plan for conditions and stay safe. I don't know if the KZ is quite as good a ride for snow as that KLR was, but a little cold wouldn't stop me. As long as I think I can safely ride, and dodge drivers, I'm good.
1983 KZ750-N2 Spectre
