Even though this bike was purchased in November, I couldn't get the seller to come down on the price.  But I still thought I got great deal.  Two seasons old and less than 3,000 miles for $3,895.  The unique feature of this bike was the electric windshield.  I figured it to eventually have some kind of problem, but it never did.  It never actually worked that well, though.  The upper position caused wind buffeting.  But it was cool to run it up and down at stoplights to show off.

  This bike was billed as a sport-tourer and had low-ish bars (but not as low as the Hurricane) and somewhat rear-set pegs.   At this time, the popular open-class bikes were a bit too radical for my tastes.  I didn't want to be bent over the bars and scrunched onto the tank.  And Gold Wings or Honda ST1100's went too much the other way, too big, too boring and too sedate.  Limited in performance and sportiness.

  I sold it through an internet ad (cost me $10) to a guy from West Virginia.  We negotiated the entire deal through email and a few phone calls.  He picked the bike up on a frigid night in late Dec. 1997.  I had pulled the battery out for the winter so once I was sure he was coming to get it, I had to charge the battery and put it in, so it was ready when he showed up.  I showed him the bike in the driveway by shining a 60 watt bulb on it and even rode it up and down the street in below freezing weather so he could see it run.  I had warmed it up so it was easy to start when he was there.  He loaded it onto a small-bed pickup, using just two tie-downs and drove home in a snowstorm.  I got $2,800 for it.

  I had used the bike for 8 years for a depreciation of $1,100.  The ZX11 was already sitting in the garage waiting for spring so I was able to let this great bike go without hesitation or regrets.