Johnny,
I've been thinking about this for a few days.
Have you possibly considered owning a classic bike.
If you search out and inspect a good half dozen or so examples of old Triumphs, Nortons, BSAs, Moto Guzzis, BMW Boxers, Sportsters, Honda CB750s, Kawasaki Z1s, Ducati bevel-drive models, Yamaha XS650s,...well the list is probably almost endless....you should be able to find a good reliable example for well under 10 grand.
Besides having a bike that you'll seldom see out there on the road, if you find one that someone else has already put the bucks into, it should be reasonably reliable and you'll never lose money and depending on the bike, it should actually rise in value the longer you own it.
There's nothing like walking out to the garage and appreciating the look, sound and feel of the history of our sport, first hand. And the older bikes are far less complicated to work on too. You can learn a lot by owning one.
Cheers,
Dwight
