Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Steve St.Laurent
Staff Alumni
One of the things I did to pass the time and try to keep my mind off the pain while I was down waiting for the surgery I had today was shop for a new bike. I quit riding in '89 because of a bad road racing accident. I periodically picked up bike mags and fought off the urge to ride for nearly 10 years. In late 98 I came across an ad from Kawasaki for the ZRX1100. For those of you into bikes you'd remember the '81 & '82 KZ1000 ELR (Eddie Lawson Replica) - I've always wanted one. Eddie Lawson was my idol when I was a kid and man did I love that lime green bike! Well, the Kawasaki ad for the new ZRX1100 was written for me - it was something along the lines of "You know you've always wanted one, dreamt of it . . . . Now's your chance". They said it was going to be a limited edition bike (turned out to be limited to however many they could sell 
).
Knowing I couln't afford the $7k buy in at the time I went to the dealer to find out how many they were making to see if I'd have the chance to buy one used down the road. Saw an '86 Nighthawk 700s sitting there for $1600 and decided I could have a lot of fun on it for now. So I bought the Nighthawk and have been dreaming about the ZRX all this time. Fast forward to now and the early ZRX's are pretty affordable now. So I started shopping on the net during my down time. Bid on a few of em on ebay, etc. The good news is I found my bike!!!!! I'm picking it up with Rob Thomas's help (can't drive cause of my shoulder surgery) next saturday! It's a 2000 in close to perfect condition (a couple of scrapes on one of the engine covers and one the fairing - I'll repair or replace em) with just over 6,000 miles on the clock. Going to change a couple things right away - change the seat to a Corbin gunfighter & lady (with a removable backrest for my wife) and get rid of the tank bra.
I'm high on life (oh, and the pain killers
) right now - can't wait to have my dream bike parked in the garage! Here's a picture of my new baby:
#ad
). Knowing I couln't afford the $7k buy in at the time I went to the dealer to find out how many they were making to see if I'd have the chance to buy one used down the road. Saw an '86 Nighthawk 700s sitting there for $1600 and decided I could have a lot of fun on it for now. So I bought the Nighthawk and have been dreaming about the ZRX all this time. Fast forward to now and the early ZRX's are pretty affordable now. So I started shopping on the net during my down time. Bid on a few of em on ebay, etc. The good news is I found my bike!!!!! I'm picking it up with Rob Thomas's help (can't drive cause of my shoulder surgery) next saturday! It's a 2000 in close to perfect condition (a couple of scrapes on one of the engine covers and one the fairing - I'll repair or replace em) with just over 6,000 miles on the clock. Going to change a couple things right away - change the seat to a Corbin gunfighter & lady (with a removable backrest for my wife) and get rid of the tank bra.
I'm high on life (oh, and the pain killers
) right now - can't wait to have my dream bike parked in the garage! Here's a picture of my new baby:
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Congrats Steve, it's always nice when dreams come true.
. I was riding 4 weeks after my last shoulder surgery and hope to have the same kind of recovery this time around but I can wait - I've waited almost 5 years to get it, a few more weeks won't kill me.
I have lost two friends to motorcycles. I still ride but MY speed is a '67 Triumph 200cc Tiger Cub. 
