Today, with 630 hp ZR-1 Corvettes on the prowl and 400 hp Mustang GTs almost as common as desperate-looking (and performing) in-line-six Nova IIs were back in ’76, the old Kaw’s performance is no longer as startlingly domineering as it once was.

But it can still take most comers on four wheels – and its speed is still enough, even after almost 40 years, to beat probably 60-70 percent of the New Stuff on two wheels.

It also feels modern, despite its age – which shows you just how advanced it was when it was new. The big four is smooth and reliable in addition to being powerful. Ask anyone who knows Japanese bikes of this era and they’ll tell you stories of engineering overkill. About bottom ends designed to take Abu Ghraib levels of abuse and smile and ask for more. Or ask a cop . There are legions of cool-looking, even downright gorgeous old bikes that I love to ogle at places like the Barber Motorsports musem (a place every true biker must visit at least once, just as every true Elvis fan is duty-bound to make the pilgrimage to Graceland). Most of these I would I never take farther than around the block. Some are unreliable. Others impossible to find parts for.