Does a 1994 sports bike look really old to you?

[gareth_r]

I originally started this post with "When I was 16", but then I thought about the current motorcycling demographic and decided to change it to...

When I was 21, this was the cutting edge high-performance bike




and this was an equivalent from 20 years earlier

.

Much as I like(d) old British bikes, the Triumph looked prehistoric.



Forty years later, this is a cutting edge high-performance bike from 20 years ago (which looks up-to-date to me )




I was watching Cafe Racers yesterday, and it started me wondering...

In 2014, does a 1994 Fireblade look as ancient to you young 'uns as the Tiger 110 looked to the 21 year old me?

[gareth_r]

Interesting...

In 1974, a 1954 bike really looked like something from a different era. I was actually being quite generous in picking 1954. A 1953 Triumph or BSA wouldn't even have swinging arm suspension. Engines, brakes, oil tightness, electrics, reliability (or the effort required to maintain reliability), quality standards, durability had all developed so much. The Japanese had really changed our expectations.

If I look back from today, there doesn't seem to be that huge difference between a 1994 bike and a 2014 bike, so I was just wondering how that 20-year difference looked from a rather younger perspective.