Like all classic love stories, it was matter of coincidence. Or fate, depends on your point of view.
I was just going to see another bike for sale – one rather badly maintained Baby Ninja. While showing what the bike can do, the owner drove down on the street with me on the back.
Maybe 100 meters down the street I’ve noticed that there is another bike parked in a driveway, with “For Sale” sign on it. At that time I didn’t notice what the bike was or how much the price was.
After I was done looking at the Ninjette, I drove down the street and stopped next to the “other bike”.

My very first impressions:
It was obviously an old model, with “muscular” body, looking in great shape and very clean. After talking to the seller (some old lady) I was informed that it is a Kawasaki 750 cc made in 1986.
I guess the age of the bike should have scared me away, but at that time the magic of the bike was starting to have an effect on me.
Or may be it was the price - $2500. For me this was in the “affordable” category, and while not-so-cheap for almost 20 years old bike, the thing was that bike didn’t look like its age!
OK, I was never a big fan of the ultra chopper-eque 80’s with the looong forks and the looong passenger backrests. This bike certainly have bigger backrest that any bike currently in production, but a) I actually wanted something like this for the time my wife is going to be riding with me, and b) the rest of the machinery is very modern – the very fashionable now V-twin, liquid cooling, shaft drive, front disk brakes (even dual), etc., etc.
As one of the reviews mentioned, this bike was made in times when they didn’t skip on the features – side and center stands, full instrumental cluster, including fuel gauge (what was the last bike with fuel gauge you have seen?), dual front disk brakes, and so on.
All this in middleweight, affordable package.

What I liked very much:
1. Seemed like in a very good condition.
2. Shaft drive. I didn’t see myself taking care of an chain after each ride.
3. Powerful – 750cc, yet compact and relatively lightweight.
4. Didn’t seem to have any weak points (short of pair of very old tires) or undesirable features
5. Did I mention – good, clean condition – looked like a new bike in a dealership.

I looked at the bike closely - there were no scretches of any kind, not sign of wear or tear anywhere on the bike.
The seller told be that it belong to a relative who had died and that was the reason for selling it. It was his "second" bike (HD as a first one) and it was stored indoors for most of the time.
I've sat on the bike and tilted it left and right - it was abviously not 250, but it felt lighter that I expected. I've tried the ignition and I was awarded with a throaty sound.

At that time I was pretty much ready to go for it, but I've decided to be "wise" and check for some reviews online.
Long story short, they all came mostly positive and after getting an "OK" from my wife and breaking a couple "for newbies" rules (don't buy bike over 10 years old, don't buy before you get it inspected by a mechanic, and so on) I've got it.

Second impressions or "my first 100 kilometers on motorcycle": OK, so as a good "newbie" I did my 3 or 4 trips to the nearest large parking lot even before I've got my m/c license.
I also did my first 100 motorcycle kilometers after I've got it. Here are my "second" impressions:
 1. After closer inspection I've found some small rusty spots here and there. Nothing reallt major, it's 20 years old machine after all.
 2. The tires needed some more air (for a while I was riding at 10 psi!)
 3. I've looked at the bolt heads under the footrests. No even a single scratch! Either they were changed, or no one did any hard cornering on this bike.
 4. When riding over bad section of the roads, the tach shakes some, I guess it got lose during the years. Can't figure out how to tighten the bolt.
 5. I've adjusted the idle speed. When I got it the bike was idling at about 2K which is rather high (almost twice as high as the factory idle speed - ~1100). Before that, moving from a stop was a non issue - a lot of power at 2K, just drop the clutch and go. After lowering the idle, it takes the standard gas+clutch procedure to get under way.
 6. I've opened the air filter covers to check the air filters - no sign of any dust on the filters! I guess she really wasn't ridden much, or someone did hell of a good job keeping it well maintained. In either case - good for me!