There is a serious point here when you look at the young vs. old attitudes. This isn't necessarily due to some being around in the 70s and "living" them compared those too young, it's a generation thing. As you look at each decade forward let's say from the 2nd world war, there is a set of values that is instilled in the generation growing up in that decade. This is formed by world events, local events, parents values and loads of other things. It's perfectly reasonable that the older crew here "generally" don't like to carve up good stockers to make a cafe racer, they formed their values in times of recovery after a war and their parents values of making ends meet and respect for property are instilled in them. Later generations don't have this major influence on their formative years so are less "respectful" in the eyes of the older generation. There are even global influences on generations called "memes" which may influence generations as a collective on top of this.
Also, from a psychology point of view, each individual person records life in their individual way, no two recollections of an event are the same because you change your memory of the event based on your values, beliefs, mental filters and a million and one other factors. Two people can look at the same bike and their recollections of it be totally opposed. There is a term used to summarise this - "the map is not the territory", meaning two people can look at the same place but draw up two different maps. In their world the map is correct and their view of the territory is just that, their view.
So what am I getting at here, well there are good reasons why the older guys should have different views to the younger guys and that's OK. There are also good reasons why one person can look at a cafe racer chopped up from a K0 and see beauty - that's his map, whereas someone else sees desecration of a rare and classic stock motorcycle and that's their map in their world. Both views are OK BECAUSE it's in the context of the individual's personal world. Neither is right, neither is wrong on the grand scale, both are true to their own values and beliefs and the maps of their world.
We're always going to differ on our views of bikes because of this. Personally I class myself as a youngster still (don't laugh!) and I seriously dislike most chopped bikes, most bobbed bikes and a lot of the cafe racers but I have to say that's a view that I have developed. Fifteen years ago, I would go to sleep on the grass bank at the TT when the classic parade was on. I slept through Honda sixes, Guzzi V8s and other exotica. Now, I make a beeline for them, appreciating the beauty and skill of the engineering that went into them. I also appreciate that for example if you look at my own CR750, I love it to pieces and think it's a thing of drop dead beauty but I respect that others absolutely detest the paint job and that's OK - it's their world not mine.
We're all differnet, we will always be all different, what is sometimes missing in these posts is understanding and respect for the other person's map of the world. It's not wrong, it's just different to yours. For those that are on the sharp end of posts telling them their bike is a POS, that's OK too - it's the poster's map of the world that it doesn't fit in not yours and it's OK for him to feel those things becasue they're his issues, not yours, however badly they are expressed.
So, there's my $0.02, vive la difference I say, now let's see some more race bikes and fewer POS cafe chobobbers
