Mike, I never figure cars or bikes as anything like an investment, but your point is well taken. I only wanted an air-cooled bike with modern suspension and good brakes. I hope to run the bike, scratch it, bash the bash plate, and wear down the tires while having fun. From the sound of it, the '91 KYB isnt really that bad of a design, with adjustable compression and rebound, so we are currently waiting to hear back from KYB to see if we can get a new shaft. I sure hope so!
...and yes I am pimping out this old scooter! I wont deny it. It'll certainly be easy to find it in the crowd, being that there aren't that many around. Perhaps, if 2009 turns out to be lots of fun, perhaps for 2010 I'll even trick out the motor to make it more trail friendly with some porting, head contouring, crankcase volume reduction, and autoclutch retrofits.