Honestly I was hooked from the sound go.
I was 8yrs old on my Uncle's 1984 honda shadow V 700
Taken at a KOA camp ground in Monroe, MI
I remembered holding on for dear life, the roaring sound of the motor, the vibration, the wind. Thinking WOW, we must be going a million miles an hour!!!
It wasn't till later after I was 18 that I was able to look at my own. Then much like the other people here... the F4i was my dream bike. But I got my used 97 EX500. Same uncle went and looked at it and test rode it for me. Then showed me how to ride it in a parking lot.