Well, Herb, if you're mad to have green paint (figuratively speaking) then why not a mid-late 80's GPZ 900/1000 ?? Lotsa power, decent handling, squid bike styling BUT not as radical a riding position as modern squid bikes AND a pretty much bulletproof motor.
For something with the Big Red S on the tank, why not an early '80's big block 16 valve Katana ??....either the 1000 or the 1100.....again, bulletproof motor with bags of power, seriously funky styling by Hans Muth but a somewhat more radical riding position than the GPZ's.
Either one of these would give you that "early sportbike" experience for relatively little dough and wouldn't eat you out of house and home with repair bills either.
For a little less intense experience, a favourite wet dream of mine has always been the extremely rare '83 GS1100ES with the monoshock rear end, factory half fairing and the very dependable big block 16 valver. If I could have found one of those I maybe wouldn't have had to buy my Bandit......but a new bike DOES have its advantages, for sure.....
As usual, JMO.....