I didn't have a twenty year lay-off - longest period was seven years in the nineties, although even then I was doing a fair bit of riding, I've had a couple of lengthy gaps away from bikes and they have given me very clear demonstrations of how bikes have improved over the intervening years. I've never stopped riding bikes completely, though, and I've been able to adapt without too much trouble. If I'd had twenty years off, like some blokes I know, I probably be struggling to cope with whatever weapon I'd bought too.
There's smart ways for the born-agains to do it though. Some of the blokes I used to ride with in the eighties have hit on the idea of buying the same bike they last had, so they're all on these highly maintained eighties superbikes - Katanas, early Gixxer 750s, GPz900s, even a MHR Ducati - and all the technology of the last twenty years doesn't worry them at all!

If i go for a ride with them, they make me ride at the back (presumably to catch the bolts and spare parts that fall off). But they're on to something I reckon - you don't need to buy the latest and greatest. These blokes have made a virtue out of riding their old dungers (they keep threatening to tie pink ribbons to the 'bars of my 6 to show that it's a 'plastic Barbie bike' - carn'ts) and they're having just as much fun as I am - if not more! Still riding pretty hard, too!

When you have them by the balls, hearts and minds will follow...