[Normy]

I recommend:

1. At least a Snell 90 helmet. And you are a GOD-DAMN FOOL if you ever leave the driveway without it.

2. A good life insurance policy, if you have a wife and/or kids.

-I sold my MINT condition UNRESTORED 1976 Honda CB-750-four, the one that I used to keep in my living room in Orlando...last year on eBay. Why? Simple:

In my opinion, the worst thing to ever happen to the hobby of riding motorcycles was the invention of the cellphone.

I have had SO MANY CLOSE CALLS in Fort Lauderdale in my 928 due to people trying to drive their car while on the phone that I finally felt uncomfortable while on my bike. I was always way safer of a driver on the bike than I was in the rumbling Stuttgart V8 coupe....but finally January last year this dingbat woman cut me off and that was pretty much it. I barely stopped in time, but the fact that she was on the phone when I pulled up into the turn lane at the next light [not because I wanted to turn- I wanted to give her hell!] pretty much made it come home to me.

TWO-wheeled vehicles are NOT a good idea. Motorcycle, scooter, bicycle....you are simply playing with your own life. Listen: Americans put about as much energy into driving as they do when they put something in their microwave oven. Americans regard their car as an appliance; basically, the typical US resident believes that they should insert the key into the ignition and then wait until the car stops at the grocery store.

"God-dammit! That guy on the scooter fell in front of my car! I can't believe this could happen. Sh*! This sort of thing alway happens when I'm in the middle of an important call with my neighbor, talking about that B*TCH up the block from us! Dammit, now I have to hang up on her and call 911. *****! I hope he didn't get any blood or brains on the car, my husband will kill me if I get the car dirty...!" said the dingbat.

You get the idea. Americans regard the road as the province of the car, and anything that isn't a car is subject to being run over. I know this not only from my days as the FORMER owner of a motorcycle, but from my daily 6 mile run on the back streets of Fort Lauderdale. I have to dodge cars all the time, and on occasion I get people who will ACTIVELY TRY TO RUN ME OVER.

Yes, I've had vehicles come toward me while I was running on the road, against traffic, and had people purposely aim their car at me. Last year, I called the Wilton Manors police on a company called Gulf Plating, when one of their drivers, on a two-lane road with NO sidewalk...refused to give me any room at all. I jumped off the road into a yard when the Isuzu box truck, travelling 35 mph...was about 40 feet away and obviously not going to turn into the other lane. The driver was a black man about 50 years old and he was looking right at me! When the police arrived at Gulf Plating, they initially tried to deny anything, but since I had a license plate number, they were against a wall. They eventually fired the ******* who tried to run me over.

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I hope you are getting the idea. Buying a scooter, or any two-wheeled vehicle right now? You are literally taking your life in your hands. This is NOT a safe country for scooters, bikes or pedestrians. I applaud your notion to save fuel, but a scooter isn't the answer. Try riding the bus.

B safe!

N!