Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Booms, Busts, and Recoveries -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ilaine who wrote (69897)	7/7/2008 4:32:43 PM
From: Maurice Winn	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

Even regular people in little cars are quite lethal. The principle of riding a motorbike is to NOT wear bright "safety" clothing. Wear camouflage clothing so they can't see you. That reduces their ability to get you. Which means, treat everyone as though their plan is to knock you over and your job is to stop them doing it. There are some good safety things like inflating neck braces and body stiffeners. Not to mention elbow, knee etc protectors. There's a really good caged BMW, complete with seat belt/harness.http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/bmw/bmw-c-1-cityscooter-13940.html I've admired them here. They are not for Americans [see text] I don't bother with that stuff, partly because I haven't seen it around, but it's probably horrendously expensive for the infrequent usage of my motor scooter. If I was commuting, I think I'd be a starter for some good crash protection gear. I always wear gloves, shoes, helmet, sun glasses [plus clothes of course]. As I told our daughter, it's not IF you fall off, it's WHEN you fall off ... you have to be prepared. Hands and gravel are very annoying [we don't have much gravel these days but I have had my share in my skin from bicycle days]. It's surprising governments haven't banned two wheelers because the injury and death rate is very high compared with sitting watching politicians on TV, working to provide the politicians with OPM, eating pies and drinking Coca Cola. Actually, it's not, but the way they measure the statistics, it's higher. Another reason to ban them is they are a lot of fun and politicians and lots of people don't like OP having fun. Politicians like getting OPM, not OP having fun. Two wheelers are also annoying to people stuck in traffic jams [which is partly why they try to run you down]. In fact, it's the first sunny day today for a while, so I'd better take it for a spin. [Tempting fate]. If there's Global Warming, don't bother looking for it in NZ. It must be hiding somewhere else. Maybe when they measure global average temperatures, they forget to measure way down here and just measure in the smog of the northern hemisphere. If they measured average southern hemisphere temperatures, they'd find it not so warm. The northern must be about 10 degrees hotter, I guess. But land reflects sun more than does sea, so perhaps the northern hemisphere [with lots of land] is cooler, despite the smog. Google probably knows. Mqurice PS: Fuel economy doesn't seem very good [but that must be imperial gallons, not US]: <375 pounds dry. It will guzzle about a gallon of gas every 80 miles or so, and BMW promises it to be cheap in terms of retail price, tax, insurance and service. Also, because of its 125cc displacement and 15 bhp output, > Low power too. But that's okay by me for tootling around town.

To: Ilaine who wrote (69897)	7/7/2008 4:53:17 PM
From: Maurice Winn	Respond to of 74559

Excerpt from that BMW scooter article [because it's good]. It was written in 1999, so somewhat prescient: < Sacrifice for the sake of the planet -- which receives a lukewarm reception in the U.S., a country where a sizable percentage of the voting population believes that separating aluminum and plastic into recycling bins is part of a neo-bolshevik subversive plot to establish a one-world government -- will appeal to the Green crowd, those ecologically concerned Europeans. Most governments, even the foot-dragging U.S., will feel pressure to pass strict, maybe even draconian, emissions laws, regulations and taxes. With El Nino and global warming threatening to create planetary mayhem, most industrialized nations, except the petro-addicted United States, are currently pushing for stricter and stricter emissions regulations. And with the geometric increase in the industrialization of China, plus their 25 percent of the world's population, doomsayers and eco-fascists are whipping themselves up into an ecstatic, Malthusian frenzy. Most governments, even the foot-dragging U.S., will feel pressure to pass strict, maybe even draconian, emissions laws, regulations and taxes. Since owning a car is as necessary to survival in the U.S. as electricity, and since most Americans consider motorcycles to be toys, some of the first casualties in the war on internal-combustion engines may be larger displacement motorcycles and their horsepower producing, emissions spewing aftermarket jet kits and pipes. With the C 1's early 2000 debut, it's clear that BMW plans to capitalize on next-century environmental consciousness. Wonderful -- a future of 15 bhp scooters with windshield wipers and airbags. Yet another reason to fear the new millennium. > Mqurice