It's how I grew up. Life without guns would be unnatural to me. They're tools for hunting and protection, but I also enjoy them for sport and collection. And yes, I bought my first bike for fuel economy. How can you argue against? I drove an F150 and got about 20mpg. Gas was $4.00 in 2008. I paid $2200 for a 2002 Nighthawk 250. I road it to work for 2000 miles in three months. Paid $70 in insurance. Got 65 MPG or so. Sold it for $2000 3 months later. In that time, I would have spent $800 in gas. Instead, I spent $70 on insurance (actually less since premium prorated to next bike), $200 loss on bike, and $124 in gas. I saved nearly $400 in those three months. That being said, if you're buying for economy, you can't get a litre bike or a Vmax. If you're looking for personal protection, you don't buy a 7mm bolt gun. But both will do the job. Even the 35MPG of a litre bike is better than most cages and a 7mm hunting rifle is better than a cell phone.