I leased mine and bought it at the end. The buyout was really reasonable for a 3 year old Honda. I did go way over my miles though and would have had to pay them $4000 just to return it to them. Id lease again if I knew I wouldnt go over the mileage. At their age its probably a good option for them.
I believe it was motofansclub and they are a member on the board. Just search/ask over there and a lot members have aftermarket fairings. More information and reviews than we can give you.
A 200-300mm lens would be enough and are around $300. It can be a hassle a carrying multiple lenses and ease of use sounds important to you. I think you'll be happy with that Sony. It is still a capable camera. I would suggest going to best buy and demoing it in the store to compare to the others and get a feel for it.
18-55mm is the focal length of the lens. If you want more zoom then you need more focal length which is your 75-300mm lens. You have to change lenses to get that much zoom compared to the cyber shot and holding zoom in.
SLR's have larger sensors and overall better performance/control. Thats not saying you cant get good pictures with a P&S but entry level DSLR's out perform the more expensive P&S camera. As Chevy said dont expect to get pro quality pictures on Auto mode but you'll still get very good photos nonetheless. That canon looks like it would work well but Ive been out of the camera game for awhile. vw151 on here would be a good person to ask... Heres a Nikon option http://www.adorama.com/INKD3100K4.html