I love motorcycles, and my dog does too.
Scooters can get phenominal MPG, but they are dangerous. The above statistics do not take into consideration that there are waaaaay more cars on the road than motorcycles, so of course more people die in cars. If you were in an accident in a car you are less likely to be injured than on a bike. No offense, but the reality is inexperienced(young) drivers are far more likely to experience an accident, so your parents are right. Motorcycles have other expenses that make them not as economical as their fuel efficiency might lead you to believe, plus girls and their parents are less likely to approve of a scooter over a car when it comes to going on a date. Motorcycles are great for recreation, but they are high risk RVs. Because of maintenence cost, parts cost, insurance costs, and the level of risk, motorcycles are not the good deal you might think they are.
I would cite this example: In April 2005 I had just bought my DRZ 400 which got 50 or so MPG. About month and a half later some guy in a Lincoln Navagator decided to make a u-turn from the right lane right in front of me. I was in the left lane. I was injured to the point where I needed an ambulance, and three weeks off from work. I went back to work sooner than I should have, because I had bills to pay. I still have pain from the injuries. The worst part is that the guy in the lincoln lied and said I was in the scuicide(turn) lane, so the court moderator placed 20% of the blame on me. I was not at fault, but because I was on a motorcycle I got screwed. I mean to say that I am sure that I was discriminated against because I was riding a motorcycle. The lawers could have fought it, but I would have had to come up with big money that I didn't have to fight it, so I took the settlement. I lost thousands of dollars in income, and other expenses. There was further drama because of this accident. His lawer filed some paperwork with the department of motor vehicles, and they made a mistake that suspended my license, and registration, I was almost arrested, and it took about a month to sort that mess out. This cost me a bunch of money for taxi's to work, and three trips to court. Mass quantities of stress, and money. There is even more to the story, but it's too much to talk about here.
My bike is just over 3 years old and has over 45,000 miles on it. Still runs fine, but it needs to be overhauled, further reducing the effect of the fuel savings. I have 30+ years of experience riding motorcycles, and I love them, but they have their drawbacks. Get a car, and a bicycle, besides a car's back seat is way easier to make out in, a girl might not even talk to the guy with a scooter. At 42 and never married, I would say that motorcycles have definately contributed to me staying single and dateless. My new girlfriend digs my new Tacoma, and it has a back seat.
Later,
Allan Greenblazer