If memory serves, my Honda 50 did about 90 miles to the gallon, so the mileage I got paid for work trips was highly profitable. As a result, my investment in my Honda 50 secured a much greater rate of return than have the pension contributions I’ve been making in the decades since. That said, the Honda would probably be viewed by pension experts as a high-risk investment – and the truth is it didn’t survive my return to Dublin. Indeed, its demise and my return to Dublin are intimately related events, but I don’t intend to tell that story here for reasons of personal standing. As an undergraduate I did, for a time, have the use of a Yamaha 180, another machine, like the Honda 50, that was so reliable and was so uncool it almost was cool.

Source: The Irish Times April 01, 2026 11:47 UTC