There used to be a guy at the TT festival who carried one of those inflatables on his Honda Fireblade, He called her his air bag but also added that she had other duties and was extremely obedient. He had even used her as a flotation aid when swimming in the sea.
When driving through Douglas he said people were always mistaking her for some exhibitionist who was drunk, even the police had asked her for id.
So I suppose you are right, people see what they want to believe.