Yes, I'm referring to the nut that ties the handlebars to the saddle. IMO, I need to ride as if I'm invisible, because I basically am. I rarely have trouble with assholes and only one person in 18 years of riding has purposely moved into where I was. But as you say, people often just don't register motorcycles in their vision. It's even worse for bicyclists.
Instead of getting a cruiser, which is not that maneuverable in traffic and in urban situations, why don't consider a dual sport kind of bike. My around town ride now is a Suzuki DRZ400S with homemade bags. Actually the bags were made by John Chase of Chase and Harper fame, so they are very nice homemade bags. I'll post a picture tomorrow. This is the perfect around town bike. It's easy to ride, keeps up with traffic and gets 60 mpg. Being a dual sport bike, it soaks up huge bumps. It also has a nice, upright seating position. The only problem is that the seat is not comfortable for long term use, but that is easily fixable.