I've been making and driving VERY fast cars for almost 25 years now. (I prefer my "bikes" to have 4 wheels so they can't fall over.)
Every time I take one out I have to be on my best behavior. Other drivers are far more dangerous than you can imagine. Just look at one of my recent Facebook posts where a gawking driver ran into my customer. He was parked...
This is what keeps me sober: Two Arms and a Head: The Death of a Newly Paraplegic Philosopher. I haven't even read the whole thing yet. Guy hit a donkey on a summer ride through Central America. Paralyzed from T4 down. Killed himself a while later. He's a good enough writer to make the gravity of the situation hit you.
Part of why I said what I said regarding rider skill is that I've watched quite a few motorcycle crash compilations on YouTube, and it appears that the vast majority of the time accidents are due to 1) riders being utter assclowns in that they ride WAY too fast or are obviously still complete noobs and don't have a clue how to get the bike round a corner, or 2) distracted drivers who are definitely a deadly threat, but can still be evaded almost all the time by paying attention and not riding like a moron.
For OP and anyone else interested, here are a couple of the motorcycle books on my reading list:
Motorcycle Roadcraft - The Police Rider's Handbook, The Police Foundation, The Stationery Office, eBook - Amazon.com
Proficient Motorcycling: The Ultimate Guide to Riding Well: David L. Hough: 0731360583598: Amazon.com: Books
I got a mere 80cc Yamaha at age 15 and rode on and off until 30 when our Honda got stolen. After moving to CA and a friend of ours having had to lay it down after a teen girl made a left turn in front of him, DB discouraged me from getting another one. Too dangerous there in SoCal. I agreed somewhat grudgingly at first but saw enough motorcycle mishaps there I came to peace with it.
On the drive back home to IL, she asked if I wanted another motorcycle, much to my surprise. I got a very low mileage Harley 48 and I can definitely second skid on getting in over your head in short order. The damn thing feels like it would throw me off the back end if I twist the throttle a little too hard. Gotta be careful as I reacquire my bike skills so as to not goose someone's rear bumper when the light changes. Likewise what Rip said about having a healthy fear omnipresent while riding. Fortunately, living as relatively rural as we do, I can easily avoid most "crowded" traffic situations. But I force myself into them to acclimate and habituate myself to them so I can stay safe for when I absolutely have to ride under those conditions.
This. My mom was in the ER and the Intensive Care Unit for a month for a brain aneurism. One thing from observing the incoming med flights and tray patients: the motorcycle riders had the most severe injuries. Now this is just my observation, but after observing the new arrivals for a month, I came to the conclusion that it is simply not worth the risk. The rule is no bikes for me or anyone in my family. Dosent matter whose fault it is.....
A riding school or a track/racing school are great tools for learning how to treat the limits of traction and control in a safe and controlled environment. Dirt bikes are also an excellent learning tool, especially due to the need to get on the gas versus panicking and grabbing a handful of brake out of inexperience and fear.
Motorcycles and motorcycling have a few unique aspects. One is that everybody "knows someone...." who got killed/maimed/disfigured/paralyzed "by" a motorcycle. Same people often present a blank stare when asked if they know anybody similarly injured in a car wreck and if it has inspired them to lecture people about the dangers of cars.
Motorcycle accidents suck in every way there is to suck. I can spin my Mustang off into the grass and laugh about it. Same trick on my bike is going to lead to epic road rash or a broken bone. My old Gixxer started leaking fuel from a stuck float bowl, coated the tire, and threw me off from a dead stop 90-degree turn going all of maybe 15. Broke my wrist. Motorcycle accidents are singularly unforgiving.
Car drivers not only don't see you - they see through you. Left Turn Larry (the car coming opposite direction who is going to judge whether or not he's clear for a left turn across your lane) is not only not seeing you. He's actively looking at the car-sized vehicle behind you. You can whinge and complain about how stupid he is or you can deal with the simple fact that not dying is up to you, not him. Use another car as a screen: go through the intersection next to an "unmissable" vehicle like a cement mixer or a dump truck. Do not hang back off of such a vehicle as you approach an intersection. Remember Left Turn Larry is looking at the dump truck and the car behind you. Given enough space, he's going to zip between them and run over you. Catch up to the dump truck. Since car drivers are looking through you - stay in gear with the nose pointed at a gap at a stop light. The car behind you should see you and stop like he would for any car. He won't. He's going to stop based on the car in front of you and run over you. Don't let him. Leave. Squirt between the lanes.
Your tires are better than you are. Your bike will make the corner - the tires will hold. Steer. Look where you WANT to go, not where you ARE going. Aim for the space between the cars. Aim for the exit of the corner.
"I had to lay her down...." is the stupidest thing ever uttered. A bike going 70 miles an hour - on its side - takes about 4-5 times longer and further to stop than the same bike you know......braking. Using its brakes. To stop.
Wet leaves stuck to the road offer identical friction to sheet ice.
You don't need more power, you need more skill, the best tires, and the best brakes.
The bike doesn't GAS if you're speed-shifting toward a bridge abutment and your death. Neither does your car, but the skill component of hard braking a car vs hard braking a bike from the same speed - and the fact that dorking it up in a car means locking a tire or two (yawn) and locking a tire or two on a bike means you fall down with a violent suddenness that must be like what quarterbacks felt when an unblocked Lawrence Taylor hit their blindsides.
Helmets, gloves, armored pants and jackets, boots - seem expensive until you crash in a tanktop, a pair of Member's Only shorts, and flip-flops.
If you "race" someone on the street, who have you beaten? What have you won? No one and nothing. Go to a track and compete. Street racing is the motorcycling version of "I'm the strongest guy in Planet Fitness".
Loud pipes don't save lives. Ask any fireman or EMT whether extra noise causes people to remove their heads from their asses.
The risks of motorcycling are significantly higher than automobiles. They must be treated with respect and you must allow skills and survival habits to accumulate while your knowledge of perils increases. This is not accomplished with the front wheel in the air at 100mph on I-40. That sounds insane, but it's common.