Since deciding to get a motorcycle I’ve been extremely excited. I’ve also been inundated with the expected reactions from friends and family. People expressing to me their fear of me getting hurt, their caution of me riding a bike having a family, etc. My typical response to those types of concerns is, “Yes, I’m concerned too.” Yet I will still ride. Why?
The fact of the matter is that in life we all take risks. Some are necessary risks such as eating; we never know when we might contract a food-born pathogen. Or taking a shower; lots of people die in the shower you know.
Other risks are not ‘necessary’ per se, but are virtually unavoidable like walking through a construction zone or driving a car or crossing a street.
Still other risks are totally unnecessary and they are completely avoidable too. Risks like snorkeling, backpacking, riding a horse (like Christopher Reeve), scuba diving, sky diving, bungee jumping, getting on a roller coaster, driving over the speed limit, operating a vehicle after having ‘only one’ drink, giving birth to a child (for women), not watching what you eat (obesity is arguably a very dangerous risk). And those risks are just the tip of the iceberg. I’m sure that you and I could sit here and brainstorm several dozen other risks that many of us decide to take which are unnecessary and avoidable.
Growing up, no kid in my neighborhood ever wore a helmet while riding his bicycle. Yet,
In 1997, about 367,700 children went to the emergency room for a bicycle-related injury; about 30% of these children had a head, face or ear injury. (via)
Another startling statistic:
More than 600 bicycle riders are killed in the U.S. every year, almost all in collisions with cars, and 75% of them die of head injuries. (via)
Yet, when someone tells you that they are a bicyclist is your first reaction one of concern? Hardly. There’s a stigma surrounding motorcyclists that doesn’t surround bicyclists. That they’re risk takers, dangerous folks who don’t heed caution.
Sure, you might say, but there are more people on bicycles than on motorcycles, yet less people get hurt each year than on motorcycles. Let’s look at this graph (source). It shows the proportional odds that you’ll die in one of a dozen different ways. 
You’ll see that you’re clearly more likely to die in a motorcycle accident than in a bicycle accident. But much less likely to die in a motorcycle accident than in a car accident, drowning, getting shot or (gasp) falling.
So, am I concerned about the risks? Of course. It would be foolish to not be concerned. But the concern I show towards riding a motorcycle is the same as when I drive a car, go swimming or climb a ladder. Risks are everywhere. It’s up to each person to decide what kinds of and how many risks they are willing to take.
