I've done more than 100,000km, NOT-accident-free, on motorcycles. I'd rather give up my life than give up riding one. I only fear a life where an injury disables me and prevents me from riding. I don't fear death.
If you love riding a motorcycle, the risk is a cost you accept. I know the risks and I try to minimise them by riding defensively and riding with full gear all the time. I do not kid myself, however, that this will save me if there's a crash on a motorway.
However, I take this risk because I get so much joy out of the activity.
I got hit head-on, suffered several broken bones, now have a bunch of metal in my body, and couldn't walk for a few months (and I know several people who have been killed), but I got right back to riding as soon as I could.
I think you left out the part where it brings enough joy and excitement to your life that you feel it is worth the risk of dying.
This is a valid personal choice. But with what you've written above, you're just convincing me to never ride a motorcycle. This is coming from a bicyclist who enjoys good downhills on my road bike at speeds in excess of 40mph (fast for a bicycle and little armor). So I get the thrill, but I've never experienced the number of issues and extreme physical trauma that I read about people on motorcycles.
What happened to me could easily happen to a bicyclist. I wasn't going that fast, maybe 5-8 MPH in a turn from one road to another. It was an unlucky fall. I had a full-face helmet, full riding armor, and the bike was in great repair.
I daresay a bicyclist would have come off worse than I did (hello, road rash) - especially if they hadn't worn a helmet (Montana doesn't have a helmet law for anyone over 18).
EDIT: The risk of dying is higher than that of being in an automobile by the pure statistics of it, but by riding smart you can easily bring them down significantly - there's a lot of idiot riders out there wearing flipflops and shorts, with no helmet to pump those statistics up.
Wear a helmet. Wear leathers or their synthetic equivalent. Wear armor to protect your joints (usually built into riding gear). Keep your bike in good maintenance. Don't ride beyond your limits.
Yes, I feel a bit hypocritical saying this after discussing my own concussion, but damn it, it's fun. As freeing as a bicycle, but faster.
And if you're going to ride like an idiot, please be sure you're registered as an organ donor. I know I've heard of sport bikes being referred to as "donor cycles" (according to the med student relating it) due to the number of young bodies in relatively good shape except for massive head trauma that they saw.
Most fun from motorcycles comes from accelerating and turning. You can accelerate and turn on something other than a motorcycle and preferably not around cars.
Most of the problems encountered by motorcyclists are encountered by bicyclists. Cagers who aren't paying attention, gravel on the corner, hitting stationary objects with your rag-doll body, and overestimating your skill. Motorcycles just add more speed to the equation, and have to play in the same arena as cars.
