First bike was a "tuition payment" special...he needed $300.00 for tuition, I got a steal...1972 Honda 175XL - Re-geared it for highway commuting...got over 80mpg...also...
Got run off the road twice with it...both times, ended up upright, on the pegs, screaming inside my helmet so FR**KING LOUD, I couldn't hear myself think...The first F**k ended up with a "boot tattoo" on his driver's door of the Cadillac, the other F**k only has my death-wish following him to this day.
Dumped the bike once, in a trailer park, on a stone/asphalt street...meant to slow the bike down and the front tire "locked up" and slip out from under me...I was going about 5mph at the time and even though I didn't "go down" with the bike, I looked and felt pretty stupid holding my handle-bars down around my ankles...the positioning was all wrong...
I sold the bike in '83 after my FIAT "head-on" - I have a "rod" in my left femur that runs from the knee up to the hip. The doctor said, "If you ever bend that thing, we'll have to cut your leg in half to get it out..." That statement scared me "bikeless" for a few years...
Then, for my 39th B-day, the wifey gave me permission (You DON'T get a bike without consultation and permission!) to buy my present. The Yamaha 650...only one tip-over...otherwise, just idiot tailgaters that I "loogy" on when the opportunity is 100% in my favor for NO RETALIATION on their part...and I mean NO CHANCE THAT THEY'RE COMING BACK AFTER ME.
But, as has been pointed out here MANY TIMES, defensive driving and attitude is what will keep you alive and asphalt-free.
Know your road...
Know your bike...
Know your limits...
and...
Know your bike's limits...
Not knowing any of the above, or even thinking you know, will get you injured or killed.
Cars, trucks, trains and other bikes will always win...you end up the loser...all the way around.