motorcycles are fun as hell man.
i used to ride dirtbikes with my buddies all the time in wisconsin (i had yz250, they had ktm 125, ktm 400, yz 125, hyabusa 400, honda 400, kdx 220, cr250, crf 400). right before I had to sell my dirtbike and move to VA 3 of my buddies bought road bikes, 2 of them bought new yamaha 660's and one bought a new suzuki 600. they are all fun as hell man. I'm a big guy, and I don't see any reason to get anything bigger than like a 750cc unless you want to kill yourself.
bikes are fun as hell, and can be safe for experienced riders. problem is people are experienced, and buy bikes they can't handle. bikes aren't as forgiving as cars.