Regardless of a motorcyclist's skill set or how cocooned he is with safety gear, any on-road motorcycle trip can end at heaven's pearly gates instead of a home garage. In its sobering Traffic Safety Facts/Motorcycles (2007) report, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reveals that motorcyclists are about 35 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in an accident and eight times more likely to be injured per vehicle mile traveled. Even more astonishing is the fatalism of career motorcyclists who accept that they are seconds away from disaster anytime they crank the throttle.

At least they stack the odds in their favor with motorcycle licensing and training, wearing helmets and leather, and purchasing insurance coverage. Others who are unlicensed, untrained and, unfortunately, underinsured burden society with the price of their wild-riding ways, often saddling taxpayers with the cost of hospitalizations and rehabilitation. The margin separating them from catastrophe is even slimmer.

Resisting the lure of these powerful beasts is difficult because so few modern inventions answer the call of the wild as pleasurably as a fast, roaring motorcycle. That is why more than seven million (and counting) are registered in the U.S. alone. If you factor in commute congestion and unstable gas prices, an economical, mileage-efficient motorcycle seems like a great choice. On the downside, the growing number of riders translates into more accidents for the NHTSA to track.