You have to just ask yourself how confident in your abilities you are.
I would suggest that if you haven't already, go and take a motorcycle safety coarse then see how comfortable you are afterwards.
Whatever you choose, just take your time and don't make any rash decisions.

Also, I wish your friend the best of luck for a speedy recovery -

Thanks.. I am very confident in my abilities. I have been riding for many years and I am a defensive driver. You have to ride like everyone is going to pull out in front of you and always have an escape route. Also, ride in groups. You do not see many motorcycle groups vs. car wrecks.

You can quote the following...

The likelihood of a collision for an experienced motorcyclist is the same as the likelihood of a collision for an experienced car driver.

There are more fatalities in scuba diving and sky diving

The incidence of motorcycle deaths per year is approximately 1 in 2000. This includes new and experienced riders alike. That means you have a 99.95% chance of not dying every year while riding. So, if you ride for 100 years, statistically you'll only have a 5% chance dying while riding a motorycle.

I'd rather ride with the added risk than not ride, it's as simple as that.

Yes riding is dangerous, but as we see daily in everyday life and the news Life is a fragile thing and we can go at any time.

Well, this is a tricky one because you're getting pressure from your wife. I know my wife worries to some degree whenever I ride and she always tells me to be careful, but she has never asked me to stop riding.

You can provide all the stats you want, but that won't change how your wife feels about your personal situation with an accident that hits so close to home. Was she very worried before, or did this accident just start the ball rolling? If she's been very worried for a while and this accident put her over the edge, she may never feel comfortable with you riding again.

However, if this accident sparked her worry then this might be "knee jerk reaction" pressure to sell that will wear off over time.

If I thought my wife would be forever worried sick every time I went out for a ride, I would most likely get rid of the bike. Knowing my riding was worrying her so much would make riding much less enjoyable for me. If I know she's chewing her fingernails and standing by the window the entire time I'm out that's no fun for either one of us.

If I thought she was only worried in the short term due to this accident I'd keep the bike and probably ride a little less until the storm blows over. In this instance I'd know that my coming home safely after riding time after time would make her feel more and more comfortable about riding and eventually she'd be on board again.

I'm sure you know your wife better than anyone, so guage her feelings to help come to your decision. I would simply use this approach because my wife is more important to me than my bike (sorry guys).

Good luck!

+1

I also think that there are reasonable precautions. If he couldn't stop in time, he was following too closely. If he skimmed the SUV, he didn't have enough escape routes. If he put his legs out, he panic'd and didn't react "properly". Whether you would be apt to make those mistakes are a matter of practice & experience...

As for the wife... no comments -- I don't know her well enough.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

So I guess i'm pretty much f'ed I Scuba dive, Sky dive,
and ride a bike.

But do you halo with scuba gear and then swim away? Wimp!

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet