For me it just makes the whole experience a little too frenetic. It'd make a great track bike, and actually you can make good headway even if you respect an artificial redline of say...7k. But you know what it can do, so ya just gotta use it! I was using it too much for my own good, and my license's too. So I got rid of it. I've always liked things that are a little out of the main stream, and I ultimately settled on a Moto Guzzi V11 Sport. It's a sport bike/naked bike with a riding position something like a Honda VFR, so it's reasonably comfy, and even though it's a relatively old pushrod design,it will still do a quarter mile in around 12 seconds flat. So as bikes go it aint fast, but as cars go it is ridiculously so. It's a 90 degree v-twin with its cylinders sticking out the side, and shaft driven. In case nobody's mentioned it to you, 90 degree v-twins sound great! With a set of (hopefully not too loud) pipes the things can sound like a Winston Cup racer. The neat thing about the Guzzi is you can go fast on it if you want, but it's real fun to go slow on as well. It handles well enough to do both. Naked bikes like the Guzzi are becoming more popular, and I have to admit, I enjoy being able to see the engine. Most any Japanese sport bike covers them in plastic. I agree with an earlier post, the Suzuki SV650 is a great beginner bike, and it is a bike that you won't grow out of. My brother's wife has one (he rides it probably as much as his Honda RC51). I've had the opportunity to ride it and it's a blast! (Performance is actually very similar to that of the Guzzi). I kind of still don't get the cruiser thing though. Expensive, heavy, difficult to maneuver, not very fast (barely faster than your coupe, some are slower) and a riding position that just doesn't make sense. The way I see it, good acceleration on a bike is a requirement, as is good maneuverability. Both can get you out of a tight spot. One thing I would suggest not yet mentioned is to get some time on a dirt bike. It will make you a better street rider. With dirt riding experience, you will become more able to handle a street bike in an emergency avoidance situation. Plus it's just plain fun! Plus the mistakes you make are less likely to be life threatening.
Finally, to say an R-1 will kill a whatever in the twisties may be true but you of course must take into account the skill of the rider. Most riders' skill levels don't allow them to come even close to being able to fully exploit the capabilities of their bikes (and I fall into that category...good to know your limits doncha know).
If you decide to take the plunge, you won't regret it, as long as you heed the sound advice given by some of the other folks here. It's a great sport!
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