I would support all that.

When starting out, take that weekend course your local college offers - and try all the bikes in a controlled safe environment. I was shocked how much I didn't want a sports bike - the posture and low speed maneuverability were horrid. I also didn't like cruisers personally, didn't feel in control leaning back. I turned into a lifelong standard posture guy - whether city bike or adventure or dirt/supermoto... But point is, find out what feels right for you, rather than get a 750cc superbike as your first ride based on specs or review or what you think may work well.

I had fun going full throttle redline on... My cbr125, back in the day:D. More so than on some twitchy overpowered bike where I feared touching the throttle.

Fwiw, in California it’s customary to do a day long motorcycle safety course in lieu of taking an on road test with the DMV, which is noted as having some aspects that are unusually difficult.

I did both, but the rules have changed since then. When I did the CA DMV motorcycle test it was super easy. Ride straight between two white lines, then around a full circle between the lines, then back between another set of lines - all you have to do is stay in the lines. Took all of about 1 minute. The trick was to use a small motorcycle, you need a 250cc or above for M1 so I borrowed a 250. Piece of cake.

When I did it (long ago) I think there was a cone weave as well. I started off thinking that test was a poor representation of what riding was actually like, but came to understand that for a quick test, it probably mapped pretty well to basic MC skills.

Its been 30 years for me, maybe I just dont remember that part. I only recall the second part here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H572hoMVZXY

I did it about 15 years ago, but I think this is what I was referring to - I had just purchased an SV650 and was told the test would be virtually impossible to do with the bike (and most bikes) due to some low speed maneuverability portion that was only feasible with the small cruisers they use in the safety schools.

My instructor claimed the DMV had done this on purpose to encourage people to take the safety course, how they can't force people to do one by law so this is how they got around it.

I rode moto-x as a teenager for about 4 years so I would, back then, class myself as reasonably skilled. Yet the first time on a proper big road bike scared the hell out of me and I never went any further. From then on it was 4 wheels all the way.

Not surprised in the least that there are so many accidents.

I recently (2 years ago) made motorcycle license (Poland) and bought 600cc Honda CBF600s.

During training we had to switch motorcycles (we started on 250cc, then after a dozen hours moved to 600cc which is required by Polish law to pass the exam).

I have felt comfortable on 250cc but moving to 600cc felt like I had to learn everything again from the start.

On 250 (140kg?) I could throw my weight around and cause motorcycle to do stuff while the same no longer seems to work on 600 (210kg?).

Overall I feel better and safer on 600cc because at highway speeds it does exactly what I need it to do and place myself exactly where I want without feeling that it is overpowered and that slight mistake with the throttle is going to cause me to loose control of it.

I tried a dozen different motorcycles from 125cc to 1000cc before I made my final choice.

One disclaimer is that I am rather cautious driver/rider. As an example I never drive/ride fast in relation to other drivers. I may ride faster but only so much so I still am able to react if they make something stupid. I also spend a lot of effort learning to drive/ride safer.

When it comes to pratical matters I think that for safety it doesn't matter much how large your bike is, as long as you are properly trained. 125cc or 1000cc, your prospects in an accident are roughly the same.

Smaller bikes (125cc or less) may offer better handling if you are not well trained and you panic but on the other hand they might be less agile in traffic where it is important to constantly place you away from blind spots of other drivers, etc.

The only danger comes from speed and acceleration. But if you are an adult and can restrain yourself to safe speeds I don't think larger motorcycle is less safe.

What I mean is that it is not the size of the motorcycle but the driver that causes it to be unsafe. And unsafe drivers may prefer to choose larger motorcycles because it allows them to ride faster.

Bigger more powerful bikes usually have flatter torque curves which make the bike easier to control.

I ride such a "bigger more powerful bike with a flat torque curve", and there are two issues:

1. As a sibling said, there's the issue of weight. If you're inexperienced, it WILL bite you in the ass. Especially since the engine being very powerful and having great brakes, when "just starting slowly" it won't feel heavy. Hell, mine gives you the feeling it stands upright on itself. But try braking a bit harder while maneuvering and getting it tilted, and you better expect the 300 kg to want to get down.

2. As per 1, powerful engine + heft + (usually) great suspension give you a bike that feels very, very safe. Plus the torque from way down low never seems to quite "rush" you since you don't have to rev it. So it gives you confidence. Except that even though you don't feel like going fast, you actually are going fast. So you get fairly quickly in deep water, and everything is great while the sea is calm. The sea floor is right there! But you never know. Ride a bit too fast in a turn, and you better hope there aren't any trees around...

Top heavy, steep rake, 200kg+ sport bikes are completely unridable in a city no matter what the torque control is.

I think that stands to a point (the twitchiest bike I ever rode was a 400CC supermoto), but depends on details and circumstance. Besides throttle control though, their weight may be harder to handle for newbies in e.g. stop and go traffic or narrow / twisty streets....