Inevitable and I believe you are mistaken. The risk is manageable but only if you have the skill to back it up. I would say there are a large percentage of those that ride motorcycles that shouldn't. It is this subset that sadly taints the stats about motorcycle crashes...many involving alcohol and youth and going into a corner too hot. But...there is a much larger group that don't own a motorcycle that should never own one. They are correct in their assessment about themselves in other words...they don't have what it takes to survive riding one on the street. All said motorcycling is dangerous and VERY dangerous for those that aren't in the 20% of best or most vigilant riders on the road.
Here is also something else to consider. If you ride your road bike out on a busy road, you likely put yourself in harms way more that I do even factoring in when I ride my motorcycle. I don't ride my road bike on busy roads. What is dangerous and kills people? Speed differential and not absolute speed. Fast car meets slow bicyclist. Motorcycles can in large part stay away from fast moving cars.
As with everything, ignorance is the major fact in not understanding the danger of motorcycling or riding a bicycle on busy road as well.
Sydney paid the price...run down by a dumb **** because he wasn't keeping up with traffic on his Colnago...he was riding along in the bike lane...the slow lane as you call it.

Last comment is...nobody gets out of life alive. Everybody dies...some a bit sooner than others is all.
Racing bicycles can and do go hand in hand with riding a fast motorcycle. All told for me, if given a choice it would be a racing bicycle at the end of the day but virtually nothing matches the thrill of riding a well tuned motorcycle through the twisties on a nice day.