Bikes have a lot going for them, power, handling, cheap to buy, especially to a comparative car, and usually cheaper to run than any car.
The guy I used to live with (just bought his own house with his gf) owns a 2001 R1 and an 89 CBR 250, uses the 250 for work, he's a courier, and runs the R1 on the weekends. His girl has a little cheap car, but it's all they need. He gets awesome performance and handling, gets paid to ride, they save money on fuel, and have a car for when it is needed. It's a sweet setup, I respect bikes.
They have downsides, like the "strapping yourself to a scud" factor, and you can't carry much, and get wet when it rains.
Also, I have a passion for cars and bikes. I'd like to have both. Have a thumping V8, because there's really nothing like blasting one and a half tonnes of steel around with a boistrous motor, and a bike for more performance than the car, but a different experience altogether. The world turns from a video game to a much more real experience when you're not boxed in.
I'd love a buell firebolt (I think that's the one I want), reviewers have said handling is on par with an R1, riding position is less all out racing, and it has nice torque. I also love the riim-mounted front brake rotor, give massive braking potential while allowing unsprung weight saving by thinning the spokes. There's that and the frame is the fuel tank, etc, all these nifty things that make it technologically advanced, with a slightly sporty cruising motor. A real riding bike is what I think it is. The guy with the R1 sneers, as if it doesn't go 400mph it mustn't be as fun or as good in the real world, and off the race track. Of course I'm a guy who doesn't want to blast past people on the highway at 200, I'd rather take the winding coastal roads at a more legal pace. Any fool can press a go button, whether it be in a car or on a bike.
Anyway, that's a good 20 cents there, I tend to ramble sometimes.