I agree with you about the feeling of danger, as related to speed, that you get on a bicycle vs a motorcycle. There's a very long, fairly steep hill near here

I agree with you about the feeling of danger, as related to speed, that you get on a bicycle vs a motorcycle. There's a very long, fairly steep hill near here that I bike ever so often, and on the coast down I make it a point to not use the brakes, which takes a lot of nerve. I probably never get going faster than 25-30mph but it's close to terrifying. Sometimes on the descent I remind myself that "on my motorcycle this would feel like nothing at all". I don't think the feeling is, for me, a function of protective gear, it's more the perception of stability as function of mass/inertia. Motorcycles want to keep going straight, bikes not so much.