I'm a little bised... but I'd say get the bike and keep the SVX. I would do the same except that I currently need a sedan rather than a coupe... hence I bought both a bike and a Volvo this year.
Anyway, Power on Demand "What if you need to transport stuff"... or something to that effect. Personally I found that having a bike encouraged me NOT to carry crap around. I have two laptops I typically carry around... and when I need to carry them both I can get them both nicely in my Axio Tekno backpack. I have a pair of small saddle bags (Chase Harper Stealth) which I use to carry the gloves I'm not wearing, a bottle of water and my rain suit. Works like a champ on my 1991 Nighthawk. If I'm going to the gym after work, I have a soft, small collapsible tail bag that I strap to my bike.
On the flip side, I will point out that initial investment on a bike is higher than you might think at first. First there's the bike... then there's the equipment. As hinted above there's a lot of gear inolved in biking that you don't think of when you first buy the bike. First there's a good helmet... a couple hundred bucks will get you a really decent one. Don't buy used helmets!!! Then there's safety gear. Boots that protect your ankles... padded jackets to protect your torso... padding for your knees or "riding jeans" (I don't do this yet... all of this is really optional except the helmet!).
Then I've got both summer and foul weather gear. That means two pairs of gloves; one for summer, one for colder weather. Rain suit... not the type you buy at Home Depot either... good riding rain suits are made of THICK material. Cost adds up quickly.
Oh, and if you're in an area like Missouri where the weather can change quickly, you need to get yourself warm weather gear as well as cold... leathers are cool-looking but miserable when the temperature hits 80 degrees or above. A good mesh jacket would be a good investment.
Then there's the stuff I mentioned above; the saddlebags to carry my rain suit... the tail bag for my gym stuff (with integrated bungees!)...
You see? Initial ivestment is higher. True, total cost of ownership is a lot lower than a car, but only over time. I just stopped riding my bike for the year since it got cold and occasionally wet. I will probably start riding again in late February or early March... so three months with a higher fuel bill I will just have to live with. Getting 55mpg has been nice during the summer... I've gotten VERY used to it.
Looking at the positives though; you can park pretty much anywhere you can fit the bike (and legalities allow). The sense of being out in the environment instead of trapped in a cage is just incredible, especially daily at work. Even on a bad day at work I can look forward to riding my bike that evening, or even going out for a ride on my bike during my lunch hour. My friends can't look forward to driving their cars that much unless they drive a REALLY nice car.
Also, as a biker you become part of a community that's even better than the SVX's. I know, heresy. Seriously though... you ride a bike and it doesn't matter if you ride a Harley, Suzuki, Honda... whatever... you can pull up anywhere bikers congregate and you're immediately "in the club". Bikers always wave to one another on the roads... and there's a certain respect you earn just for riding. I wouldn't have it any other way.
And yes, I've come off a bike before; wiped out a few years back on a Ninja when I hit gravel on a cloverleaf. I was injured... but not severely. I was able to get up and push the remains of my bike and myself the mile and a half back to my apartment. I wasn't afraid to ride again... I just didn't have the money to buy another until this year. I can't say that I've been unhappy with that decision... I've loved it. Just make sure you're realistic about your goals before you buy a bike... don't think it'll answer all your problems... it will probably cause new ones... but I wouldn't trade the experience for the world.
Besides, even as a pilot I can't afford to fly often enough. Riding my bike is the closest I can get to the feeling of flying every day of the week... it satisfies my need for flight without the incredible expense of renting a Cessna
