I’m not overly concerned as to how people look at me, I just don’t like to hide my background. I am for the most part a safe rider, but I do admit, sometimes I do like to stretch the old R1’s legs.
For me starting on a larger bike did slow me down a bit in the beginning, but to me it was worth it, I’m a VERY quick learner, and I’m glad I had a bike that had enough headroom to let me develop skills without hampering me in any way. I also like to push limits, and I think starting on a 250ish sized bike would have me very bored very quickly.
IMO it wasn’t a death sentence at all, but a challenge to me, and I’d say I’ve done fairly well. I’ve been riding for about 5 years now and have only dropped one bike, but that was at a race track, where everything is pushed to the absolute limits, so it’s understandable.