Hope you like your Vulcan. Mine was great until the wreck
I'd say 11k miles is a lot of riding. My first year as a daily commuter - no car - was about 12.5k. Everyday, rain or shine.
I think a lot of it is comfortability. You find you do things without having to think about them. Having good wariness (spelling?) helps a lot.
I have probably put 40k miles on 5 bikes in the last three years. My skills in some areas need help (another sign of experience, he says humbly

). About six weeks ago I was in a wreck. A driver went right on red, causing a car next to me to rapidly change lanes and hit me. I do not remember the accident (slight concussion), but the bike obviously lowsided, and it appears I was able to keep myself from getting trapped under the bike when it went down. Maybe I was lucky, but maybe I read the situation correctly (then had the memory bashed out of me - wear a full helmet folks).
Wow, that was a downer! I say flight time and experience have to go together. Unless you drop the bike every day to get to 11k miles, you've got to have some skills, as well as the other items mentioned
--Dave
Don't think of it as a stop light. Think of it as a chance-to-show-off light.
Vulcan 900 Classic LT (2007)
Ninja ZX-6R (2006)
Ninja 500-R (2004)
454 Ltd. (1986)
Boulevard S-40 (2005)