> They're woefully unaerodynamic, and emissions standards are pretty lax for them.

Still more aerodynamic and fuel efficient than someone riding a full-blown SUV to work solo.

> but plenty of motorbikes are actually worse than a compact car and getting close to SUV territory.

Not everyone drives a Kawasaki Ninja H2 R with 310 hp or whatever the top record is these days. Per German ADAC, the average motorcycle consumes 2-3 liters/100km [1], whereas the average car is at 7-8 liters/100km [2].

[1] https://www.adac.de/verkehr/tanken-kraftstoff-antrieb/tipps-...

[2] https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/daten/verkehr/kraftstoffe