Don't know what tires you are running, but i know that once my Pilot Powers are warmed up, I will NOT be able to exceed their grip at safe road speeds.
I think the problem here is defining what is a "safe road speed".
I trust even sport touring tires right to the edge (scuffing the edge at the rear, getting rid of any "chicken strips there"). At least I do when I know I have a clean road to use them on. The problem is that most of the time I can't trust the roads around here to be completely free of dirt or moisture.
Better to err on the side of caution than to lowside into something.
I would suggest that you buy a copy of
Total control by Lee Parks and go through all of the chapters, practicing what he teaches in each chapter. Understanding how to keep the bike balanced and how to be smooth can help improve your confidence. One of the things that I think I learned from his book is to not try to see how far I can lean the bike over but to see how quickly I can get through a corner with a minimum amount of lean (and as smoothly as possible).
The book
A Twist Of The Wrist II by Keith Code also has a lot of useful information about how to be smooth, but it was way harder for me to learn from than the Lee Parks book.
One of the best suggestions, probably from the Parks book, is to pick a section of road and run through it a whole bunch of times. Work on being smooth, picking good lines, and making no mistakes while riding there. After a few dozen times you'll get a lot better at those corners, and it will help you ride better on other roads too. The road I picked is Palomares Road, which is about 10 miles long and is part of a 30 mile loop from my house. I'm sure I've been through there more than 100 times over the years and I have a lot better understanding of how to ride smoothly through corners because of it.
One more hint: if it's cold or damp, don't trust the tires.
