Trailer it home. Get comfortable with controls and maneuvering in a large parking lot close to home. Then start out on some low traffic public streets. A Fat Boy isn't that hard to learn on.

Good luck and safe travels

 

Agree with many other here, trailer the bike home or get your friend to ride it to you. Uhaul motorcycle trailers rent for like $30 a day. Then spend some time in large empty parking lots and/or slow country roads and you will be good to go.

My first ride on a HD was a Springer belonging to a friend that was looking to sell it. Prior to that I had rode dirtbikes as a kid/teenager and my only experience on a street bike was a cousins Honda 500 for maybe 2 miles each way down the street when I was 18 or so.
I had not owned a bike in 20 years but wanted a HD, good friend of mine who rode wanted my wife and I to go with he and his wife on a Sunday ride on the Natchez Trace. He offered up his brothers 4 year old Springer for me and the wife to ride. So my first real ride on a streetbike and first ride on an HD was 2 up on the Natchez Trace, we put about 150 miles on that day. My wife and I were both hooked and 3 days later I bought a brand new Wideglide. At that point riding classes in my area were few and far between so I never had the advantage of that before taking off. I have since taken classes to learn something new and to get an insurance discount. I do recommend the course to new riders. I spend a good amount of time in empty parking lots and slow country roads. About 8 months after buying that first WG my wife and I and 2 other couples set out for my first really long trip, we had done some 2-3 day trips but this one was to Sturgis for 2 weeks and a total of 5K miles. Sincve then there have been several others HDs and many trips.

The bottom line is for me I believe you can learn just as well on a full size HD as you could on a small metric bike. Just use common sense, take it slow and at your own pace and don't be afraid to say no to friends that invite you on rides if you are not ready. Be honest with yourself as to your abilities and be open to learning. You will be OK

 

Welcome
Congratulations on the new bike. Nice choice.

Take the good advice offered above. Don't get over your head and risk ending your riding enjoyment early in a bad way.

 

Howzit and Greetings from Houston and a Displaced Cut N Shoot Texan


+1 on the getting a friend to ride it back for ya or trailer it back and practice in a locale you are comfortable with

Haole

 

Welcome from Paris, TX. Have your buddy ride it to Austin, then drive him back. Or take someone to Dallas that can ride the bike back to Austin - and enjoy listening to it on the way to Austin.

 

Another vote for trailering it home or getting an experienced rider to ride it back for you. As a novice rider you damn sure don't want to ride it out of Dallas into Austin. Get it home and find a safe place to practice with it.

 

Trailer or have your friend ride it down to you like others have suggested.

A friend of mine just went through DFW on the way to San Antonio (in a car) and was stuck on I-35 for 3 hours in stop and go traffic. You don't want to be in that mess on a bike, especially for your first "real" ride.

As far as whether to get a smaller bike - I am a firm believer in learning on a smaller bike. That is what I did. What did your friend start riding on? Riding is a skill that takes development. A MSF course teaches the basics, but you are not ready to take that Fatboy on a road trip. You will be a better rider if you practice on a smaller bike.

You can pick up a starter metric bike for less than lots of people drop on a stage 1 upgrade and shiny chrome stuff, and then sell it for about what you paid for it. I bought two smaller bikes over the 2 years from taking the MSF course to buying my Road King. I sold the first one (Virago 250) for $250 more than I paid for it and the second one (V-star 950) for $800 less.

Here are a few I found with a quick search of Austin craigslist (I'm bored at work tonight).

https://austin.craigslist.org/mcy/6044165842.html

https://austin.craigslist.org/mcy/6101688440.html

https://austin.craigslist.org/mcy/6091670201.html

https://austin.craigslist.org/mcy/6045004127.html

 

I went from a Vulcan 750 to my FLHTCUI. I'm glad I had 20,000 miles on a lighter bike to learn how to handle compromised traction like wet road paint, oily streets in the rain, thunderstorms, gravel, etc..

A Fatboy is about 250 lbs. less than my Ultra, and many have started on bigger bikes, so it can be done. But you have to be more careful. It helps to be physically in shape too.

 

What he said ... good advice. You're smart to be concerned ... stay smart ...

 

I agree^ ....I think about all of my riding buddies and how many bikes we've owned over the years and I think back to our first bike(s) ....what we could afford was used/smaller bikes. As we got older and further into our careers, we could afford more expensive/new/larger bikes. We didn't purposely buy a small bike to learn on ----it's what we could afford. Having said that ----if my wife were learning to ride, I'd buy her a very used smaller bike.....even if we already bought the newer/bigger bike. I don't disagree with others ....but it's what I would do. However ---to the OP, you'll be fine with practice. Safe riding!