I think the most important thing to learn at first is the parking lot stuff. Turn your head when turning keep your hand off the front brake when going slow and remember to not look down when turning. Go find an empty parking lot and take your time. Buy the Johnny Motorman ride like a pro 5 dvd it is a great help then practice.Most important enjoy your new bike.

 

You have other experience which will help. Taking a course, awesome. Lots of practice...the fun part. Took me 3000 miles to become one with my rocker. Nice bike, almost went that way myself. Watch the cars and ride safe.

 

And I agree with them. The "experience" you offer as rationale is with totally different equipment, and under conditions not involving public streets and the risks associated with traffic.

Yep - in a perfect world. Your thinking would have a pilot climbing into the left seat in the cockpit of a Boeing 747 as the "first airplane he's ever flown", or a physician just out of medical school going straight to complex robotic brain surgery. In the real world, it just doesn't happen that way.

That's a start, but experience is what you'll need to pull this off, and you won't get much of that in a weekend.

Good luck with this. My 54 years riding makes me think you're going to need it.

 

And, using that technique to stop, using your right foot to apply the rear brake, how do you balance the bike on the right side?

Long as there's no wetness, gravel or anything else to worry about, there's no risk in using the front brake stopping - I do it all the time. The trick is to straighten up; stopping in a turn involves unnecessary risks.

 

My first bike was a sg. I'm about 20k miles in and dooming good. (knock on wood). The wife and I ride everywhere and love it. I took the course and it was great. Mine bike felt huge after the class but didn't take long to get over that. Lot's of nice easy trips at first. Parking lots are good for practicing what you learn in class. I also went to a local Cemetary to practice, lots of turns like riding on the road. Good luck, have fun, and be safe.

 

.......... and hope he gains enough experience under ideal conditions to be skilled enough to know how to handle the unexpected, which most of us know are inevitable.

 

I just bought a '12 EG as my first bike, no regrets! You will love it!

 

Sissy! If you'd bought a tricked out CVO Streetglide, I'd be impressed.

LOL, completely kidding...that took some guts. Like a few others expressed here, you SHOULD be nervous.

Though the horse is out fo the barn, I think this needs to be emphasized for any other newbies who read this thread.

A well used bike smaller as a starter for a couple of years is honestly what I think anyone should do. For one, the lack of experience will add complexity/danger to starting off with a big and relatively powerful bike. Second, you actually don't know if you are going to love it as much as you thought you would when you pulled the trigger and a new bike is a big investment. Third, on an inexpensive used bike you can dump the thing in the driveway and not care. Fourth, I don't know anyone that has lost any major ching holding a used bike for a year or two and then moving up. I started with a Yamaha Vstar that was ten years old. I put 8k on it and sold it for $200 less than I got it for, even after rashing the fender in a man/bike meets gravel incident. Yes, I paid for maintenance in the two years that I might not have paid on a new bike, but that's the cost of riding a cycle.

It is well and good for all the folks on here that said "I did it and it worked out for me", but you aren't them and, as the commercials say, your results may vary, lol. I've watched a guy climb on to his bike for the first time, rev it too hard, accidentally let go of the clutch, roar out his driveway and drive directly into a neighbors tree in the middle of their lawn across the street. He'd ridden before, too. True, he was an idiot....but it happens.

Maybe I am just too conservative...with my cash and my life, lol.

All that being said, I applaud you for rethinking the situation a bit, lol, and waiting to take the MSF course before riding is a great idea. I hope they loan you the bikes for the intro class as they do here in CT. Take the class, keep your wits about you and practice, practice, practice on the back roads and the parking lots before you go mixing it up in busy traffic. Know your limits, know when you are tired, know when to roll it back into the garage.

Please do not take a passenger on the back of the bike until you've had at least a year under your belt. You need to make sure you have the experience to handle yourself on the bike before you take someone else aboard.

Have a blast and enjoy your new scoot...i wish I had gone with an SG! Let us know how it goes for you.

 

Take the motorcycle safety course this is very important. Can't stress that enough. Pretty big and expensive bike as your first bike you can do it with the proper training and practice practice practice in a big open parking lot. Would not do any low speed tight turns and when you are low speed in parking lots stay away from that front brake use the back brake. Once you get better you can work on your low speed tight turns. You do it now you will end up on the ground.

 

Not to burst your bubble or rain on your parade but I'd have to say my experience would suggest you may have bit of more than you can chew. Some guys are natural and take to it with no problems whatsoever. However, it seems to me there are more of the not so naturals out there. Plenty of barns and garages with low mileage road trophies (touring bikes) with scars in fenders and saddlebags. Only you will know for sure what way it will go. There are, believe it or not, skills involved and lots of things can only be gained through experience. I would suggest your first few times out on your bike you go after the course and have someone with experience go with you. On their own bike. Best of luck to you and I truely hope everything works out for you. I can't think of anything better than cruising the highway on a touring bike. Let us know all you make out.