Riding course are highly recommended.
i would also stay away from large groups until you have confidence. ride with 2 of your buddies with one inf front and one behind and learn how to keep reasonably safe distances, how to react when your buddy slows to turn, passing cars, cars passing the group, etc. i am not a fan of riding side by side unless on a four lane in the middle of nowhere. i have a small group who ride with us and we are very confident in each others ability but never put ourselves in situations where there is no room to react. This has worked for 10s of thousands of touring miles all over the US.
Experience is garnered over time and miles traveled and the practice of riding is fun in itself. Do some road trips, loosen up and have fun while being safe out there!

 

Welcome. And congrats on the new bike. Can't beat the RG. Are you over at RG.ORG yet?

 

welcome from coastal sc ,a lot of good advice here, I wanted to add my 2 cents, 1st watch for sand. when pulling the front brake sand will cause tire to slide. 2nd get used to watching vehicles that are stopped at cross streets, pay attention to their front tires you will see the tire move when they start to move. 3rd learn to counter steer in turns. talk to 1 or 2 of your riding friends and get them to take a little time showing you these little type things and you will be on your way. I have taught a couple of friends how to do these type things and 1 of them was on a 2012 rg he was very nervous for the 1st 2 days but slowly started getting comfortable and was riding every where within a week. enjoy and respect your new bike. and stay safe

 

Good advice. Thanks! I have 2 friends I'll be riding with while learning. We have a couple rides planned. They know my experience level. They've been riding for years.

 

Thanks a lot. I'll be over there...

 

Thanks a lot. Never expected such a huge and friendly response from the forum. If most Harley riders are like this I've made the right choice.