Haha funny you say that. I have my friend coming to drive it home to my garage for me. I've committed to not driving it until I have completed the safety course which is going to be very hard. I live in a rural area that I can ride without much traffic until I get a good feel for it. I am taking my nervousness as a good thing as it will keep me on my toes from a safety standpoint. It seems a lot of people who have never ridden a bike have a lot of opinions. Thats why I wanted to post here to get actual experienced people to give advice.

 

Congrats on the new bike. The Street Glide is big and unforgiving at low speeds. Keep your hands off the front brake at slow speeds or at a stop with the forks turned. Doing this will almost pull it to the ground. Slow speed handling is really the big difference between a Sportster or a Metric. Once you master that, and you're rolling, the Street Glide is just a more badass bike then the rest of them.

 

Great riding bike. Handles great. Take it easy, stay out of high traffic areas. You will be fine. The rider's course is a great idea.

Enjoy your new scooter. Welcome to the forum.

 

Just be a very defensive rider and watch out for dumba$$ cagers talking/txting on their cell phones. Enjoy the ride you'll be fine, take it easy until you become comfortable with your machine and your machine becomes comfortable with you. I know it sounds dumb but it's the truth, you will quickly learn your limits and your machines limits also. Take the course and practice in parking lots or take a ride in the country where there isn't a lot of traffic to deal with.

 

The ride home from the dealership on a new bike, Harley or whatever, is a very dangerous ride even for experienced riders. New bikes have new feels. I suggest you either get an experienced friend to ride it to your garage and park it or trailer it home and park it. Don't ride it until you have taken the beginners Motorcycle Safety Foundation course. They will provide a small 250cc bike, and if you drop it learning to ride, no big deal. The HD course is not what you want to take right off the bat.

I suggest you go to your nearest bookstore and pick up a copy of Proficient Motorcycling by David Hough (pronounced "huff"). Read it before you ride. Once you start riding the glide, do so in an empty parking lot until you get use to the brakes, try a few emergency stops, a few turns, starts and stops, slow speed maneuvering, all that.

Do yourself a favor and wear the gear. Helmet, eye protection, good boots, leather or textile padded jacket, and some kind of pants with protection.

You can do this, but you have to take it in steps. Do NOT let peer pressure from friends push you into a situation you are not prepared to handle. Nothing is worth getting seriously injured, or seriously killed.

 

Congratulations you bought a great bike. Take the course and spend some time in the parking lots and practice the basics. I've been riding off and on for 45 years and Harley's for the past 7 years and IMO the biggest thing to get used to other than basic motorcycle skills is the weight. Get used to the slow speed maneuvers I see a lot of new riders dropping bikes because they are not comfortable with the weight

Ride safe

 

I did the same thing, my first bike was a 02 Roadking, and my only experience on a motorcycle before that was my brothers croch rocket 10 years ago. I just went slow and just kept learning in the driveway (just let the clutch out to make the bike move) and after about 20 min i set out around the block. I remember the first time i twisted the throttle i thought i was going off the back (hold on). i just rode slowly around with no traffic. I was waiting for my class too, i would recommend it highly it even rained on day 2 so i got to learn how to ride on somebody elses bike in the rain.. After i passed the class and got my license i found a buyer for my Chevelle i was selling and upgraded to my 2011 Street Glide and love it .
Take it slow and ride safe! Kevin

 

Street glide is a lovely bike. Cg is low, handles very well, goes great, stops great, So you did the right thing. A Bike makes no sense whatsoever if you have a car as well, so you may as well have the one that tugs your soul, not the sensible one, otherwise you might just as well have bought a damn car.

I love every minute on the bike, have ridden on and off nearly all my life since 16, and adore my CVO road glide ultra. Do the course, ride your own ride, never be pushed by others into doing something you're not comfy with, keep your eyes wide open and treat cagers with extreme caution, they really don't see you at all.

You'll see more world than ever before, that's for sure, we're heading for Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and Lichtenstein in May, just to make that point. Good luck and ride safe.

 

As long as the bike is not overwhelmingly too big for you, ie. your not 5' nothing and your feet can't touch the ground, you will be fine.

It is smart choice to wait until you take the MSF class until you take it out on any roads with traffic. I rode my first bike home with no street bike riding experience, and I rode for 15 years without an MC License. I will say the class is absolutely the best way to learn, even with all of my years of riding I still learned a lot when I took it.

Congrats and enjoy your new ride.

 

Why not just go with a Ultra and be done with it , any way con grads on the new bike , my advise like some have said get out on some back roads and relax and practice , do not check it out in your yard or such , it an't no dirt bike , don't really like parking lots , to much stop and go and turning , get out in the country with a buddy if possible and have fun