Like most have said easy goes it. Bought the UC four months after taking the course. Yeah I was nervous, they handle easier moving. Spend lots of time doing slow speed maneuvers in a parking lot. Invest the $30 for the Ride Like a Pro course. Just getting ready to turn 4k miles since I bought it in August, and starting to feel more comfortable and confident but not cocky.

Have fun, cagers always win

 

I tell you the same thing that I tell all my friends that have not rode before.
Find a safe street with no or little traffic and ride to the corner and come back.

after a few seconds of waiting for me to say more I get the "that's it?"
Yes that is it, my point is always ride at your ability/skill level NO MATTER WHAT.
I don't need to tell you what to to beyond the corner because only you will know when you are ready to go further. And guess what? that is exactly what you will do.
God Bless and above all have fun.
SG as a first bike.... I like your style....

 

Please take the course first. while you may not do anything you will regret your level of comfort riding after the course will be night and day. Either way welcome and stay safe but most important have a good time!

 

Grats on the bike! It's good that you're cautious and are thinking. I totally agree with parking lot practice and a lot of low traffic slow speed driving. Like making right turns from a stop. If you have trouble it's most likely not going to be riding down the road with the wind in your hair (the fun part). It's going to be stop and go traffic, the grocery store parking lot, unexpected gravel when you're trying to back your bike up, oil/water and uneven pavement when you stop at a light, and of course avoiding all the people who can't seem to see a giant bike no matter how 'visible' you are.

After the class you'll have some good ideas of what to practice too such as stopping in a curve, looking where you want to go, and counter steering. I went to a sporting goods store and bought some short plastic cones so I can throw them out on the parking lot and keep myself from cheating.

Check out 'Ride like a pro' videos too. Ride safe and have fun!

 

As long as you are strong enough to hold the bike up when you make a mistake you should be fine. couple things you should consider. Are your feet on the ground when you stand it up?? if they are not change out seat. My first bike was the Road glide below. But I am too big for a starter bike and more than once I hit the front brake on a slow turn and sent the bike off balance and had to get my foot down. So as long you are strong enough to hold it up when you make mistake you will be fine.

One other google how to ride a motorcycle plenty of good tips on You tube

 

When in doubt, downshift and haul ***!

 

I did the same thing. I'd never ridden a street bike before and bought a Road King Classic for my first bike. As others have said, I spent a lot of time initially riding around empty parking lots and just getting a feel for the bike. Like you said, I'm very glad I bought the bike I wanted because now I feel very comfortable on it. Had I bought something smaller, I'd be looking to trade it in and would be taking it in the shorts now.

I also took the new rider's course and that helped a lot too....

 

Best advice has already been given: Don't touch the front brake at slow speeds, in a slow turn, or even in fast turn.

You'll learn slow speed maneuvering in your basic riders course. The key to keeping it upright at slow speed is keeping your eyes on the horizon, using the rear brake as necessary and feathering the clutch. Gently "riding" the rear brake while feathering the clutch at slow speed has a stablizing effect. If you focus on the car in front of you (in slow traffic) or look down at slow speed, you'll have trouble keeping balance and that can be a real problem with an 800 lb bike.

Best of luck, congratulations, and welcome to the family!!! Now...what color is your new SG???

 

I can relate. I had never so much as straddled a Harley before the day I bought mine. I had ridden probably a 100 miles on a crotch rocket 14 years earlier. I wanted a RKC. I went to look at the bike at the guys house and he offers to let me take it for a ride. I told him I didn't have a license, or the cash on me and that I would be back in a week with both. I had to ride it at least an 1/8th of a mile down a loose gravel driveway to get to the blacktop. Talk about scared...

That was October 1st, 2010. I will celebrate that day like a rebirth from now on. A year and a half into riding I've been 100% bitten by it. If I would have known what I was missing, I would have done it a LONG time ago. I would say take it slow, but that would be hypocritical. I bought the bike on a Friday and a week later did a 800 mile round trip. I will say go at your own speed and comfort level and respect the bike. I rode and I did the miles in parking lots and on my first road trip, but I was scared to death of the bike. I'm not suggesting that you should ride scared, but remember that old saying about there being a fine line between fear and respect.

Do the class, do your time in parking lots and get out there and see what you've been missing. Congratulations and best of luck with it. Ride safe.

 

I just helped my wife learn. She never ridden herself and got tired of staring at the back of my head.

What people say is true...empty parking lots. Go in straight lines and not worry about shifting or putting your feet up. It is all about baby steps and the course is a god send for learning. They teach the same way by building your skills up. It took my wife a week of just rolling around a parking lot till she felt good to go around the block.

I am planning on taking the skilled rider course once I get time at home and a running bike. You might want to after some time look into that as well.Just keep the rubber side down and shiny side up. The one thing that got me when I was learning was oil spots. Remember pulling up to the safety course on my bike and putting my foot down in oil. Lets just say that the instructor had a reason to teach how to pick up a bike.