First, thanks guys for the long and thoughtful responses! I really appreciate everything you wrote and will have to go back and read them all another time or two.
The MSF class went great and I passed. So did everyone else in the class, which was terrific.
I spent last Sunday after the class at the LA Motorcycle Expo in Long Beach. I managed to find good deals on the rest of the riding gear I needed. I've picked up an armored leather jacket and pants, gauntlet style gloves, mid-calf riding boots, and a full-face DOT/Snell 2005 helmet.
The next time I can get into the DMV is on 12/29 and I'm already getting passing marks on the simulated written exams, but will keep at them until I get 100%, just like I did on the driving test a few years back.
I don't quite have a bike yet, but it looks like I can pick up a 1984 Nighthawk in nice shape for $700 out in Phoenix. A very good friend and I are going to go through it. My friend is one of those types who can fix anything (including the nuclear reactor on the submarine he served on) and I'm fair with a wrench. Plans are to tear through it over two or three days, replace all the consumables/service items and anything else that turns up. The bike is in good cosmetic shape (don't think it's ever been dropped), so it should be a good ride.
Yes, I am taking safety seriously. A lot of new riders wreck in the first six months, so I'll stay out of traffic until June or July. There are big, lighted and open parking lots about two miles away, so evenings and weekends will be spent over there getting a feel. There are dead quiet residential streets nearby that should be safe, too.
I took much the same approach to driving. I got a learner's permit a few months before I turned 16 and kept it for almost 11 months. After getting a driver's license, I stayed off the LA freeways for about a year. Not to be arrogant, but I've got probably 250k miles in LA and can read traffic and head off danger in the car. I've also put about 200k miles on clutches, so shifting and clutch handling aren't a big worry.
So I'm going to take it slow for the next six months and always go out in full gear. I don't need to commute or depend on the bike for transportation, so there's no pressure and I'll pick up the skills along the way.
Plans are to take the advanced MSF class when I feel ready for it and then to move on to the programs at a couple of nearby tracks. I figure it'll be a year before I commute or spend much time on a bike as opposed to the car.
One thing I am hoping to be ready for next summer or early fall is a cruise on the Natchez Trace. I drove it in 2006 and had an incredible time - I think it would be an even better ride.
For those not familiar, the Natchez Trace is a US National Park that picks up a few miles below Nashville, TN, cuts through a corner of Alabama, then heads diagonally across Mississippi and ends in Natchez, MS. Roughly 450 miles long, there's no commercial development, no stop signs, no lights, and is limited to 50 MPH. It's absolutely beautiful and has something like 200 historical sites along the way. Everything from Native burial mounds to Civil War battlefields to Elvis' birthplace. In a car, it was about the most relaxing drive I've ever had. No worries about other cars, mostly flat and gentle curves. It's like driving through a golf course or park. So I think that would be a relaxing, beautiful trip and a good "first" for a road trip. There are a couple places in Nashville that rent cruisers, so that will be my reward for practicing a lot and getting my chops over the next several months.
