Okay, I went ahead and reserved a spot for myself in a motorcycle training course for Feb 2-3. Next available date would be 3 weeks later. If I'm going to do this, I should do it correctly from the get-go. I figure $250 of good training is even better than $250 of good gear.
Money well spent.
Another benefit is they provide the bike. Drop it like it's stolen! 
My workplace requires everyone to have the MSF Course in order to drive on the site. Almost everyone that rides here is not new at it. I suggest to the program manager that the Advanced Course be used, not the basic. a.) It's half the cost, b.) it's one day, not two and c.) we might actually learn something.
I took it two weeks after buying my R-1150rt, it was a good opportunity to flog the bike in a way that I would probably not on my own. If you get a chance if a few years, take it.
Dan
In reply to 914Driver:
I will keep that in mind. As it is, buying the safety gear and basic rider course is enough cash outlay for a while.
Roger that.
Beer Baron wrote: Okay, I went ahead and reserved a spot for myself in a motorcycle training course for Feb 2-3. Next available date would be 3 weeks later. If I'm going to do this, I should do it correctly from the get-go. I figure $250 of good training is even better than $250 of good gear.
Good to hear! 
Second day riding. I went up and down my nice little low traffic, curvy road a couple times. Mostly I spent it going up and down the streets in the neighborhood practicing starts and stops. Easy stops. More rapid stops. Stops with more front brake. Stops with more rear brake. Getting going just by feathering the clutch, no throttle. Rode as slow as I could with my feet up. Practiced u-turns in as little space as possible (still need to get better at this). Still getting the hang of turning off the blinkers without hitting the horn.
Sounds like you're using the right approach.
After the 2-day MSF course I would recommend planning to take the advance course after a year or two. I've been riding for 15 years now, but I did take the advanced course to get my NV motorcycle endorsement and I certainly did learn a few things.
Congratulations for your very rational approach to riding a motorcycle. Even after 40 years riding bikes I find making very slow tight turns the most difficult manuever. They are the first things I practice every spring. I like to ride into the carport next to mine and make a 180 turn into mine then back it up to park for the night. Around nere in southern New Hampshire the commuter parking lots are deserted on Saturday and great places to practice.
Suggestion: As you ride more and more take a break at least every hour to walk around and stretch out your back and sholders. My longest day on my Burgman so far is 350 miles. I plan on extending that this comming summer.
Good luck and stay alert!
GregW
Realistically speaking, how narrow of a space should I be able to do a U-turn without putting a foot down? My road is pretty narrow, but I frequently can't do it even if I go a bit into someone's driveway.
And to make y'all jealous. My turn 2 is HWY 1. 
Within one lane.
Tip I learned years ago, look over your shoulder at your rear tire. Do that and you'll be able to drop the bike all the way over against the steering stop.
At the Advanced Course the instructor did figure 8s within two parking spaces, then went to one.
....on a GOLDWING!
Learn how to lean the bike, pressure on the pegs and body english. Use your trials riding skills.
Dan
foxtrapper wrote: Within one lane. Tip I learned years ago, look over your shoulder at your rear tire. Do that and you'll be able to drop the bike all the way over against the steering stop.
Okay. I had heard that trick before and had forgotten it. Street here is not the full width of a typical street. It's a bit wider than two parking spaces. I still should be able to do a U-Turn in that width then, so I will definitely need to practice more. I do get a bit nervous about going to wide because there are drainage ditches on either side that I don't want to get dumped into.
Today was practicing - upshift to 2nd. Spot place to U-turn. Turn signal on. Downshift to first. LOOK OVER SHOULDER TO CHECK FOR TRAFFIC. U-turn with feet up. Upshift to 2nd. Signal off. Repeat. Over, and over, and over. Training the habit of looking before turning was my chief priority, in case the emphasis did not make that clear.
914Driver wrote: At the Advanced Course the instructor did figure 8s within two parking spaces, then went to one.
Beer Baron wrote:foxtrapper wrote: Within one lane. Tip I learned years ago, look over your shoulder at your rear tire. Do that and you'll be able to drop the bike all the way over against the steering stop.Okay. I had heard that trick before and had forgotten it. Street here is not the full width of a typical street. It's a bit wider than two parking spaces. I still should be able to do a U-Turn in that width then, so I will definitely need to practice more. I do get a bit nervous about going to wide because there are drainage ditches on either side that I don't want to get dumped into. Today was practicing - upshift to 2nd. Spot place to U-turn. Turn signal on. Downshift to first. LOOK OVER SHOULDER TO CHECK FOR TRAFFIC. U-turn with feet up. Upshift to 2nd. Signal off. Repeat. Over, and over, and over. Training the habit of looking before turning was my chief priority, in case the emphasis did not make that clear.
Forget the downshift in the U-turn box, it sounds counter-intuitive, but it's MUCH easier to get through in 2nd than 1st. Find an empty parking lot and practice in 2 spaces, it's much easier than practicing on a road :)
This guy makes decent 'how-to' vids for many of the maneuvers you will learn in the class. http://www.youtube.com/user/CaptCrashIdaho/videos?view=0
Beer Baron wrote:foxtrapper wrote: Within one lane. Tip I learned years ago, look over your shoulder at your rear tire. Do that and you'll be able to drop the bike all the way over against the steering stop.Okay. I had heard that trick before and had forgotten it. Street here is not the full width of a typical street. It's a bit wider than two parking spaces. I still should be able to do a U-Turn in that width then, so I will definitely need to practice more. I do get a bit nervous about going to wide because there are drainage ditches on either side that I don't want to get dumped into. Today was practicing - upshift to 2nd. Spot place to U-turn. Turn signal on. Downshift to first. LOOK OVER SHOULDER TO CHECK FOR TRAFFIC. U-turn with feet up. Upshift to 2nd. Signal off. Repeat. Over, and over, and over. Training the habit of looking before turning was my chief priority, in case the emphasis did not make that clear.
Don't worry about the trick of looking over the shoulder at the rear tire yet. You've got a ways to go.
There is nothing wrong with doing a u-turn slowly, with both feet down on the ground, in first gear.
Don't over-complicate u-turns, and don't focus on them yet. You're still learning to simply ride. Learn that. Don't ignore u-turns. But let them come as you become more and more comfortable with the bike. Being able to stop well and maneuver the bike is far more important.
foxtrapper wrote: There is *nothing* wrong with doing a u-turn slowly, with both feet down on the ground, in first gear. Don't over-complicate u-turns, and don't focus on them yet. You're still learning to simply ride. Learn that. Don't ignore u-turns. But let them come as you become more and more comfortable with the bike. Being able to stop well and maneuver the bike is far more important.
Well, that's a bit of a relief. I can do u-turns with my feet down no problem.
I just want skills and habits so that I can ride into town without completely making an ass of myself holding up traffic at intersections or anything. Of course, this is a town full of old hippies, so they probably wouldn't notice anyway.
Honestly, the bigger part of my exercise was training myself to get into the habit of looking before turning, and turning of the blinker when I shift to 2nd.
From the link Morbid posted. The double U-Turn/Figure 8 is done in a 'box' that's 20x60 feet.
If looking over your shoulder is uncomfortable (I have a bad neck), shift your butt to the outside of the turn. It also helps with counter-weighting.
It is very nice to see someone starting to ride properly for a change.
Plus you are getting some very good advice in this thread.
"Proficient Motorcycling" is a great place to start, MSF is the best money you will ever spend, and Keith Code's "Twist of the Wrist II" will help to keep you from berkeleying-up when you get startled.
Keith goes into detail about our natural survival instincts, and how they are the opposite of what you should be doing on the bike. And of course, how to overcome them.
I would like to add another book that I enjoyed is "Total Control" By Lee Parks. He has cone courses you can practice in a parking lot, It really put things in a way I could understand and learn from
Beer Baron wrote: ...and turning of the blinker when I shift to 2nd.
Turn off the blinker when you're ready to. Focus on controlling the bike. After you've made the turn, and everything is nicely calmed down, and you are riding along, then turn the blinker off.
In the scope of important things to do and remember, turning the blinker off is pretty low.
4eyes wrote: It is very nice to see someone starting to ride properly for a change.
Probably because I'm starting more mature-ish and sane-ish than the average new motorcyclist. Having done spec racing has changed my mindset a LOT. Anything on the street gets frightening much faster than it gets exciting. Riding a motorcycle is freeing and a challenge to learn new skills. I like thrills, but I like being able to control the risk paid as much as possible.
And I am definitely getting good advice from this thread. It is really excellent and I appreciate it tremendously. SWMBO gets on my case about spending so much time on the GRM boards, but immediately conceded the value of what I'm getting from the people here in regards to motorcycling.
My class is this weekend and I'm really looking forward to it.
foxtrapper wrote: Turn off the blinker when you're ready to. Focus on controlling the bike. After you've made the turn, and everything is nicely calmed down, and you are riding along, then turn the blinker off. In the scope of important things to do and remember, turning the blinker off is pretty low.
There are a lot of things to fill my head right now. I'm just trying to put some of the stupid-simple ones into muscle memory that I can train while driving back and forth on my street. Some of them are piddly and minor. The more significant things I can't necessarily practice in 500ft. of road. If I can make one more step unconscious routine while in my nice safe area, that's one less item to take up brain power in more demanding situations.
In my little exercise above, the biggest habit I was training was to look for traffic before turning. That needs to be reflex. Always. The indicator and U-Turns are secondary to that simple habit.
Don't sweat it. Veteran riders leave the signals on from time to time, too.
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