At our most recent meeting of the Motorcycle Safety Coalition, Bill Turkus told us that 90% of motorcycle crashes involved a rider who never completed a Basic Rider training course. Learning to ride or to ride better than you do is critical to owning a motorcycle. If you have not done so I urge you to take a Basic Motorcycle Rider Course. One such course is given through Rider Education of New Jersey and information can be found here.
You can also take a look at the courses given at Fairleigh Dickinson University. http://view.fdu.edu See also, http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/Licenses/njridesafe
Completing the course should be only your first step in learning to ride. I urge you to continually practice and sign up for additional courses. Learning to ride does not stop when you get your license. Once you have completed the Basic Rider Course consider taking the next level courses. Learn to be the best rider you can be. I am not promoting any particular programs. I only mention these three as examples of excellent programs. Of course, there are other programs available which you can find on the internet.
Please do your research, get properly trained and as the course founders and teachers will tell you, “Be a Lifelong Learner”!