need some tips

sup everyone...Im 23 years old and i just got my first bike! I baught an 03 suzuki katana 600 of my buddy for a great deal...i love the way it looks-sounds and i love the fact that i can open her up and its not going to throw me...now before a week ago i have never riden anything like this cept a manual car and just a regular bike. anyway after the first day i took it out in my development and it took me about a min to get a feel for the clutch enough to ride...after i got going it felt great...i can take off pretty fast, shift fluently up and down, use both front and rear brakes together even when slowing down modoretly to excesively, i pay attention to road conditions and look for hazards such as loose gravel and squirrels lol, and im just listing this stuff so you know about where i am as a learner u could say...i am having trouble with some turns though...mostly right turns...i get kind of uneasy because i feel like if i lean on a right turn im going to fall off, literaly i feel like the bike is going to slip from under me but left turns feel oddly natural i dont know why...also when im completely stoped its hard for me to go right without crossing over into the other lane...today i got out of work early and i took my bike out on some back roads which had freshly paved roads, some crappy sections of uneven pavement, moderate turns and some sharp turns and for the most part i did good...i was turning without even thinking about it and the bike was just following the road...now the thing that freaked me out was 2 times i found myself crossing over into the other lane...now this happened on a   straight section i think  and i could not bring it back over quick enough...what am i doing wrong..any and all advice is welcomed...write a me a novel i dont care...cause i love my bike and i want to become as safe and comfortable riding it as posible...thnks  btw i have about 2 hrs riding time total maybe less at what point does one start to feel comfortable and not so nervous?!  

First off, I'm glad you're starting on a smaller bike, but you still started too fast.  There's no reason you should have gone onto the road your first time out.  What you should have done is take the bike to an empty parking lot and practiced the feel of the bike over and over again.  Don't underestimate the importance of slow speed turns, panic stops, U-turns, proper corner entry and exit.  There is a slew of things that are extremely important to motorcycling and you more than likely don't know any of it.  I'm not trying to be mean or lecture you, but you started off approaching this sport the wrong way.  The fact that you crossed over into another lane is scary man.  That just tells me you have no sense for corner entry, the apex, or how to corner properly.  Get some motorcycling books and read them.  Read the Rider Skills Series on this site and please take the MSF course.

You should sign up for that MSF course ASAP.  All your worries are addressed and practiced extensively in that course.  I promise you'll feel so much more prepared when riding after taking it.  It is an extremely valuable experience that will help keep your bike from meeting asphalt and you from visiting a hospital.  Also, get yourself some good riding gear, DOT/Snell helmet, gloves, protective jacket and boots.  Wear your gear all the time.

I hope you take some of the advice.  Overall, you have to practice, it's a must.  You need to know what to practice (books, articles, etc.) and you need to take the MSF course.  Do those things and you should be alright.  You have to take your time when learning to ride a motorcycle!  Best of luck.  

thats awesome..MOM..no haha um can u help me turn..ive done all that stuff u mentioned including MSF classes but they all booked up cause aparently every old person in the state is learning to ride a scooter so ppl like me cant get scheduled before 2020 so...and i ride good bro trust me im a beast...im smart..im cautious...and im good at everything i do...cept i need a little help turning...RIGHT...im pretty sure its because its my non dominant side...kind of like writing with your left hand maybe sorta...and no im not overly confident trust me the last thing i want to do is go 90 on a mainline street...im from pa everything out here is like a big parking lot so trust me there was nothign crazy about me going out on a back road 5 miles from my house...not to be mean or lechure you tho...you make riding motorcycles like a big scooby do mystery..ur like oooo theres things that you dooont knooow....let me know bro..dats why im here..
                                ps have u ever riden a bike in your life?! lol  

first i just got to say this. you sounded a little cocky in your last entry. maybe you were just getting deffensive about what that other guy said, anyway no offense but if you cant go down the road without going into oncoming traffic youre not as good at everything as you think you are. riding a bike does take some time to really get comfortable and learn on. and you probably will feel more comfortable turning one way than the other at first. just keep on practicing, keep on being cautious but dont make yourself nervous by being overly cautious. relax and look where you want to go. my bet is you are getting worried maybe about oncoming cars and looking over into the other lane. just be aware of all the hazards but dont focus on them.  

...my man...useful information without making me feel like a dirt bag...haha i did get pretty defensive cause he made me seem like a *** i said i have less than 2 hrs riding time total cause i got *** going on and i work ten hrs a day so...and yeah geting on a bike and doing what i  did was a little soon but if i didnt feel like i could do it i wouldnt have tried and...its not like im turning into ppls lawns n riding on grass tryin to turn haha its not taht bad i just need more comfort and dats what i was askin about..ya know..thanks i appreciate ur swift response haha    

Read this:

http://www.soundrider.com/archive/safety-skills/RS-cc1.htm

Cornering is the hardest part of riding to grasp. Good Luck  

Sorry to make you feel like crap from my post, I just got nervous for you when I saw you were out on the road immediately.  That can be dangerous stuff if you haven't practiced and don't know the ropes.  Safety first my man.  Sorry to come off as a jerk.

To some advice then...the biggest thing I've learned with turning is target fixation - basically looking where you want to turn.  It's a motorcycle phenomenon, your bike goes where you look.  That being said, when turning, look through the turn where you want the bike to go.  Don't look at the pavement next to you to examine your lean or to see how close you are to the ground.  If you do that, sooner or later, you're going to low side.  Keep your head up when turning and keep it level with ground.  Try to read some articles on countersteering.  When you're out riding, you're countersteering whether you know it or not...that's the technique used to turn your motorcycle.

Just stay cautious and practice.  Stay out of traffic until you're riding comfortably enough that you don't have to think what you are going to do next (i.e. shifting, turning, leaning, braking, etc.).  Only get out there when you're 100% comfortable.  Hope this helps.  

Oh and forgot, sucks about the MSF course.  Now that fuel prices are so damn high, those things are filling up even faster than previous years.  At least you're signed up though - it wouldn't hurt to try and get your hands on the course manual in the meantime, it's got some good reading material and some drills to practice.  I also have a book called Proficient Motorcycling by David Hough, it's another good read that has lots of good stuff in it.  

hey thanx bro..i apprechiate ur advice...i was pretty much a jerk too n dats just cause my girl is given me *** i work all the time ya know so i was having a pretty frustrating day...but i deffinetly understand how looking through ur turns without focusing on one point really halps...i also noticed it helps ur balance cause ur not looking down at one thing...so thanx man!  

Counter steering and looking where you what to go are the two biggest things i would work on.

Also, try hugging the bike with your legs and not having much weight on the handle bars.