Definitely take the rider course. That's not a bad idea even for someone who already knows how to ride. You can't learn too much.
I would hold off buying a bike until afterwards though. You will learn on a 250cc Rebel or something like that. Small bike, small crash. Big bike, big crash. But the truth is after taking the rider course, your use for the Rebel will pass. Don't get me wrong, they're great little bikes, but you will out grow it in a month and wish you had a little more power. Not that you want to set the world on fire, but you do want to be able to get out of your own way. The same goes for small import v twin cruisers. Very low power and they're out grown in a hurry. IMO the best beginner bike of all time is the 90's and up Honda 750 Magna. It's a 750cc V 4 cyl that has enough weight to feel like you're actually riding something. They're agile, been around forever so they're cheap and if you keep the RPM's below 5k they're as doscile as a kitten. Above 5k, hold on. That's something you can grow into and not be too worried about putting it down until your experience level comes up some. If you're driving a Z, sooner or later you're going to want more power and there's nothing wrong with that. But there's no reason to have to buy two or three different bikes to do that.
Just my 2 cents. Good luck with it. Always glad to see someone else on a bike..
