:D Not yet. What gave it away? Hahaha! I had a permit a while back but never got my license and the permit expired. As soon as I know that the bike is salvageable I'll get my license.
The reason I ask, MarauderRS, is that I think it's unwise for any inexperienced rider to start out on the road with a 1000cc bike. I understand that you sincerely believe yourself capable of getting "comfortable and confident" riding it, but while you're doing that in traffic, you're putting the rest of us at risk when it gets away from you. If you're a bicycle racer with steep downhill experience that would help, but it won't give you a clue of the forces unleashed from a 1000cc bike when you give it a whiskey throttle. The fact that you state you like the "look" of a
wide tire means to me that before you take to the road, you need to gain understanding of how a motorcycle is designed for handling and the consequences involved in changing its components.
I strongly advise at least a ten hour session—broken into 2 to 5 hour blocks—of watching motorcycle crashes on YouTube. The
Ride Like a Pro cd is a useful tool to prepare yourself for riding.
While you're working on this bike, I think a reasonable course of action is to enroll yourself in a Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) basic riders course where you'll be given a 250cc bike to learn the basics. The courses fill quickly so enroll early. If you pass it, you'll have your operators license and an understanding of the physics involved with motorcycle riding and the consequences of an errant twist of the throttle or grab of the brakes. If you fail it, you'll have gotten
real experience on a bike—without grossly endangering others or yourself—in a controlled environment with experienced instructors who can observe your faults accurately. You can take the course again with a new understanding of what's required in riding.