I am a relatively new rider, my situation is similar to the OP. My main experience was always with dirt bikes, so I decided to start riding on the streets. The only commonality between dirt biking and street bike is pull the choke and shift gears, it stops right there. Just like hogcowboy indicated above braking, cornering and turning are completely different to what I was always used to. Took the basic riding course, after successfully passing the course got my M1 and decided to get my first street bike. I opted to buy a used bike, what I call a beater, because all of the mistakes I am going to make I'd rather make them on a used bike rather than a brand new one. As for my first bike I bought a 2001 Yamaha VStar 650 in excellent condition, can't even tell it's a 2001. The bike rides nice and in line with what I want to move up to when I outgrow this bike. Low center of gravity, nimble on curvy roads. I spent numerous hours practicing in a parking lot weaving in and out of cones, making u turns at slow speeds of no more than 8MPH, and this is what has given me the confidence on the road. To be honest with y'all when I first got the bike I was intimidated by the weight ( wet weight 595lbs), although the weight does not mean a lot. I saw a girl - slim probably 125 lbs., riding a Harley Road King - 850lbs weaving in and out of cones as if it was a bicycle
It is all about control..