That’s the whole point of all of the parking lot stuff…practice and get your confidence up before you go out into traffic…
As for the shifting into 1st…I always start my bike out in first gear…but I only slow down using engine braking into 2nd gear…when I feel it is time to shift into first for engine braking, I pull in the clutch and use the brakes only for the last bit…and put it into 1st at around 10kph (5-6mph)…it is always smoother to shift while moving, and you want to be in 1st gear to be able to move out of the way if someone isn’t paying attention…you do not want to be the meat in the sandwich…very bad…always check your mirrors when you come to a stop…and keep checking them until you see a vehicle pull up behind you and come to a complete stop…no one else is going to watch you back, so use the mirrors…
And about filling the tank…I hear ya…my bike takes 12-14 liters (3-4gal) and @ $1.28/liter that’s $16-18 to fill…much better than the 124.5 liters it took to fill my truck today…$159.25 to fill…and I have to have a truck for work…
Later.