Bernie,
You could get the stick on kind and then take them off after your rides.
That having to ride on a small bike for so long would be help in learning about them, but the difference in power and weight in the two would seem to be a huge change even then. I believe that here you just have to go to the DMZ, tell them you want to take the test for a Motorcycle license and get a test date. But I am not positive about that as I have never owned one.
Ron