well I dont have kids ( and wont for a while)
But my dad got me a dirtbike at 4 about a week after I learned how to ride a bicycle, Ive had several dirtbikes, my 1st street bike was a yamaha XS 400 special II at the time I also had a street legal dirtbike so I sold the street only bike, had a few more street legal dirtbikes & at 22 got a 95 883 XLH it was too small & not very comfy so at 25 i bought a 05 Springer classic & havent looked back, its the bike i always wanted!

 

If you were to ask my 12 year old twin boys they will tell you they already have a Harley(mine). But for right now they enjoy tearing it up on a modified 5hp minibike we tinker with. Never too young to learn the basics. They do all thier own oil changes and maint. It makes a dad proud.

 

No, it is true.

For 12k you can get a brand new, top of the line ZX-14 or any sportbike you want.
For 12k, you can get the base model Dyna, a sportster, or a used (probably 3-4 year old) softtail / bagger / etc. The harleys are much more expensive, especially since a 1 year old ZX-14 will cost 8k at most.

We're on the high end of the bike spectrum

 

My 21 year old daughter (and only child) says she wants one of the Kawasaki sport bikes (she named the specific model, but I can't remember which one). She has been riding two-up with me since I bought my first Harley in 2003 after a 27 year abstinencefrom riding. She seems to really enjoy riding with me, although the opportunities have been pretty rare with her being away at college during most of the time over the past few years.

 

Took my 17 year old son on the HOG Posse ride last summer from Delaware- Portland OR. I on my S Glide and he on my FJR. We stopped into Johnson City TN HD (Smith Bros)store (great guys by the way) and I traded my FJR and bought him a new RK Classic two tone light blue metalic and black.Trip total mileage was over 9000 and he absolutely loves his King.He is a great kid who will be off to college this fall. We had the time of our lives together with our other friends who went.I only hope he lets dad keep his bike"stored" for him while he is away.

 

My son rides and '03 Sportster. He actually got me into Harleys after I had a Honda and a Triumph.

 

well my old man rides a 20000roadking classic. I ride a 99 fxdx. I'm 20. I took a bike instead of moving out because I work out of town so much. Money was an issue but I'm happy I went with a harley rather than something else(looked at a roadstar before I bought my bike). However I know some friends that would rather have a sportsbike than a harley.

 

no kids here but I know my fathers son really wanted a Harley

 

My son rides a lowrider. My daughter gave up her yamaha wanabe when she started to have here own kids.

 

Do you honestly believe most young guys ride sportbikes because they can't afford Harleys? If these guys were really into cruisers but couldn't afford Harleys we would see them on cheaper metric cruisers or used Harleys. No point in buying sportbikes if you're into cruisers, right? If you really wanted a new Harley but couldn't afford one, would you go out and buy a new GSX-R 1000 instead? Of course not, it wouldn't make sense. There are plenty of low mileage big twins out there for those who cannot afford a new Harley.

And btw, $12k doesn't get you any sportbike you want. MV Agusta F4CC ($120'000), Ducati D16RR ($65'000), Ducati 1098R ($40'000) to name a few. Those are the high end of the bike spectrum.