i let my girlfriend ride my Honda 400 once when i was 17.my dad took off on the same Honda a year later,and dropped it in the grass. he dented the tank and thought it was no big deal(it was, i locked the bike up and he hasn't ridden a thing since). and i have a buddy that has ridden my 01eg around the parking lot at his shop a few times. but besides that, very few people have ever even sat on one of my bikes..

 

Nope. And I never ask to ride anyone elses.

 

When I bought my Deluxe I had an '85 Sportster (ironhead, it was a love hate relationship) my neighbor wanted to take the Sportster out saying he was interested in buying. I really wasn't wanting to sell at the time. He absolutely scared the crap out of me the first time he twisted the throttle. Looked like he was going three different directions at once. After about eight weekend "test" rides, he said he wanted something larger, he ended up getting a ultra geezer. The only person I let ride my Deluxe was my brother in law, right after he sold his Softail. Was hoping he'd buy another bike, he bought jet skis. We ride them all the time. Ended up selling the Sportster to my chiropractor. Real cool guy who had once owned a bike, had an accident, not his fault, with his wife on back. She had him get rid of the bike. Fast forward, they are no longer together, I'm getting my back put back into place and we start talking bikes. He said he really wanted to ride again. One ride, he was hooked, so I made him an offer he couldn't refuse. I've seen my ultra geezer drop his ride way too many times to even consider letting him on my Deluxe. I'd let Dickey ride the Deluxe, same with TwiZted, just to say I'd met them.

 

I don't use long excuses or reasons. I just say No!

I have on rare occasions shared with my sons. Very rare and only when we ride each others. But they know that they must pay for any damage.

Other than that since 1956 no one else has ridden my motorcycles. I do not loan tools, money, trucks or anything else either. It used to be my pick up trucks that guys would try to borrow. I finally got them all to quit asking. To some no takes a while to sink in.

When the need was substantial I would go help with loading and moving with the truck and would not accept gas money.

 

Dont feel sorry for us who have common sense. I will feel for you when a "what if" happens and it ruins or strains your friendships.

 

Let a mechanic ride mine after I got it to try to find a problem, that was once and the first and only time.

Good friend of mine bought a bike a few weeks back, he didn't have a license, so he asked me to test ride and bring it home. Honestly, I felt honored he'd ask, as I always have when someone asks me to ride their for any reason.

Thought it was cool as hell that folks used to let me ride theirs when I was at a shop (gofer/parts runner) but understood when certain folks didn't.

Started telling folks that ask me 'don't ask me to ride my bike and I won't ask to **** your wife' Pretty much ends the conversation there.

That said, I've let a few close friends sit on it, test fit, try out my bars, etc. and I've almost knocked some folks to the ground when we're standing around and they prop their *** on the seat, really gets my blood boiling. If I invite you to sit on it, that's one thing, you touch it without my asking, you can judge how much I like you by whether or not you feel pain.

 

Most insurance policies cover the occasional other rider so the odds are he is insured on the bike. The basic rule is they cannot live in your home with you and a maximum of 12 times per year but most agents will admit they have no way of knowing how often you let others ride your bike. Check with your insurance to make sure, mine covers them.

 

"Neither a borrower nor a lender be"

 

WOW. Thanks for all the advice and great stories. After reading all of these, I'm just going to "Bring it Real" and give him a resounding NO. If he's ever borrowed anything of his out and had it returned broken, he will understand.
However, I don't want to discourage him from chasing his dream of owning a Harley. So I plan on taking him up to our HD Dealership personally for a proper education. My local salesman is dynamic, educated, and can be very persuasive. A chat with him, a nice long test ride, and getting his senses assaulted by all the beautiful bikes in the showroom should put him over the edge.
"He will be one of us soon" MWAAAHAAHAAAHAA

 

That call is up to you, and what you think of him.

I've let mine go for an afternoon once...a good friend of mine that I've known for a long long time. He's a very skilled rider...has restored a lot of old Harleys (and classic cars). I knew my bike was in good hands, I didn't have a worry all afternoon.

I have some other buds..they used to have bikes, but for some reason <right now> they don't have it anymore...but if they want to go for a ride, they'll borrow one of their buds bikes.